Random Thoughts of a Chaotic Mind
by RockBane
Summary: I had them on my DeviantART page, now I'm posting them on my profile! Just don't take anything written within too seriously, ok? Check out the profile poll!
1. Magical Catalog: Naruto

**I don't own Naruto or the few items from Ranma 1/2 world.**

* * *

"Get back here you brat!" Snarls one of his pursuers, a blond child known as Naruto just laughs but continues to stay at the head of the pack. "You runt! You got some nerve trying to steal from me!" Another one of his pursuers howls as the child leaps over a fence and then ducks into a trash can.

Naruto remains in the metal can for a while, clutching the thick magazine that he stole from a man's paper recycle pile. _I wonder if the coast is clear?_ The kid wonders and then slowly moves the lid so that he can see what's happening outside of the bin.

After watching people walk pass, Naruto finally decides that it's safe for him to head home to his apartment. Ignoring the smell that's likely clinging to him, he manages to make it stealthily to his apartment building with the magazine clenched to his skinny chest.

The blond smiles slightly as he closes his apartment door and leans on the door with a sigh. "Now then, let's see what other, fun stuff it has." The young blond says out loud as he walks to the table and sets the thick magazine on the table top.

"Lady Moriko's Mail Order Magical Business, now offering Aging Mushrooms and Jusenkyo Spring Water, huh, I thought magic doesn't exist." Nine year old Naruto Uzumaki wonders after reading the cover. It didn't take long before the blond to open the magazine and begins to read about the various magic that is listed under which section.

_Look at these prices! I guess that I better be careful about using it since I won't be able to afford this stuff all of the time._ The nine year old decides after reading through one section of the magazine.

_Genin Examine_

"Damn it! All my hard work goes down the drain! Stupid old goat! Stupid old cat lady!" The blond curses as he walks home from the Ninja academe after failing the Genin Examine, kicking pebbles and things out of his way.

As the blond makes his home, he walks right into the kitchen to make himself some ramen. It's then that the blond child remembers the package he got from Lady Moriko's catalog. A slow, mischievous smile grows on his face as he remembers what he ordered from said catalog.

"Let's see, I ordered some water from the goat spring and the man spring... What would happen if I really make him an old goat?" The blond muses softly as he moves to get a chair so he can reach the box on the highest shelf.

Once the box is down, the child looks through the contains before taking out the two vials he needed. Before he puts the box back up, he frowns as he takes time to look at the other vials that he bought. _I still got water from the raven spring, tiger spring water, and elk water. I also have that ring of magical immunity that I won on buying that lotto ticket, I really should wear that when handling the Jusenkyo water so that I don't get cursed._

After all, he did have some weasel and fox water three months ago before he used it to curse the two lower grades to transform into said beasts. The class group below his current... err, previous class group were cursed to transform into weasels while the group that's a year younger then that group were cursed to transform into weasels.

True there hadn't been enough water from those two springs to curse all of those students, that was until Naruto added some normal water into the mix and waited three days so that the magic could enchant the newly added water like the instructions suggest to him on how to make more for him to use.

Surprisingly enough, the blond hadn't been cursed when he handled the Jusenkyo water that time since he hadn't worn the ring he won from the lotto that he entered when he placed that order. But since he plans to not just mix normal water into the mix, he wants to mix two of the waters, the goat one and the man one. And so, before putting the box containing the water back, the blond slides the ring onto his right hand.

By the time he puts the box up, Naruto's surprised to see that the ring now seems to fit his finger better then when he slipped it on. After studying the reformatted ring, he then gets off the chair before moving it to get his large wooden bowl out. It didn't take long before he's done needing the chair.

Once the chair is back at the table, Naruto picks up the two vials and studies the paper labels for a few seconds before twisting off the caps and pouring the contains into the large wooden bowl. Unsurprisingly, the two vials vanish from his hand once the task is done. With a sigh, he then uses a glass to add regular tap water to the bowl.

Once that's done, the blond then takes out his kettle and begins to fill it so that he can have some ramen. As he waits, he decides to wait a full week before filling up the water balloons. _And then I'll get my revenge on the teachers at the academe!_ Naruto thinks until the kettle whistles, signally that the water is done boiling.

_Week Later_

_Ok, time for the check lists._ Naruto thinks to himself and glances at the water balloons, then to his ring on his right hand, and then glances into the mirror to make sure that his Henge is completely concealing his appearance. The blond even made sure not to wear a hint of orange and is wearing a head covering and face mask to that even if the Henge is dispelled, they still won't connect him to this incident.

_Alright! It's time to finish this!_ The child mentally declares as he punches the air with his right fist. With that, the blond child posing as a sixteen year old with tri-colored hair, the main part being brown, white, and with a hint of black in the bangs.

It hadn't taken long for him to learn when the teacher of the academe were going to gather to review last year's scores and begin planning for next year. It helps that Naruto sent out a bunch of notices about the snacks being served, even if he had to order and pay for them out of his own pocket change. _Maybe I should try shopping early in the morning, when nobody is fully awake or aware of who I am..._

It wasn't hard to the demon container to get into a crawl space in the ceiling over the meeting. And so, Naruto waits for all of the teacher to arrive. As he's beginning to snooze, the sound of laughter wakes him fully up.

Moving to the slightly open panel, the blond looks down into the room and after a quick count, he finds that every teacher is sitting below. With a smirk, the kid pulls the sack of curse water filled balloons over to him as he pushes the tile over a bit more, giving him a better look at the room.

With a soft chuckle, Naruto slings the strap of the sack over his shoulder and, once he redoes his Henge, he pushes the tile away fully and drops down. Already he's got a water balloon in each hand and tosses them about the room. By the time he's landed on the floor, he's managed to throw at least three balloons.

As the teachers begin to react, he manages to hit a least two of the chuunin teacher squarely in the chest. Within seconds, chaos begins to reign as the teacher notice what happened to those who were hit by said balloons. By the time he sprints out of the room, he manages to hit each chuunin, even the women, although they likely did undergo a gender shift since there didn't seem to be such a thing as spring of drown human at Jusenkyo, only various one like spring of drowned young man, young woman, twins, and etc.

As he manages to dash through the halls, he notices a few elders from when he was younger and had hung around the Hokage for days on end. Before they could react, the water filled balloons hit them and new cries of alarm, surprise, and then horror follow after as he races pass them.

As he finally exits out of the building and begins to head for a local training ground, Naruto briefly glances into the sack to find at least three water balloons left, so when he spots a pair of old ladies who were commonly glaring at him, he uses the last of the balloons on them vanishing into an alley way.

Once he's out of the village, he cancels his Henge and looks for a spot to hide out until night fall.

_Four Days Later_

"Well, that went well." Naruto muses softly under his breath as he watches as various ANBU scout around the roof tops. It made him wonder if he went a little too far... until he recalled how unhelpful most of the teachers were.

_Well, I do wonder what it'll be like sharing classes with students who can transform into weasels?_ Naruto wonders as he watches as a small group of foxes play tag about the street. The very color of their coats mean that they weren't real foxes since he spotted a blond and pink one among the lot.

_Or perhaps the problem is, will I fit in with them?_ The blond wonders as he notices a weasel riding on somebody's shoulder, one that's nattering angrily about something while the person carries the cloths belonging to the cursed academe student. It wouldn't surprise him that if the carrier were to be hit by some cold water that they, too, would turn into a weasel.

_So then, how do I go about this? All things considered, I really don't want to have a water base curse and I only have elk, raven, and tiger water left. Nor can I dose myself with it right now, not when so many people are patrolling the town._ The kid thinks with a slight frown.

_Maybe I should order some spring water of young man and young woman and then forward it to the old man with instructions on how to increase the amount?_ Naruto wonders before just sighing and shaking his head. It didn't take the kid to arrive at his favorite restaurant and order lunch before he heads to one of the training ground to work off his frustration.

_Year Later_

"How can I fail again?!" Naruto snarls at the two examiners with his arms up in the air before he slams them on the table. Unsurprisingly, the pitcher of water falls over and triggers their curse, within seconds he's facing humans with the heads of goats. The two's legs altered to look more like that of a goat's hind legs then human's legs, complete with hooves.

He's not sure just how much of their bodies remain human looking either since they're wearing cloths, thus obscuring his view of the rest of their bodies. The pair seem to emanate a choking feeling, one that takes him a few seconds to throw off, causing him to narrow his eyes at the pair.

"I preformed the Substitution jutsu flawlessly!" He growls as he leans on the table while his hands remain on the table. The silver furred goat-man, Mizuki, just snorts and once the man finishes writing something on a piece of paper. Once Mizuki finishes and holds it up, Naruto reads it.

It wasn't long before he growls, "So what if I failed the written portion?! I know for a fact that my other scores should more then make up for it! Have you forgotten that you punished me by forcing me to read articles out of the academe rule book?! You have no right to fail me!"

_If they don't give me a better reason then that one then I'm going to do something they won't like. I'm sure I can get the goats for it and I know for a fact that I have that lust powder just waiting to be used._ He thinks darkly as he watches as the other teacher, Souta, begins to write something on another, fresh piece of paper.

Naruto snatches the sheet from the brown furred goat-man and reads it, it didn't take long before he frown as a slight flare of disappointment and hopelessness enters into his being for a few seconds before outrage and disgust eclipses those feelings.

"Since when can the empathize move from the jutsu potion of the test?" He asks in a very frosty tone once he gives the pair his best threatening look that he can muster. He flips the sheet over and puts it between the two.

_Ok, scratch that, I'm not just going to do something to these two but to the whole village. I don't give a damn if the old man is like a grandfather to me! I am pissed and I'm sure this has politics all over it, meaning that this rot goes deeper, closer to the core of the village as a whole._ He thinks, he already had a good idea of what kind of items he'll need to not just create a barrier around Hidden Leaf, but put the right kind of restrains on the populous so they can't harm him in any way.

Well, they could harm him emotionally but they're always doing that so it wouldn't be much of a different beyond the fact they can't physically assault him using their bare hands, weapons, or jutsus. He also planned to look into getting warding items so they can't do indirect harm to him as well.

_And I'll finally know why they hate me, heck, I might just look into taking magical classes through the mail if I'm not satisfied with their explanations and reason._ Naruto decides as he waits patiently for either of the two chuunin to explain in greater detail about this new policy concerning the written portion.

As Mizuki finishes writing something, the goat-man holds up the paper for him to read. "You FUCKING BASTARDS!" The ten year old shouts and then tries to jump the pair to strangle them.

He gets intercepted by a pair of ANBU and as he struggles to get at them, cursing them and their lame ass reason for failing him. It didn't take long before the only thing he remembers was something hard hitting him in the back of his head.

A few hours later, he woke to find himself in his apartment. As he tries to open the window next to his bed, he found it won't open. It doesn't take him long before he learns that the door is the same. As he begins to pace angrily around his apartment, he notices a note on the table.

His temper only flares up more once he finishes reading it. "I'm not going to calm down! I am not going to let them get away with this!" Naruto declares as he cripples up the paper and throws it out.

And so Naruto begins to take out his magical catalog, a pen, and an order forum to begin the process of ordering the right items he needs in order to pull off the barrier, the magical restraints, and the indirect harm wards. True, the amount at the end is beyond the cash he has on hand but he's already got an idea of how to get the rest of the cash he needs.

Once that's done, he puts the completed order forum, catalog, and pen away before he moves to make himself something to eat. He's got a whole day to spend within his apartment, meaning that he'll have to wait until tomorrow evening to get the money he needed. As he moves to close the blinds of his window, he pauses to look down at the building around his apartment building.

_They won't get away with this, just wait, they'll wish they had treated me better. I'm done being this village's scapegoat._ He vows.

Although it's true his personality had changed since he stole the catalog, he only got more bitter and angry after buying a set of illusion glasses that were to allow him to 'live' a life where he was normal. While he had treasured the life it showed him, it also help to hit home just how much shit gets dumped onto his feet.

_It might be too late for me to live a normal life, but I can make it so that their lives are never normal either._ He mentally adds as he finally closes the blinds and lies on the bed. Half formed ideas and thoughts play out within his mind as he slowly drifts off into slumber as emotional exhaustion claims him.

The End...?


	2. Of Drunkards and WishBearers: Naruto

**I Don't Own Naruto or Gold Digger!**

**- - - - - - - - - -**

**Naruto**

_My life sucks._ He thinks as he muses about the evens of this day. Not only had he been chased by a group of persistence individuals that were drunk, but they would often stop in a bar, giving him a rest period to recover and hopefully hide his tracks. It didn't work out too well since it seems all they had to do was ask about him to get back on his trail.

Thus, he's now moving through a large trash pile belonging to the Uchiha clan if that fan symbol means anything on the posts about the area. He had manage to hide under an over turned tub while his pursuers walk pass his hiding spot a few times. He hated the smell of the trash but he didn't want to get another beating either.

_What did I ever do to them anyway?_ He wonders privately to himself with a slight scowl on his face as he finally gets out from under the tub, it's been a pretty long time since the group passed by his hiding spot. Before standing, he shakes his head, resisting the urge to shake his blond hair with his hands, hands that have been touching things he rather not know about.

Once he stands up, he begins to glance about for signs of the group. As he walks through the trash pile, he hears some glass bottles clink together. As the urge to run battles the urge to investigate, he glancing around with a wary eye, trying to spot anyone that could be waiting in ambush for him.

Finally, he hears the clink of bottles and he heads off to investigate, his fear defeated by his curiosity. It didn't take long before he arrives at the spot where that group of men were laying about, so busy trying to get drunk that they didn't even glance his way. Although, he can't help but frown as he stares at the number of unopen bottles that were laying about.

_What the Hell?!_ He can't help but think as he spots a hovering being that looks disinterested in the antics of the seven men. "Well, well, well, looks like somebody's going to be striping their hides for drinking before a kid." The being muses once it spots him.

"Why are they drinking?" He finally asks once he's recovered his voice, he couldn't help but wonder why, after all, they haven't even stirred once he came into view. _Spooky._ He can't help but think as he gives the men a quick glance before staring at the strange floating being hovering above the tops of bottles.

"They're trying to drink to get ride of the memories of wishing to know where I came from and why I'm here. I doubt it'll work out well, it's more then likely they'll drink themselves to death." The being tells him, being very causal about it even though the men were sitting on the discarded stuff from the Uchiha clan.

As he looks at each of them, he felt really out of his depth, after all, you don't encounter strange beings who could float in the air. "Ok... Where did those bottles come from?" He asks as he notices how the empty bottles seem to go poof and then as the smoke clears, said bottle is refilled and resealed.

"Do you really _wish_ to know?" The being asks and somehow, he shivers as he shakes his head rapidly. The being pouts but mostly shrugs as it begins to float higher into the air, its arms behind its head.

"So they wished to know stuff and then wished to get smashed?" He asks as a few of them roll over and puke on the ground close to where they're seated. With half closed eyes, the floating being hums in agreement, not altering its pose one bit.

"So, if they got wishes, does that mean I get wishes too?" He asks cautiously as he guess after thinking about it for a few seconds. "That's right!" The being says in a sing-song voice as the being comes to float by him.

"Wow!" He says, stunned that something like that would ever happen to him. "It's like a dream come true!" He exclaims.

The being snorts as its arms move from out behind its head. "Sure, if you say so." The being says in a dry tone, one that he didn't pick up on.

"So, so, are you like, all powerful? If so, can you make people like me?" He asks as he stares up at the being. "Make me powerful enough to become Hokage? Or so that I'd have an unlimited supply of Ramen for the rest of my life?!"

The strange being with rings orbiting parts of its body just looks startled before it laughs. "You're sharp, kid, I'll give you that. Very sharp." The being says and he can't help wonder if he should be proud of that fact or concerned by that comment.

"Anyway, to answer your questions, I'm not, not in the way you want, I don't know what that is, and highly unlikely." The being tells him and he can't help but pout up at the being with his arms crossed over his chest. "Ah, kid, don't do that."

"Well, can't you help me with those anyway?" He asks, totally floored that the Puppy-Eyes-Attack is even working on this being. It's never worked on any of the adults before, so this is really a new experience for him.

"Damn it all! I can't believe I'm getting conned by a six year old!" The being says and he blinks before correcting the being, although he can't help but wonder what 'conned' means. "I'm eight!"

"Really? You don't look it." The being muses before frowning.

Suddenly light engulfs him and within seconds, the being is cursing up a storm. As light spots vanish, he finds a storm beginning to form over head. "..." He frowns, not sure what just happened but it seems that this being has just summoned a storm front.

_I don't know what's more impressive, the foreign language use or the way the men are cringing._ He thinks as he takes a few steps back, away from the seemingly crazed being. _Maybe this isn't such a great idea. . ._

Before he got up the nerve to turn away and race off, the being noticed him for he did so and struggled to calm itself down. Finally, the shoulders droop down as the head falls forward with a sigh. "Look kid, I'm not pissed with you, just what they're have and haven't done."

"Huh?" He asks, kind of surprised. "Ok, since you want help with your wishes, I'll do my best to help with the wording." The being says.

"So, you want people to like you and you want to be top Ninja as well, huh?" The being says and he nods. He calms down as the being goes into a thoughtful pose.

"Well, the strongest physical and often times mystical beings I've come across and had the pleasure to call friends were lycanthropes." The wish granting being muses thoughtfully before turning to regard him. "But first, we need to deal with that second soul residing in your body."

Frowning, he glances about the area, wondering if there's somebody behind him or something. All he saw was the drunken men passed out around them with bottles of sake. "What second soul? I don't see one." He says as he glances at his shadow.

The being sighs before answering, "For one, your whisker marks on your cheeks are the only physical feature always on display that marks you as having a tenant. Technology, you're possessed, by a fox demon I believe."

He feels his mouth moving but no sound is comes out of it. He just stares up at the being, totally stunned by this revaluation. A hand goes to touch one of his cheeks as he tries to recover from this shock to his system.

"How does that interfere with my wish to become Hokage?" He asks finally. The being sighs as it turns to regard those men that were passed out before looking back at him.

"To put it bluntly, having two souls within the same body means that the second soul could try and rebel, to hijack the body if it weren't locked up properly. While the 'lock' on your second soul is safe enough now, in years to come, you might start relying on some of the second soul's 'rent' which will cause the 'lock' to decay faster then it should." The being tells him.

"Oh, ok. So I'll just have to wish that the soul gets its own body when I make a wish to be stronger." He declares and the being seems to blink before smiling slightly as it nods in approval.

"Good point." The strange being with a ring orbiting around it muses. As the being moves to hover before him, it asks, "So, what's your official wish then?"

"Ok, I think this might work. Ok then, I wish to be come a totally awesome lycanthrope while the second soul within my body to have its own lycanthrope body." He says and then asks, "How's that?"

"Good job, I think." The being says and then asks, "Do you even know what a lycanthrope is?"

He shakes his head and the being chuckles softly before glowing. Within seconds, he feels as if he's surrounded by cool water that's not too cold or too hot. He watches as something red begins to appear before him. As he watches it, the red begins to take the form of a fox and slowly, a second tail appear, then a third, a fourth, fifth, it continued until there's a total of nine tails.

_Whoa._ He can't help but think as he watches as the nine-tail fox begins to transform into a tall, red haired human who appears to be an adult. Then, suddenly, the adult falls to the ground, totally naked.

And then, he feels like something's looking at him. "He's easy enough, after all, he's already embraced his 'inner beast'." He hears the being muse softly. "But you, you're at a crossroads in more ways then one."

_What does that mean?_ He wonders and as if reading his mind, the being says, "It means that you're not confide to a certain mold, well, not by much at least."

_Oh, err. . . What is a lycanthrope?_ He wonders and the being explains, once more reading his mind.

"Lycanthropes are a varied race with different clans are known for transforming into a single animal, like a wolf, while another clan transform into a different animal, like a tiger. Also, be careful, you will have the ability to pass on your condition although they'll become your thralls as well." The being says. "It also helps that you want to be 'totally awesome' since that narrows the categories of animal types to Feloidea, Canidae, Ursidae, and perhaps, the Hyaenidae."

_I haven't the slightest clue what those are._ He muses and then suddenly, he gets flashes of different animals, some he's familiar with like tigers, lions, leopards, wolves, foxes, panda bears, brown bears, polar bears, and different kinds of black bears while others. . . Others, others he couldn't even name like this strange long neck one with really round ears.

_I take it they're all meat eating?_ He muses and he can feel the being agreeing with him. _Well then, I won't take dog breeds cause of him._ He mentally nods at the red head laying on the ground. _Which one do you think would fit me?_ He wonders, guessing that the being would hear him.

"Well, I would suggest a feline simply because next to canines, they are a popular." The being informs him. He hums as he tries recalls the different images of big and small cats.

_Well then, I guess I'll take your word for it._ He muses and then thinks for a time, trying to pick something as quickly as he could. _What's up with that cat with the black markings on its muzzle? The one with tawny gray coat._

"Ah, the Cougar, also known as Puma, Mountain Lion, and Panther, the distant sibling of the Cheetah. Use to be found in both parts of the Americas. It's not one of the original lycanthrope races at any rate. If you pick that one, you'd be not just original, but the founder of your clan." The being muses and then he nods.

_Ok then, that's the one I pick, I'll be a cougar lycanthrope._ He decides and with that, it didn't take long before he finds himself on the ground. He shakes his head as well as his tail.

With a frown, he turns and stares at the tail that's hanging behind him. It's then that he notices that not only did he notice things that seem different, but he's different as well. As he glances at his arms, he finds that he's covered in fur that's honey brown. "Freaky." He muses as he notices the claws on his fingers.

As he gets up, he notices that his cloths were now officially ruined as they're hanging on him by threads. As his tongue moves about behind his new set of teeth, he takes his time getting use to his new set of senses. Then, he turns to regard the red head that use to be a nine-tailed fox.

"How come he's out?" He asks and the being answers, "Simple, he was sleeping while all of this was going on."

"Now then, for your second wish, it might be wise to get a large library with a huge amount of fighting techniques that you can learn from." The being says and he frowns, he can't help but bite his lower lip for a few seconds before an impish idea arises.

After all, what's good does having books if you don't understand what's written in it? "I wish to always understand any kind of language even if its written so that I can read those books that are in the library you're thinking of!" He says, feeling proud by his quick response even though the being is staring at him with a dumbfounded expression on its face.

"Wow, that's definitely a good idea. It'll save you from needing to work to translate or learn any new language. You've got some wits there kiddo, make sure you polish them occasionally." The wish granting being says and within seconds, light engulfs him for a second or two before things return to normal.

"I'll try." He promises the being, feeling kind of out of his depths with the complement. "Anyhow, where's this library that I kind of wished for?" He asks as he glances around.

"Don't worry about it, you'll find it when you need it. So kiddo, any thoughts as to what your third wish is?" The being asks and he admits, "Not really, if you're right then I'm powerful and I now have access to jutsus! I'm so going to become the greatest Hokage this village has seen since it was founded!"

The being smiles slightly before admitting, "You're pretty easy to please." He shrugs, not really caring about that, after all, he's got what he needs to succeed, he just needs now is time to train.

"I know! I wish you can live and do whatever you want!" He says and the being laughs. "Sorry kiddo, but I'm already doing that so it doesn't count." The being admits after finally done laughing.

"But don't you have any friends to spend time with? I mean, wouldn't that be better then going around granting people wishes?" He asks curiously.

"I'm sorry to break it to you kid, but they're in a different dimension then me and the way closed up a while ago. For all I know, they could have dropped dead of old age." The being says with a sigh.

"Oh..." He feels pretty sad about this and then as he thinks about it, he kind of got an idea about something. "Hey, I know! I could wish I can travel to different dimensions, that I can take people with me when I do so and that I'm not ever missed in Hidden Leaf while I'm off adventuring to these different worlds! That way, I can take you home as a way of thanks for the wishes you gave me." He tells the being and after a few seconds as the being gets this strange inward gaze, the being begins to nod.

"I believe that it could work. Although, it's unlikely that you'll age during your time away from this dimension since if you aren't the right age then they might think something's up." The being tells him and he nods his head rapidly. "Ok then, that's my wish."

And with that, he lights up once more and he suddenly knew what to do to exit out of this dimension. Straightening up, he touches a new source of energy within him and within seconds, he and the being winks out of existence as he focuses on the 'taste' of home that clings to the strange being's magic. It didn't take long before they wink into existence in a desert.

"Jade... We're on Jade." The being says softly, amazement oozing off of the being.

_**The End? To be continued . . . maybe.**_


	3. Worlds Apart: Naruto Prolong

**_)=(_**

_**Falling, falling is all I seem to know. Even with my eyes open all I see is darkness around me. I don't know why this is happening, only that here I am, falling through darkness, waiting to hit the bottom.**_

_**Then, suddenly this light seems to spark into existence. Gasping, I can't help but bring my arms up to my face, trying to block out the light as it begins to surround me. And then, finally, darkness takes me as bird song reaches my ears.**_

- = -

He can't help but groan as he tries to turn onto his side. "You awake sunshine?" He hears his guardian, Kaelin Maemi say. He cracks an eye open as one of his ears turns to face the black Wolf. With a swish of his tail, he replies, "Just because my coat is golden doesn't mean my disposition is."

He growls as he feels Kaelin pulls the sheets off of him, he turns to regard the taller Cyantian. "Up and at it, Kirit! You do remember that school starts today, don't you?" Kaelin remarks as the Wolf moves through his closet, likely making sure he's hung up his clean cloths and that his dirty cloths aren't lining the floor of his closet.

Finally, he can't help but surrender to Kaelin's seemingly endless patience. After all, for as long as he's known the black Wolf, Kaelin's always seemed to out last his bouts of rebellion and stubbornness. _It's like dealing with a wall._

As he rolls once more to the side, he runs his left hand through the bright blond spiked hair covering his head. Once his feet touch the floor, he heads off towards the bathroom to have a shower, knowing full well that Kaelin woke him up a good three units before he needed to leave for school. It allows him to not just have time to shower and to get dry, but for him to do some of his chores and review his homework.

Once he's done in the bathroom, he heads back to his room to get dressed before heading down stairs to check on breakfast and then begin on his morning chores. "Smells as good as always, Kaelin!" He says once he's by the kitchen door, picking up the bucket as Kaelin just nods in acknowledgment, he then heads outside to feed Enfys and Ifor, the two Shivae that guard the property while they're away.

"Hey Ifor! Where's Enfys?" He asks the teal colored Shivae with white tiger stripes as the male comes at him once he exits out of the second set of doors. He gives Ifor some of the large chunks of diced fruit being careful not to let Ifor dump the bucket.

He whistles for Enfys to come for their breakfast. Once he reaches their bowls, Enfys finally comes towards him at a trot, causing the tags on her collar to click. The brighter colored Enfys soon joins Ifor by the bowls as he dishes out the contains of the bucket. He's glad that neither of the two Shivae have wings or else he might find himself tackled to the ground by just entering into the yard.

Once the food bowls were filled, he picks up the two water bowls so that he can fill them, leaving the bucket by the two Shivae. He knew that when he returns, one of the Shivae will likely have their head in the bucket as they lick the juices from within it. _So predictable._ He muses with a soft smile as he arrives back with the two bowls filled with water to find Enfys' head stuck in the bucket.

It didn't take much to get the bucket off of her head and then he carefully takes Enfys' collar so that he can clear her head off of the fruit juices that were likely matting her short fur. The scent of the diced sweet fruit causes Ifor to follow them. "It's a good thing you look pretty, Enfys since you cause so much trouble." He tells the brightly rainbow colored Shivae as he wets a cloth before wiping Enfys' head down.

Once he's done with the Shivae, he takes the bucket and drops the bucket down by the door before checking on the animals in the barn. Luckily, he didn't have much to do with them other then turning on the water flow and checking the feed on the computer. He notices that all of the animals that were alive yesterday were alive today.

Once that's done, he then goes to water the garden, once that's done, he washes his hands before heading into the house once more. He drops the bucket off by the kitchen door before heading into the dinning room. His stomach growls at not just the smell of food but at the sight of it.

"I think Adit will be coming to claim his brood mares this afternoon since Udell seems to have lost interest in them." Kaelin tells him and he nods, Udell is a very popular stud that Kaelin use to race some rots ago, long before he came into Kaelin's care. "You'd think at his age Udell wouldn't be so youthful in his duties." He jokes as they pass a few dishes between themselves, slowing filling their plates.

"I'll miss him when he's gone." Kaelin says and he nods, although Udell and him have yet to get along, he will miss the moody stallion when his time comes. "Udell's daughter, Damia's going to have her first foal soon, isn't she?" He asks, Damia's racing history had long since over shadowed her father's by winning five more races then what Udell had.

"That's what Ganit says, whether she'll go ahead with it is another story altogether." Kaelin says and he nods, trusting Kaelin to keep an eye on not just the sons and daughters of Udell but also their owners. "Are you going to try Jacey in the next race?"

Kaelin looks like he's going to have to think about it and soon, it's time for him to leave for school.

x )( x

"Elsu! You finish eating?" Wajid asks from the hall. His jaws click as he turns to look at the door, it wasn't long before Wajid Haldis, a Cougar and his primary care giver, appears at the door frame.

Glancing at the dishes, he can safely say that he cleaned them. "I believe so." He answer. "So I see." Wajid says in bemusement and he just sighs. "Go get ready, I'll clean up." Wajid says and with a nod, he gets up out of his seat and heads into the hallway, heading for his room to grab his practice sword before heading out to get to his weapon class.

He nods to Cait as he passes her in the hallway while she heads to the bathroom. _I see why Wajid would want to clean the table by himself._ He muses as Wajid's daughter pauses by the door and gives herself a shake, he can only guess what kind of night maneuvers Cait had been put through.

Once he has his got the wooden sword, he remembers to grab his pack of changed cloths in case he ruins the ones he's wearing. A quick glance into the mirror, he still sighs at the sight of his reflect. He's a very unique male Utahraptor since males were suppose to be bright and colorful, he's anything but.

With a shake of his head, he snaps out of his thoughts and heads out of the house at a fast walk. As soon as he's at the gate, he speeds up as he races down the street to the lesson field where he hooks up with the slowly forming class, most of them were Mounties although like him, there were others that weren't receiving the training. _It's funny how despite the fact that most of them have been training since they were young kits or cubs and that within two rots, I've taken the top position within the class._

Although his specialty had once been in throwing knives and unarmed combat, it didn't take him long before he's proficient with hand weapon. Not only did he surprise his instructors with how quickly he learnt to use such things, he surprised himself as well, it's the reason why nobody ever made mention of him being trained for another line of work, he's a natural when it comes to fighting. He displayed a grace during practice that few could match even though Utahraptor aren't known to be graceful moving.

Soon instructor Lakin appears, causing his classmate to quiet down. "Good morning teacher." They chanted once they're all formed up into rows. "Good morning students." The Serval type Mounty says to them.

And so began his class.

- = -

_**'How did it come to this? Why couldn't he just let me go?' I can't help but think as I fall through this darkness but as time goes by, I find it hard to care about how and why this happened, only what should I do in the here and now.**_

**_Time is meaningless now and slowly I feel as if I'm being hollowed out. I find it hard to remember my name, let alone who my parents are... were, whatever. All that seems to matter is the darkness and the fact that I'm falling through the air. As I grew use to this feeling of emptiness that accompanies the blackness around me, I turn my head to look down._**

_**Suddenly I see something trying to spark below and then suddenly that something catches. Light rapidly displaces the darkness that surrounds me and I can't help but try to cry out at the brightness of it all. In the end, I can't seem to find it and I find myself forced to close my eyes, but that doesn't help so I bring up my arms in hopes that it'll help block out the light.**_

_**But still the light haunts me until I finally black out.**_

**_)=(_**


	4. Wandering Nin Camp: Naruto

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

"Heiwa, do you read me?" A ninja code named Kibou says softly into his radio as he remains crouched in a large tree at the edge of a field. There's a bandanna wrapped around the young ninja's head, hiding his bright blond hair from sight while the lower part of his face is covered by a scarf.

_"Loud and clear, Kibou."_ The ninja code named Heiwa says over the radio. _"Nothing stirring over here."_ Heiwa adds and Kibou smiles slightly.

"How about you, Yabou?" Kibou asks softly, his sharp eyes noticing a few rabbits hopping about the field before him, causing him to relax slightly even though a few of them glance in Kibou's direction.

_"Nothing new to report."_ The bored voice of Yabou states and he could just imagine the look of boredom on the Nara's face.

"Alright then, let's proceed another kilometer and stay alert. There was a sighting of a Mist nin in this area last week, at least, according to the report squad seven submitted. Move out!" Kibou says over the radio and with answering, 'Hai!' the line dies.

It didn't take long for Kibou to race through the meadow, scarring the rabbits and some birds. Once Kibou makes it to the edge of the meadow, he pauses on a large rock to look around before darting forward once more to leap onto a branch of a tree. As the young ninja reaches a river, he stop to check the position of the sun.

After a few minutes, Kibou finally leaps over the river and continues until he reaches a patch of rocks. As he inspects the ground, he finds a few old animal tracks remaining from the time it rained. Kibou hums thoughtfully at the tracks before taking his time to glance around the grassy ground.

With nothing looking out of place, Kibou continues on. He stops at the sight of a dead body strung up on a branch, a blood stained headband with the symbol of Grass on the ground below. The body itself looked like it's been there for a while, not that it hadn't been touched as he did disturb a few crows on arriving at the site.

_Looks like it's been a week since it's been put here._ Kibou muses and begins to examine the site a bit before trying to find signs of where the fight had taken place. Though it took him from his patrol path, he did find it and using a kunai, he marks an oak before continuing to the edge of the patrol area.

Once positioned on a large tree, he says into the radio, "Everyone at the target location?"

_"Yabou, here, and other then a few old traps, nothing unusual to report."_ Yabou says and within seconds, Heiwa reports in. _"Everything clear on this end."_

"Found a dead Grass nin and the fight site. Mark an oak eight miles sought west from the body." He tells the two, usually they would number four but Tenten had been among those who came down with the flu.

"Alright then, we'll meet up at point C and head into camp together." Kibou says into the radio and once that's greeted by a pair of 'Hai' he lets go of the transmitter. Glancing around once more, Naruto Uzumaki, currently code named Kibou and leader of squad thirteen, takes one last glance around before heading to hook up with the others.

Camp

"I see." Iruka says to them with a frown slowly appearing as the seconds tic by. "I'll alert Anko, I'm sure she'll want to take a look at the body and at the battle field." The brown haired man with a single scar on his nose muses.

"Are we clear to go now, sir?" Heiwa asks and Iruka nods. As they turn to go, they remember to take off their radios before leaving the tent. "It's good to be free!" Souta, AKA Heiwa, says as the slightly older ninja puts his arms around Shikamaru and his shoulders.

"I'm going to visit Tenten before heading to the bath house." Naruto tells the pair, Souta hums thoughtfully in agreement and Shikamaru just sighs. "What about you two? What do you plan tonight?" He asks, glancing first at Shikamaru and then at Souta.

"Well, I'm thinking of going to see if Ai's up for a night under the stars." Souta says as the teen moves pass Shikamaru and himself, stars already in his eyes. "I will have a picnic basket fill with her favorites and then, as I feed her, she will then slowly pull me in and..." Souta trails off with his hands balled together and under his chin.

Shikamaru rolls his eyes while he just grins widely at wistful teen. "But first you need her to accept your invitation." Shikamaru mutters and within seconds, it's like a black cloud descended upon Souta.

Souta upper body is hunched over with his knees right under his chin. He swore he can see navy blue spirals hanging over the teen while Souta's body seems to be totally white in color. "Not again..." Naruto groans softly.

"It's not like he has much of a chance with her." Shikamaru points out. The bleak aura around Souta seems to darken even more and he sighs as he scratches the side of his head, trying to think of a way to cheer the thirteen year old up.

"You just like dashing his hopes, Shikamaru. It's not as if you have a girlfriend." Naruto points out in a dry manner, hoping that Souta was lost enough not to hear that. "Right, Souta?" He adds in hopes of gagging Souta's state of mind.

"That's... true." Souta says and the black aura about the teen seems to become a dark shade of blue while the spirals of despair have vanish from sight. The whiteness has become gray in color, although it's effects have yet to fade, which means that Souta might still descend into depression.

"I bet Tenten will be able to give Souta some advise on how to win Ai's heart, after all, she did take those seduction classes that Anko teaches." He says with a snap of his fingers as if he just thought about it. That seemed to do the trick since within seconds, Souta has taken his hands into his own and while looking right into his face while tears seem to stream down his checks.

"Oh Naruto! You're such a good and thoughtful friend!" Souta declares very passionately. _I feel like I should say, I'm glad you feel that way but I'm not like that._ Naruto admits guiltily as he attempts to pull his hands from Souta's iron hold on his hands.

"Whatever." Shikamaru declares and with that, the Nara heads off, leaving him alone with a very happy Souta. "See you later, Shikamaru! Try not to ruin any more dreams while we're apart!" He calls after the likely bored ninja.

"Away ho!" Souta declares, making sure to keep a tight hold of his left wrist and practically dragging him through the camp, not giving him a chance to match the pace. _At least he doesn't idolize Gai._ Naruto can't help but admit mentally as they arrive at the medical tent.

As soon as Souta lets got of his wrist, he follows at a slower pace as he rubs his wrist. _I hope Tenten will forgive me for unleashing Souta while in this state on her._ The blond thinks as he walks pass various beds on his way to where Tenten and Souta are.

"Hey Tenten, how's it going?" Naruto asks and tries not to wince at the look in Tenten's eyes when she turns to look at him. "Naruto! How _are_ **you**?" Tenten asks in a fake sweetness tone.

He tries not to gulp on hearing how the only female in the squad emphasis certain parts as she addresses him. "I'm not sure, Tenten, I saw a week old body hanging from a branch." Naruto tells her and Tenten's eyes light up while Souta just shrugs.

"Enough about the dead body, so it means that we'll be moving sooner then expected, that doesn't help me with **my** problem." The brunet states in a mightier then thou tone.

"Here's an idea, Anko teaches seduction, right? Maybe if you ask her nicely, she'll teach you to seduce Ai." Naruto says in a manner of fact tone.

Souta's eyes light up at the thought while Tenten mouths 'thank you' at him. "You're right! Why didn't I think of that? Oh, here I come Ai! Soon we shall be husband and wife!" Souta declares and pushes pass him to leave.

He watches as a pair of 'doctors' begin to shadow Souta. "Well, it seems that Kouki and Jakin decided to continue their study of Souta's behavior then messing with your guys' food." Naruto muses.

"Not likely, I spotted Seto and Cheza speaking with Daiki earlier. We're likely already screwed in that area." Tenten informs him and he just shakes his head.

"Maybe Wami will intervene?" The blond muses, trying to brighten Tenten's mood. In response to his idea, Tenten just chuckles and he finally remembers that Wami had been reassigned to the main body of their 'wandering' nation.

"So, you think you'll be up and ready for when we break camp?" He asks, deciding to stir clear of any kind of wishful thinking that is brought up at the thought of their 'village' finally finding a home and setting up as a stable ninja village once more.

"I would have been discharged at noon if it weren't for Aiji showing up and injecting me with something experimental substance." Tenten says and he just sighs at the thought of the so call head of the unoffical scientific division that had formed when he was about seven years of age.

"You'd think that by now, Aiji and Riichi would have been reassigned to the main body." Tenten says before adding, "They are of proper age."

He nods in agreement as a hand goes to the gray cloth that holds the metal face plate that displays a leaf symbol, it's around his left arm. "Well, think of it this way, when they are ever sent to the front, who'd to say that the division would break apart? I shutter to imagine having Isa or Orimi as head of that group." He says and everyone within hearing range shutters at the thought of those two teenage girls at the head of their 'scientists'.

"Oh Kami, I hope I'm not around to see that come to pass." One of the other flu victims state, a sentiment echoed by the rest. A few likely started to silently cry while curling up into a tight ball.

"Anyway..." Naruto says after a few minutes to silence between Tenten and himself. "Yea, you better go before somebody decides to check your temperature." Tenten says lightly and he flashes her a grin as he nods in agreement.

And so, on his way out of the medical tent, the blond feels something tugging at his pants. Glancing down he finds Anko and Iruka's four year old daughter holding her favorite stuff animal with one hand while the other is holding onto his pants. He sighs as he bends down and picks the young girl up.

"I just know you'll make a good tracker when you grow up, Erisa. You're always find me when I'm in camp..." The young preteen muses out loud while the brunet decides to dig her head into the side of his neck as he begins to walk towards the nursery tent to put young Erisa back with her peers.

"Look who found me!" Naruto says in a sing song voice as he walks into the tent to find Remika and Yasunori holding a toddler each. "Erisa!" The pair of fourteen year olds cry out at the same time, both relieved to see the four year old.

As he drops her in the play pen, the seals flicker slightly, confirming that Erisa belonged with the other babies and toddlers. "She's going to give the wrong somebody a heartache one of these days..." Yasunori mutters as the teen comes over to make sure that Anko's four year old is fine, with no scratch on her.

"She'll make one hell of a ninja when she's older." Remika mutters as she moves to the changing table. "I'm sure Iruka is just so darn proud of her." Naruto says in a fake sweet tone and the pair chuckle.

"So, when does your squad get to do baby duty?" Yasunori asks and he shrugs. "Likely when we're on the move." He tells the other blond.

"I take it somebody found a body?" The teenager asks and he sighs as he nods. His right hand moving under the bandanna as he tells the two, "Grass nin this time. Pretty messy way to send a message too."

"Well, see you, Naruto. Thanks for bringing her back to us." Remika says and he just grins as he replies, "All in the days work of Naruto Uzumaki, ninja of the Wandering Ashes." He bows for effect, most of the two through four year olds giggle at his sweeping bow.

"Brat." Remika says fondly while Yasunori just waves him off. And once he's out of the tent, he sighs before heading to the tent he shares with four other twelve year olds.

"Home sweet tent." He muses as he touches the locking seal. Within seconds, the door appears and he pulls the leather back so that he can step into the surprisingly spacious tent.

"I'm so glad space seals were invented." The blond admits as he hears the door seal air tight behind him as he takes off his sandals before stepping onto the wooden floor that's about half a foot in height off of the ground.

"Naruto? Naruto! Welcome home buddy, old pal!" Norio calls out, coming out of the office unit attached to their tent. "How much did you lose this time, old buddy?" Naruto asks as he moves to rest on the feather filled bag.

"Now, now, who says I lost a bet?" The white haired Genjutsu user asks and he just gives the other a wary look. Norio chuckles in a nervous fashion while his left hand rubs his right arm.

"Which of us mentioned anything about a bet?" Naruto points out and Norio collapses onto the wooden chair. "Oh fine, I need you to autograph something to give to Sana from squad nineteen."

"Thanks it?" The blond asks one of his roommates. "Of course that's it! Would I lie to my dearest and **bestest** _buddy_ in the world?" The emerald eye preteen asks, going so far as to bat his eyes.

"Yes." Ouji says blankly as the tan, blue haired preteen comes to sit down on another feather filled bag, joining the current conversation. _I really wish they wouldn't group us by our names._ Naruto thinks as he cracks his neck while remaining in the feather filled bag.

"Is that why you were in the office, Norio? You were going to try and forge my signature?" Naruto asks and Norio just laughs in a hearty fashion while Ouji adds his two cents.

"Like anyone would pass Norio's chicken scratch as your hand writing, Naruto." And Norio shouts out, "Hey! I'll have you know my handwriting is getting better! Soon it'll be a work of art!"

He can't help but smile lazily as he watches the two bicker, it reminds him of watching Tenten and Shikamaru going at when they're on an away mission. After a while, it quiets down and he gets up out of the feather bag.

"Is there any hot water, Ouji?" Naruto asks the slightly younger nin. "Plenty left for a good soak." The blue haired nin says and he flashes Ouji a smile as he heads for that part of the tent.

_Yip, I love the fact that you can turn a small tent into a low level house, complete with a bathroom, office, and separate, **sound proof** bedrooms._ Naruto declares as he begins to run the hot water to fill the tub before beginning to undress.

_Three Days Later_

"You know, I really find these suit to be itchy." Heiwa complains as they guard the hovering nursery tent that's hovering above this small, seal covered wagon that Yabou is in charge of pulling. All around them, similar wagons are being used to move the more stationary tents, the ones that took too long to take apart and to rebuild in a single day.

"What's a little discomfort when it erases any trace that we were here? After all, this suit is the reason why our tracks in the dirt and mud tend to refill themselves back in after we've stepped in it. For the grass under our heels to unbend itself. Just suck it up, Heiwa, its not like we use these suits often." Jihi says flatly to Heiwa.

"I know, I know, it's just that, why couldn't they find a way to apply the seals without having us wear a full body suit?" Heiwa says in a whinny voice. Kibou and Yabou just sigh in unison as they tried not to pay much mind to Heiwa and Jihi's conversation, after all, there were other conversation that were much more interesting to listen in to.

Like... say a certain the history lesson that Iruka is giving the age group between the ages of five and nine.

"Though Hidden Leaf has fallen, many of its ninja have taken to scattering themselves among the many villages of our world. Some of the more notable clans found towns that welcome them with open arms but most were given a cold shoulder." Iruka says to the large class.

"Like the Uchiha!" A girl's voice calls out while a few called out Hyuuga. He smiles slightly at that, after all, the Uchiha had been the main clan to have aided Orochimaru in destroying Hidden Leaf village.

_Although the Hyuuga are just a bunch of snobs they are a family that creates its own slaves out of their own cousins, who knows what they'd resort to now that they don't have a village catering to their interests?_ Kibou muses, not that they had to worry about either clan for rumors say the Hidden Sound village and Hidden Cloud have bounties on the two clans, preferably for living members of the two clans.

_It's a good thing it's not our problem, we have enough to worry about as it is without already trying to keep our own ninja out of the public eye._ Kibou thinks grimly. _It helped that the Hyuuga slapped our offer for aid so they don't have anyone to blame but themselves for their current misfortune and grief. Well, beyond those clans that followed the Uchiha's lead in bringing ruin to Hidden Leaf._

"Within two years, those few remaining ninja began to band together in the face of threats from other ninja, be they wandering ninja, missing nins, and villaged ninja. During that time, they were also gaining young run-away children who's dreams it were to become ninja began to hunt down our, then, scattered camps, eager for a taste of control over their life." Iruka says and the blond glances over at Heiwa for a few seconds before refocusing on where he's going.

"That's why this camp was formed, to train those kids!" A boy's voice calls out with a number of voices start speaking all at once. Kibou sighs, he didn't fully recall those early days, he had been about two or three back then.

As the young voices quiet down, Iruka then continues his lesson. "During that period, we did try our best to give them the education they eagerly wanted, but as we slowly began to get organized and found that we needed a separate camp to not just house but train our children and those looking for training."

"They couldn't spare many adults to the task but in time, the council decided it gave the students and younger ninja a chance to learn by doing. They decided that from age ten and up, the students will become active ninja and allowed them to form their own squads with the adults getting final approval of the teams." Iruka and with that, the young man then begins to review what work is divided, giving the easier tasks to the less experienced teams, like doing night sentry duty, inner camp message duty, hunting duty, and water runs.

"I kind of miss hunting duty." Jihi muses and he nods in agreement. "Good practice at hitting a moving target." Yabou adds, showing that he's not the only one who had listened in on the lesson that Iruka had begun.

"Still, haven't you ever wonder what kind of life we'd have if Hidden Leaf hadn't been invaded?" Heiwa wonders and he snorts, which is followed by Yabou's own snort. Jihi just seems to sigh.

"Well, for one, you wouldn't have become a ninja, Heiwa, it was rare for them to accept anyone that wasn't living in Hidden Leaf at the time. I highly doubt it would have changed its policy by the time you slipped out of your grandparent's house." Kibou says to the teen.

"I also doubt that we would have the numbers we have now either. After all, they were very choosy about who becomes a genin." Yabou adds.

"Or maybe its better to say that the Jonin didn't want a team. After all, those guys who had the final say in it, it didn't likely help that they were so darn choosy about it. But then, they likely had to keep an eye on just how many ninjas they're allow to have in the first place." Kibou points out.

"Take Lee Rock in squad one for example, he wouldn't have been a good choice to become a genin under the old system because he can't use external chakra before that operation. True, he could have become a taijutsu specialist but who'd give him the time of day when there would be plenty of other kids that wouldn't demand so much attention?" Jihi says and he nods in agreement.

"While it sucks that we don't have our own village to settle in and fortify, you have to admit that there are benefits about our situation. It makes it difficult for them to launch any kind of organized attack on us because we're pretty much always on the move. We'd be lucky to spend a year in any given area, at our worst, we'd spend a good two month in a spot." Yabou picks up the conversation.

"We also don't have to worry about submitting to the scrutiny of citizens who come to set up shop in this fictional village." Jihi adds. Heiwa just seems to sigh, although as the blond glances around, he notices a few seem to be listening in on their conversation.

"You could also say our ability with seals is more advanced then any other ninja village because we're more likely to experiment with them in hopes of benefiting our life style." Kibou says thoughtfully before he adds, "I know I'm glad for those space seals on our tents and lets not forget the dimensional wards our scouts set up when they reach a new campsite; they allow us to create a huge amount of space in a very small, secluded area."

"Hover seals for our most important buildings." Uta from squad fifty-three muses from his far right. "Tape seals for stealing the surplus out of some greedy noble's private warehouse." Igen from squad five adds from behind them.

"Fine, fine, you guys win." Heiwa declares hurriedly as he's about to add something else for everyone to think about. Kibou glances at the older boy, feeling slightly guilty about overwhelming him with a lot of facts.

_Although, the older generation likely wishes things never changed, that Orochimaru never attacked Hidden Leaf when he did._ Kibou admits as he once more picks up Iruka's voice as the older ninja goes on to explain the finer points of what the young, ninja to be will likely experience when they're old.

Finally the silence among the guards is broken as Uta from squad fifty-three begins to sing a song. _Catchy tune._ The vessel of the Kyuubi admits as a few others begin to pick up the lyrics. A few of the genjutsu users cast a jutsu so that some instruments accompany their singing. Each of the casters helping to keep it going as the tune continues to gain in popularity.

_While not perfect, it's better then dwelling on what ifs and what could have beens._ Kibou muses as he feels his shoulder grow less tense as the song continues, it wouldn't be long before they're singing another tune either.

**The End . . .**


	5. The List Part 1: Digimon

**I don't own Digimon.**

o - o - o - o - o

_Kari sighs as she drops down onto the couch in the living room. It had been a particularly trying day, it didn't help that Davis had been trying out a new look and attitude either. Not that Kari blamed Davis, well, not fully since her brother had likely been the one Davis had turned to in hopes of creating a new look._

_After a few minutes, Kari's D-Terminal begins to beep and it takes Kari a few seconds to realize where the device was. As Kari opens it and goes through the routine of checking her messages, something slowly begins to come forth from the depths of her psychic . . . Though it would take a few weeks before Kari would give in and begin to create:_ Things That The Chosen Children Are No Longer Allowed to Do: _(The List for short)_

#1) Tai is hereby forbidden to help Davis in his pursue of new looks and attitudes. ~ Kari

#2) Davis no longer has a valid excuse for not calling TK by his proper nickname. ~ Kari

#3) Tai is not allowed to eat candy while watching a horror flick; it keeps him up at night. ~ Kari

#4) Tai and Matt are not allowed to start any more pranking war between themselves. ~ Kari

#5) People are to stop putting hair dye and food coloring into Matt's shampoo; even if it is funny to see. ~ Kari

#6) Stop bribing Gatomon with catnip; you know who you are. ~ Kari

#7) Agumon is not a lighter; so stop encouraging him to light those bath candles. ~ Kari

#8) Stop making dog jokes when Gabumon is around; he's beginning to get a certain glint in his eye. ~ Kari

#9) Stop trying to set Joe up on blind dates on the excuse he needs to get laid; he'll do it when he's ready. ~ Kari

#10) Stop using Izzy's computer to watch porn; his mom went through his address history and is beginning to worry about Izzy's taste... in _**men**_. ~ Kari

_Kari couldn't help the short chuckle at the last rule, after all, Sora and Yolei do prefer using Izzy's laptop and home computer because they download images faster then their own computers._

_And so Kari puts the finishing touches on her website, never suspecting the chaos she had just unleashed throughout the multi-verse._

o - o - o - o - o

_As Kari finishes checking through her e-mails, the Digidestine of Light moves to check out her latest website where her list of rules is currently posted._

#1) Tai is hereby forbidden to help Davis in his pursue of new looks and attitudes. ~ Kari  
a) That's so mean, Kari-Chan! ~ Davis  
b) So true, Davis. ~ Tai  
c) So true! ~ Mimi  
d) You go girl! ~ Sora  
e) Finally! It's in writing! ~ Yolei

_Kari couldn't help but stare in astonish the screen before moving onto rule number 2._

#2) Davis no longer has a valid excuse for not calling TK by his proper nickname. ~ Kari  
a) Arrg! Bad Kari, like I'll ever call CK by his real name. ~ Davis  
b) Well, sis does have you there, Davis. ~ Tai  
c) Tai! How could you say that? ~ Davis  
d) I didn't say it, I typed it! ^_^ ~ Tai

_"Smooth Tai, real smooth." Kari mutters as she continues on to the next one, though there doesn't seem to be any comments for rule three._

#4) Tai and Matt are not allowed to start any more pranking war between themselves. ~ Kari  
a) Ok, we might have gone a little too far with the last one... ~ Tai  
b) A LITTLE?!?! You guys replaced my MOUSSE with GLUE! Repeatedly, I might add! ~ Davis  
c) I thought I was replacing Jun's hair gel... Oops, my bad. ~ Tai  
d) You bakas! Well, at least you're not allowed to do it again, so, ha! ~ Davis  
e) Like we're agreeing to follow any of these rules. ~ Tai  
f) And your own sister went to all this trouble to make this list, tsk tsk. ~ Sora  
g) Yea, Tai! This rule seems very reasonable! ~ Yolei

#5) People are to stop putting hair dye and food coloring into Matt's shampoo; even if it is funny to see the results. ~ Kari  
a) Oh boy, is he going to have a fit when he gets on a computer and finds this site... ~ Tai  
b) All the more reason not to do it! ~ Sora  
c) Or when TK finds it and reports it to Matt... ~ Tai  
d) True. ~ Sora

#6) Stop bribing Gatomon with catnip; you know who you are. ~ Kari  
a) Ah, but I already have her a month advance payment to destroy all those love letters that find their way into your locker. ~ Tai  
b) You mean that's what's happening to those letters I've been dropping into Kari's locker?! ~ Davis  
c) Here's a better question, why are you putting love letters into Kari's locker when you could have just hand them to her in person? ~ Yolei

_'Figures that's what they were up too.' Kari muses with a sigh, though the brunet had to agree with Yolei on that before continuing on._

#8) Stop making dog jokes when Gabumon is around; he's beginning to get a certain glint in his eye. ~ Kari  
a) But we're still allowed to give him raw hide bones and doggie biscuits, right? ~ Tai  
b) I believe that falls under making dog jokes. I also believe that Matt will want to have a conversation with you about what's considered proper respect towards the other partnered Digimon, Tai. ~ Sora  
c) You're probably right. Sorry Matt. ~ Tai

#9) Stop trying to set Joe up on blind dates on the excuse he needs to get laid; he'll do it when he's ready. ~ Kari  
a) Ah, but he really does need to relax and getting laid would really help him in that. ~ Tai  
b) So, does that mean your volunteering to help him? ~ Mimi  
c) Sure! I know this great girl in my class would love to meet him. ~ Tai  
d) I don't think Mimi means by introducing girls to Joe, Tai. -_- ~ Sora  
e) Oh boy, Tai! What have you gotten yourself into this time? ~ Davis  
f) Oh come on! What else could she mean? ~ Tai  
g) NO WAY! Not even if we were the last two guys on the planet! ~ Tai  
h) But you just said you would help. ~ Mimi  
i) I believe Joe's going to be very horrified when he finds this site and reads all of this. ~ Sora

#10) Stop using Izzy's computer to watch porn; his mom went through his address history and is beginning to worry about Izzy's taste... in _**men**_. ~ Kari  
a) Then who has been using my son's computer to look at porn? ~ Yoshie  
b) Tai apparently. ~ Mimi  
c) I do not look at men like that! ~ Tai  
d) I don't know, Tai, you did agree to help Joe get laid. ~ Davis  
e) I think Sora and Yolei might know more about this rule then the rest of us. ~ Mimi  
f) Mimi! ~ Sora  
g) It's not like any of us sneaks over to his apartment all the time... ~ Yolei  
h) I see. ~ Yoshie

_'Looks like someone dodged the bullet.' Kari muses and then Kari notices the time. Within seconds she turns off the computer screen and goes into a flurry of activity as she collect her things for high school. "Bye Gatomon!" Kari cries as she finishes in the kitchen and flies out of the door._

_Meanwhile..._

_"Things That The Chosen Children Are No Longer Allowed to Do. Weird, must be a fan site." Terriermon muses to himself. As the little Digimon begins to read the List, Terriermon couldn't stop a smirk that slowly grew on his face. "Hehehe, let's see if I can't liven this conversation up. Although these guys are really dedicated to their on-line role playing."_

**Duh, duh, dah!**


	6. The List Part 2: Digimon

**I don't own Digimon.**

o - o - o - o - o

_"Hey Henry!" Terriermon says from his position by his Tamer's collection of computer monitors. "You really need to learn to clean up after yourself, Terriermon." Henry says before the teen heads out of the room once more._

_Within seconds something beeps and it didn't take the Digimon long to bring up the latest update on that fansite that he founded around lunch._

#1) Tai is hereby forbidden to help Davis in his pursue of new looks and attitudes. ~ Kari  
a) That's so mean, Kari-Chan! ~ Davis  
b) So true, Davis. ~ Tai  
c) So true! ~ Mimi  
d) You go girl! ~ Sora  
e) Finally! It's in writing! ~ Yolei  
f) Yea, you should be asking a girl's advice when it comes to cloths! ~ Terriermon  
g) So very true, although I'm kind of surprised to find a Digimon making such a comment. ~ Mimi  
h) Terriermon... how's things on your end? ~ Yolei

_Terriermon blinks before adding his reply to that rule, kind of disappointed that they hadn't gone all gooy at the thought of having a Tamer's partner adding comments to any of these rules. 'I wonder how long before they'll stay in character...'_

#3) Tai is not allowed to eat candy while watching a horror flick; it keeps him up at night. ~ Kari  
a) Does he have the same reaction when you just give him soda pop instead of candy? ~ Terriermon  
b) We might want to test that one out. ~ Matt  
c) Hey now, who says I'll agree to that? ~ Tai  
d) I don't know, it kind of sounds like you owe me one for the whole hair dying thing. ~ Matt  
e) Hey! I wasn't the only one to do that! ~ Tai  
f) True, but at the moment, you are my closest target. ~ Matt  
g) But I don't want to do it! You can't force me to comply, you know! ~ Tai  
h) We could make a night of it! ~ Davis  
i) Kari! Help me out here! ~ Tai  
j) Well... It's worth a try, Tai. ~ Kari  
k) Traitor! ~ Tai

_Terriermon chuckles, more then a little pleased that something went according to plan before he moves on._

#4) Tai and Matt are not allowed to start any more pranking war between themselves. ~ Kari  
a) Ok, we might have gone a little too far with the last one... ~ Tai  
b) A LITTLE?!?! You guys replaced my MOUSSE with GLUE! Repeatedly, I might add! ~ Davis  
c) I thought I was replacing Jun's hair gel... Oops, my bad. ~ Tai  
d) You bakas! Well, at least you're not allowed to do it again, so, ha! ~ Davis  
e) Like we're agreeing to follow any of these rules. ~ Tai  
f) And your own sister went to all this trouble to make this list, tsk tsk. ~ Sora  
g) Yea, Tai! This rule seems very reasonable! ~ Yolei  
h) I guess this means Tai and myself can go to war with other members of our group, right? ~ Matt  
i) I never thought of it that way! ;) ~ Tai  
j) Well then, since Davis seems to be too obvious a choice, I'll just have to choice between Sora and Izzy. ~ Matt  
k) Lay off Izzy for now, he's got enough on his plate with his mom's interest in his love life. ~ Yolei  
l) I wish you guys would just stop mentioning it, especially during lunch today... ~ Izzy  
m) Ah, but it's just so funny! ~ Tai  
n) I highly doubt Sora will like this, after all, she is your girlfriend, Matt. ~ Yolei  
o) Oh... you're gutsy Matt, going against your own girlfriend in a prank war. ~ Tai  
p) Perhaps I should have given this some more thought... ~ Matt  
q) I think you just committed yourself, Matt. ~ Izzy

#5) People are to stop putting hair dye and food coloring into Matt's shampoo; even if it is funny to see the results. ~ Kari  
a) Oh boy, is he going to have a fit when he gets on a computer and finds this site... ~ Tai  
b) All the more reason not to do it! ~ Sora  
c) Or when TK finds it and reports it to Matt... ~ Tai  
d) True. ~ Sora  
e) You guys had better watch out. Matt might just try to get even. ~ Terriermon  
f) Might not be such a bad idea. ~ Matt  
g) Ah, come one! Haven't I suffered enough? You guys kept replacing my hair products with glue! ~ Davis  
h) That doesn't help the fact that I had pink hair during my last concert. ~ Matt  
i) Hehehe... Well then, might I say that it had been Sora who did that? ~ Tai  
j) You don't say. ~ Matt  
k) Well, he is telling the truth. ~ Yolei

#6) Stop bribing Gatomon with catnip; you know who you are. ~ Kari  
a) Ah, but I already have her a month advance payment to destroy all those love letters that find their way into your locker. ~ Tai  
b) You mean that's what's happening to those letters I've been dropping into Kari's locker?! ~ Davis  
c) Here's a better question, why are you putting love letters into Kari's locker when you could have just hand them to her in person? ~ Yolei  
d) I'm surprise at you! Your suppose to be a holder of Courage, Davis! You should have had the courage to hand her the letters in person! Cleaver plan though, Tai. ~ Terriermon  
e) I have to agree with this Digimon on this one, Davis. ~ Matt  
f) Ah, come on! It's not that sad! ~ Davis  
g) I never thought of it that way. So, does this mean you'll start hand delivering them to her? ~ Tai  
h) Hey now, that's not very romantic just handing them over! ~ Davis  
i) Have you tried flowers? ~ Yolei  
j) You think it'll work? ~ Davis  
k) Not now that it's been mentioned in this format. ~ Matt  
l) He's right, you know. ~ Tai  
m) ~ Davis

#8) Stop making dog jokes when Gabumon is around; he's beginning to get a certain glint in his eye. ~ Kari  
a) But we're still allowed to give him raw hide bones and doggie biscuits, right? ~ Tai  
b) I believe that falls under making dog jokes. I also believe that Matt will want to have a conversation with you about what's considered proper respect towards the other partnered Digimon, Tai. ~ Sora  
c) You're probably right. Sorry Matt. ~ Tai  
d) On behalf of canine Digimon everywhere, not accepted unless you're willing to fork over a lot of ice cream to make up for that humiliation. ~ Terriermon  
e) Since when do rabbits count as canines? ~ Davis  
f) I have to agree with Davis on that one. ~ Yolei

_It didn't take long for Terriermon to come up with a reply to that one. "I am too a dog type, haven't they ever heard of Terriers?" The green Digimon mutters under his breath._

#10) Stop using Izzy's computer to watch porn; his mom went through his address history and is beginning to worry about Izzy's taste... in men. ~ Kari  
a) Then who has been using my son's computer to look at porn? ~ Yoshie  
b) Tai apparently. ~ Mimi  
c) I do not look at men like that! ~ Tai  
d) I don't know, Tai, you did agree to help Joe get laid. ~ Davis  
e) I think Sora and Yolei might know more about this rule then the rest of us. ~ Mimi  
f) Mimi! ~ Sora  
g) It's not like any of us sneaks over to his apartment all the time... ~ Yolei  
h) I see. ~ Yoshie  
i) I'm surprised he hasn't died from embarrassment when she confronted him! I know my partner would have at least locked himself up in a very familiar hideout until it blows over. ~ Terriermon  
j) I was wondering the same thing! ~ Davis  
k) I can't believe Kari even posted this... ~ Izzy

_Terriermon just sighs as he hears Henry coming up to the door saying, "We have a meeting to attend; so exit out of whatever you're into now or Calumon and Guilmon will finish off the donuts." With a sigh, Terriermon does just that before leaving the room._

_Meanwhile..._

_TK couldn't help but shake his head as the blond stares at the screen from behind Kari. "Why do I get the feeling you just opened a can of worms?" TK muses while Kari just sighs._

_"Well, I might have opened a can, but I'm not responsible for them stirring it up." Kari replies and TK just sighed since he knew it to be true._

**To Be Continued . . .**


	7. The List Part 3: Digimon

**I don't own Digimon.**

o - o - o - o - o

_Joe could only slowly shake his head at the title of the site. Then he finally begins to read the rules that Kari's taken time to post on the site._

#1) Tai is hereby forbidden to help Davis in his pursue of new looks and attitudes. ~ Kari  
a) That's so mean, Kari-Chan! ~ Davis  
b) So true, Davis. ~ Tai  
c) So true! ~ Mimi  
d) You go girl! ~ Sora  
e) Finally! It's in writing! ~ Yolei  
f) Yea, you should be asking a girl's advice when it comes to cloths! ~ Terriermon  
g) So very true, although I'm kind of surprised to find a Digimon making such a comment. ~ Mimi  
h) Terriermon... how's things on your end? ~ Yolei  
i) Doing fine on this end. Though I do wonder when my partner will find out about this site. Though it wouldn't surprise me if one of the others found it before he finds it. ~ Terriermon  
j) Good to know. ~ Kari  
k) Agreed! ~ Yolei

#2) Davis no longer has a valid excuse for not calling TK by his proper nickname. ~ Kari  
a) Arrg! Bad Kari, like I'll ever call CK by his real name. ~ Davis  
b) Well, sis does have you there, Davis. ~ Tai  
c) Tai! How could you say that? ~ Davis  
d) I didn't say it, I typed it! ^_^ ~ Tai  
e) So... does this mean you'll obey it? ~ Kari  
f) I never said that! ~ Davis  
g) And yet, we're all in agreement that you should follow it. ~ Yolei  
h) Ah, come on, it's just classic Davis, you know? ~ Terriermon  
i) That behavior is now 'classic Davis' now? That's kind of scary thought. ~ Ken  
j) Well, what else would you call it? It really defines his character. ~ Terriermon  
k) He's got a point. ~ Mimi  
l) I rather not be part of this 'classic' behavior of his. ~ TK  
m) And yet I don't see it happening until he stops being jealous of TK and Kari's close friendship. ~ Terriermon  
n) That's very insightful, especially since you live in the US. ~ Sora

#3) Tai is not allowed to eat candy while watching a horror flick; it keeps him up at night. ~ Kari  
a) Does he have the same reaction when you just give him soda pop instead of candy? ~ Terriermon  
b) We might want to test that one out. ~ Matt  
c) Hey now, who says I'll agree to that? ~ Tai  
d) I don't know, it kind of sounds like you owe me one for the whole hair dying thing. ~ Matt  
e) Hey! I wasn't the only one to do that! ~ Tai  
f) True, but at the moment, you are my closest target. ~ Matt  
g) But I don't want to do it! You can't force me to comply, you know! ~ Tai  
h) We could make a night of it! ~ Davis  
i) Kari! Help me out here! ~ Tai  
j) Well... It's worth a try, Tai. ~ Kari  
k) Traitor! ~ Tai  
l) Just as long as we're all on the same page. ~ Kari

#4) Tai and Matt are not allowed to start any more pranking war between themselves. ~ Kari  
a) Ok, we might have gone a little too far with the last one... ~ Tai  
b) A LITTLE?!?! You guys replaced my MOUSSE with GLUE! Repeatedly, I might add! ~ Davis  
c) I thought I was replacing Jun's hair gel... Oops, my bad. ~ Tai  
d) You bakas! Well, at least you're not allowed to do it again, so, ha! ~ Davis  
e) Like we're agreeing to follow any of these rules. ~ Tai  
f) And your own sister went to all this trouble to make this list, tsk tsk. ~ Sora  
g) Yea, Tai! This rule seems very reasonable! ~ Yolei  
h) I guess this means Tai and myself can go to war with other members of our group, right? ~ Matt  
i) I never thought of it that way! ;) ~ Tai  
j) Well then, since Davis seems to be too obvious a choice, I'll just have to choice between Sora and Izzy. ~ Matt  
k) Lay off Izzy for now, he's got enough on his plate with his mom's interest in his love life. ~ Yolei  
l) I wish you guys would just stop mentioning it, especially during lunch today... ~ Izzy  
m) Ah, but it's just so funny! ~ Tai  
n) I highly doubt Sora will like this, after all, she is your girlfriend, Matt. ~ Yolei  
o) Oh... you're gutsy Matt, going against your own girlfriend in a prank war. ~ Tai  
p) Perhaps I should have given this some more thought... ~ Matt  
q) I think you just committed yourself, Matt. ~ Izzy  
r) Well, if you ever need some advice, just message me and I'll set you right! Pranks are a specialty of mine. ~ Terriermon  
s) I might take you up on that. ~ Matt  
t) I shudder to think of how you gained that kind of experience. I would hate to be in your partner's shoes in dealing with the result of one of your pranks. ~ Kari  
u) I'll have you know I never pranked my partner. His friends on the other hand... ~ Terriermon  
v) And he likely got all the blame though, didn't he? ~ Izzyy  
w) If only! I rather not get on Rika's bad side since she is very scary when provoked! Trust me on this one! Don't mess with the Digimon Queen! ~ Terriermon  
x) She better not be trying to take Ken from me! ~ Yolei  
y) I doubt she's after Ken, Takato on the other hand... ~ Terriermon  
z) Just as long as she keeps her hands away from my boyfriend! ~ Yolei

#6) Stop bribing Gatomon with catnip; you know who you are. ~ Kari  
a) Ah, but I already have her a month advance payment to destroy all those love letters that find their way into your locker. ~ Tai  
b) You mean that's what's happening to those letters I've been dropping into Kari's locker?! ~ Davis  
c) Here's a better question, why are you putting love letters into Kari's locker when you could have just hand them to her in person? ~ Yolei  
d) I'm surprise at you! Your suppose to be a holder of Courage, Davis! You should have had the courage to hand her the letters in person! Cleaver plan though, Tai. ~ Terriermon  
e) I have to agree with this Digimon on this one, Davis. ~ Matt  
f) Ah, come on! It's not that sad! ~ Davis  
g) I never thought of it that way. So, does this mean you'll start hand delivering them to her? ~ Tai  
h) Hey now, that's not very romantic just handing them over! ~ Davis  
i) Have you tried flowers? ~ Yolei  
j) You think it'll work? ~ Davis  
k) Not now that it's been mentioned in this format. ~ Matt  
l) He's right, you know. ~ Tai  
m) ~ Davis  
n) Shouldn't this rule be: No Digidestine should bride another Digidestine's Digimon? ~ Terriermon  
o) Maybe I should change it to that... ~ Kari

#7) Agumon is not a lighter; so stop encouraging him to light those bath candles. ~ Kari

#8) Stop making dog jokes when Gabumon is around; he's beginning to get a certain glint in his eye. ~ Kari  
a) But we're still allowed to give him raw hide bones and doggie biscuits, right? ~ Tai  
b) I believe that falls under making dog jokes. I also believe that Matt will want to have a conversation with you about what's considered proper respect towards the other partnered Digimon, Tai. ~ Sora  
c) You're probably right. Sorry Matt. ~ Tai  
d) On behalf of canine Digimon everywhere, not accepted unless you're willing to fork over a lot of ice cream to make up for that humiliation. ~ Terriermon  
e) Since when do rabbits count as canines? ~ Davis  
f) I have to agree with Davis on that one. ~ Yolei  
g) Maybe you should change this rule into: No Digidestine should taunt another Digidestine's Digimon? ~ TK  
h) Makes sense. ~ Matt  
i) Maybe I should put this suggestion to a vote, along with the previous one. ~ Kari

#9) Stop trying to set Joe up on blind dates on the excuse he needs to get laid; he'll do it when he's ready. ~ Kari  
a) Ah, but he really does need to relax and getting laid would really help him in that. ~ Tai  
b) So, does that mean your volunteering to help him? ~ Mimi  
c) Sure! I know this great girl in my class would love to meet him. ~ Tai  
d) I don't think Mimi means by introducing girls to Joe, Tai. -_- ~ Sora  
e) Oh boy, Tai! What have you gotten yourself into this time? ~ Davis  
f) Oh come on! What else could she mean? ~ Tai  
g) NO WAY! Not even if we were the last two guys on the planet! ~ Tai  
h) But you just said you would help. ~ Mimi  
i) I believe Joe's going to be very horrified when he finds this site and reads all of this. ~ Sora  
j) It doesn't seem as if Joe's even aware of this site since he's yet to comment on this rule. ~ Terriermon

#10) Stop using Izzy's computer to watch porn; his mom went through his address history and is beginning to worry about Izzy's taste... in men. ~ Kari  
a) Then who has been using my son's computer to look at porn? ~ Yoshie  
b) Tai apparently. ~ Mimi  
c) I do not look at men like that! ~ Tai  
d) I don't know, Tai, you did agree to help Joe get laid. ~ Davis  
e) I think Sora and Yolei might know more about this rule then the rest of us. ~ Mimi  
f) Mimi! ~ Sora  
g) It's not like any of us sneaks over to his apartment all the time... ~ Yolei  
h) I see. ~ Yoshie  
i) I'm surprised he hasn't died from embarrassment when she confronted him! I know my partner would have at least locked himself up in a very familiar hideout until it blows over. ~ Terriermon  
j) I was wondering the same thing! ~ Davis  
k) I can't believe Kari even posted this... ~ Izzy  
l) I don't get why you couldn't just use the library or school computers if you don't want to use your own. ~ Ken  
m) Or you could just erase the data tracks from your browser history. ~ Terriermon  
n) Good point. Although I find it scary to think of a Digimon looking for and then at human porn. ~ Izzy  
o) Good point. ~ Matt  
p) Yea, why would a Digimon be interested in porn? ~ Davis  
q) It's great for pranks. ~ Terriermon  
r) That's a pretty lame excuse. ~ Yolei  
s) He does, he really does. ~ Takato  
t) Takato! What are you doing on this site? ~ Terriermon  
u) Looking for the release date for the latest Digimon cards. Interesting site by the way. :) ~ Takato  
v) Very interesting indeed. Especially when I tell Riley about the fact it was you who plastered the walls of the women washrooms with porn at Hypnos. ~ Tally  
w) Ah, come on! There's not need to pick at that old scar. ~ Terriermon  
x) Maybe somebody can expand on that story? ~ Matt  
y) Well... it's kind of what it sounds like. During this black out at Hypnos, somebody took advantage of the power being out to plaster the walls of all of the women washrooms of the building. The act was discovered around lunch when one of the women entered into one of the washrooms. It wasn't long before they found that the other washrooms had received the same treatment. A few of the women fainted while the rest vowed vengeance on the one who did it. From what I hear, Riley's the head of the unofficial task force to hunt the person down and to punish them in the name of 'Women everywhere!' ~ Takato  
z) It wasn't that bad... ~ Terriermon  
aii) Really? I believe that group begs to differ. ~ Yolei  
bii) Yea, I know that if I knew that somebody had done that at school, I wouldn't care how long it took to bring the villain to justice! ~ Mimi  
cii) It seems as if you're doomed, Terriermon. Very doomed. ~ Sora  
dii) I think I might just go underground for a while. I trust you'll give my regards to the others, eh 'Takatomon'? ~ Terriermon  
eii) Only Guilmon is allowed to call me that, Terriermon! ~ Takato  
fii) Well, I think we got totally off topic. ~ Ken  
gii) And Matt want's to take advice from a Digimon who's current gone into hiding. ~ Sora  
hii) He really did go underground if anyone is wondering. Calumon found him hiding out in this tunnel that leads to another town. I hear he's currently locked up in a vat of water. Just thought you'd guys would like to know since it's been a week since then. ~ Takato

_"Kari on. I wonder what she's up to now?" Joe wonders as he finds that the host icon says active._

**To Be Continued . . .**


	8. Animagus of FFVII: Harry Potter

**- o 0 o -**

Don't own any Harry Potter or Final Fantasy VII

**- o 0 o -**

Racing through the forest, he can hear the yowls of the two tailed terriers racing far behind him. His forepaws making a thud as they hit the forest floor and then as his back paws hit the ground around his rib cage, he launches forward again with his paws stretched as far out as they can. His jaws are parted as he inhales and exhales with each stride, air coming in from his nose and into his mouth and then exiting out of both once more.

He weaves around the tree trunk and bushes, leaping over fallen logs that lay before him. He doesn't know where he's running to but he sure as hell knows what he's running from.

Right now, he couldn't think beyond this moment let alone give any thought of how all of this happened as he charges through the forest that seems to be slowly filling with discarded webs hanging around the tree trunk or covering dead looking bushes.

Finally his adrenaline gives way and he kind of flops onto the ground as he take short and shallow breaths while he realizes that his pursuers had not followed him into this part of the Forbidden Forest.

Not that it didn't take long before he realizes that he now had something to take over his pursuers hunt of him as he spots a few cat size spiders creeping around. His ears pick up the sound of clicking mandibles.

He does what his new set of instincts tell him and bare his fangs as he moves to stand on all four limbs. His ears flattening against his skull.

His fur flattens as the metal collar choices that moment to hit his chest, reminding him that he still has it. His tail moves around behind him, the tip remaining on fire despite the fact that he raced through this forest as fast as his paws could move.

As he lowers his head, the bangs of his mane move to cover his right eye. The collar moves as he lowers his head with a growl erupting from his throat as more rat to cat size spiders coming down from the various large trees that make up this part of the forest.

The clicking coming from their fangs slowly decreased and he slowly backs around in a tight circle with the tip of his flaming tail less then a foot from his left eye, giving him a good view of the slowly creeping spiders coming towards him.

Even though he's so exhausted, he's not about to give up and die without putting up some kind of fight. He feels his frame tremble as he uses the last of his strength to not just stand but to move in a tight circle.

Giving his head a minor shake, he stops walking backwards and crouches down, beginning to tense for a pounce.

His ears perk as something sings through the air and finally, an arrow lands a few feet before him. The spiders pause before a hail of arrows fall from the sky, many killing of the spiders.

As he turns to where a familiar rhythm of thud coming towards his location. He spots a small party of Centaurs coming towards him with a very familiar pale golden horse body at the lead.

"Firenze..." He manages to say, if he weren't already blacking out he would have been stunned at the fact that he can speak while in his current body.

**- = (V) = -**

The first thing he can remember doing as he slowly woke up is the scent of cooking food and the first thing he hears before he opens his eyes is the crackling of a fire.

As he shifts his position so that he's resting on his belly instead of his left side. As he turns his head, he finds his tail curled up by his rear right leg, the tip of his tail still ablaze.

Within seconds the tail moves and then thuds on the floor. He couldn't help but be amaze at the fact that the flame doesn't seem to harm him or cause the mat under him to catch on fire.

With a sigh, he moves to focus on the tent, not sure what to think before he hears the sound of hoof falls coming by the entrance of the tent while a fire at the center of the tent drove the darkness within the tent away but lighting up the whole tent far better then the small flame that remains at the tip of his tail.

He watches as the flap opens and a female example of the Centaur race entering into the tent where he has been placed. The crackling fire causes the horse part of her body to light up in a dull red with black hanging around the top part of the white socks.

It didn't take long before his mouth is watering at the smell that's clinging to this female Centaur. He swallows as he raises his head.

He could smell that she's nervous about getting close to him, especially since he's likely watching her with hunger every much in evident in his emerald eyes.

As she lowers the bowl by his forepaws, he couldn't help but wonder for a second if she's thinking, 'Nice kitty, eat the stew kitty, good kitty.'

Before he moves to consume what's in the bowl, he manages to mutter softly, "Thank you."

With that said, he begins to lap up the liquid and chew on whatever seems to get sucked into his mouth as he laps it up. His stomach rumbles within seconds of his first taste of the stew.

After a while he's licking the bowl for every last bit of liquid that's clinging to the bowl. The edge seems to have been taken off of his hunger and nudges the bowl a few inches forward before laying his chin on his forepaws.

Sleep came very easily after that, which brought the memories of his current predicament to play out in the form of a dream.

**+-Y-+**

He couldn't help but feel hollow as he sits at on the dock, during the frantic search through the library to help find a way for him to survive an hour underwater, he had accidentally came across a book on the Tri-Wizard Tournament before Dobby appeared with that Gilly Weed.

Later that night he found the book resting on his bed and after glancing around, pulled the curtains of his four post bed before he begins to read it with the tip of his wand lit up, giving him light he needs.

Within minutes of reading the book he discovered something that truly stunned him before it began to sting.

The reason? It seems that if he had kept protesting he wouldn't have had to participate in the tournament at all. **And he wouldn't have to worry about losing his magic doing so!**

As he skipped over the rest of the rules, he discovered the reason why. It seems that there's a very common practice of bewitching the goblet so that it would choice a fourth and in at least two stories, a fifth champion even!

Of course they don't get mentioned in the official history because they either died during a task or on hearing a task refused to participate, which stole their ability to use magic.

Years later the reason why they were chosen became known, which caused such stories to be suppressed in hopes that nobody else would follow in those people's in their 'creative' way of getting rid of their enemies by forcing them to participate in the tournament.

The stories written within the rule book were meant to be warnings to KEEP such things from HAPPENING AGAIN! But it seems that Dumbledore either didn't read beyond the rules or thought nothing of forcing HIM to participate in this tournament.

It blew his mind so much that for this week he has either been out of the castle or in the library going through as many law books as he can get his hands on in hopes of finding some way to explain why the Headmaster wouldn't encourage him to keep protesting his not wanting to participate but he just kept coming up empty in that department, at least.

Although as he slowly went through those law books, especially those he stole out of the restricted section, he began to realize just how much power the old man had in the Wizarding world, which didn't help his already floundering trust in the old guy either.

_He has so much power and he doesn't use any of it for the real important things, does he?_ He couldn't help but think bitterly as he glares down at the water below his feet.

Once more he felt trapped and only this time he had walk into it with his eyes staring into the sun, never bothering to see the shadows that were forming at his feet until they finally ensnared him.

_But then, all Muggle-Borns walk into the same trap, only they're not aware of it until so much later. Poor Hermione, she'll be devastated about what kind of work she'd be allow to do without being a kept woman of a Wizard or marrying one._ He thinks, after all, he never gave much thought as to why the government and the teaching positions seem to contain Pure-Blood Wizards and Witches.

_Well, I guess if Pure-Bloods don't feel the need to follow their own laws, then why should I? Maybe I should follow the Marauder tradition of becoming an Unregistered Animagus while at school._ He muses with a slight smile as he can imagine the kind of meeting he'd have with his godfather over it.

At the thought of Sirius, he scowls as something finally clicks as to why Sirius never got his trial. _I wouldn't have had to live with my aunt if he had been found innocent._

It didn't take much before one other thought follows the same thinking as the first. _And I wouldn't fall under Dumbledore's so call 'guardianship.'_

With something to focus on, he pulls himself away from the edge of the dock and begins to head for Hogsmeade, confident that it no longer matters what he did, he'll never be expelled from Hogwarts because he's too important to Dumbledore as a tool and needed to be where the old man could shape him.

_Two Weeks Before the Third Task . . ._

Glancing around the girl's bather where Myrtle 'lives', he finally allows himself to smile while Myrtle kind of hovers by the door, more then willing to play sentry for him so he can try to complete the final stages of his Animagus transformation.

It seems that given one on one instruction, he's more then capable of flying through the stages at a speed that put even the most informed Pure-Blood student to shame; especially if they're study it since they were children.

It also helped that Sirius kind of had a difficult time with the transformation so his godfather knew a few tricks that seem to help him learn it faster then if he had followed the steps Peter and his father had done to achieve their transformation.

Sirius had practically been beaming over his progress. He couldn't help but compare Sirius and Dumbledore in that one regard and found that Sirius's reaction to likely be more natural then Dumbledore's beaming when he had been in the hospital wing after his first year confrontation with Tom.

Although he could be wrong since Sirius's reaction had been similar to his uncle and aunt's reaction when his cousin 'accomplished' something. _But then, I've seen such looks in other adult's faces as well, so maybe its suppose to look like that._

Then he shakes his head as from now on, he's secure in the knowledge that Sirius is no longer in Hogsmeade. His godfather had listen to him about his concerns concerning Dumbledore. His godfather had decided to leave to investigate his 'findings' as well as to find a property that doesn't exist in the UK for them to live once this year is over.

After all, without a conviction, Sirius can still access his family vaults and transfer it all to a foreign bank while 'turning' himself in to another country's custody so they can give him a trial.

Finally growing tired of those kind of thoughts, he gave his head a shake before closing his eyes as he attempts to relax before he tries to transform into his feline form. He knew it is feline simply because he saw a clawless track in the forest of his mind.

The familiar feeling of feeling wet encompass his whole body as he focuses on the mental track that he had found. It didn't take long before another familiar feeling of numbness engulfs him and though he feels the urge to open his eyes, he resists as that action usual causes the transformation to reverse instantly.

As the feeling of numbness fades, he opens his eyes and finds himself standing on all fours. A simple glance down at the floor and he finds red fur covering him. Another surprise seems to be the fact that he has a black mane as black bangs fall to cover one of his eyes.

A simple shake of his head causes the bangs to alter position. As he's about to take a look of himself in a sink mirror, Myrtle tells him in a low voice, "The Headmaster is coming this way and he's got some staff members!"

Blinking, he hurriedly tries to return to his original form for a few seconds but as the foot falls in the hallway get closer, he finally bolts to the opposite end of the bathroom and hides behind the stalls.

As the door opens, he could hear Snape's complain about his recent acts of delinquency . . .

**+-Y-+**

He wakes suddenly as he hears loud voices arguing outside of his tent. It took him a few sleepy blinks before he became fully alert to the two voices speaking outside of his current abode.

It takes him a few seconds to identify the two voices and he couldn't help but shrink back a bit at Bane's suggestion of handing him over to the Wizards.

"He's none of our concern, Firenze! He's a Wizard! A human!" Bane pretty much spat, causing him to wince.

After all, over the last few days he hadn't been treated like one, not when Dumbledore wanted his Animagus form studied to see what kind of magical properties it possesses. And of course the old man hadn't even blinked on seeing him in that cage and wearing that collar once Snape and Moody thought it the best and safest way to protect them from him.

_And its likely they plan to erase my memories of that time as well, heck, they might even try and find a way to keep me from transforming in after they're through!_ He thinks bitterly.

He's thankful that Dobby's more loyal to him then to the Headmaster since it had been Dobby who got rid of the chain and opened the charmed locked door of the cage.

He swore he'd find a way to show just how much that meant to him and reward the House Elf as best as he can once he's in a safe place, likely by his godfather's side.

"That may be, but it seems that council thinks differently, Bane. The boy will remain until he's well again so that he can fulfill his new role." Firenze says in a calm voice.

He found himself relaxing after hearing that as it help smooth in nervousness. It didn't take long for him to be laying curled up on the mat.

Though he can clearly hear every word that the two Centaurs are saying, he's too busy musing on the row of memories that had replayed themselves last night, which causes him to feel depressed.

As the tent flap opens and the scent of that stew wafers through the air, his stomach growls and thus he snaps out of his thoughts as Firenze walks towards him carrying another bowl of that delicious stew.

"Well, you did give Bane's daughter spook earlier when she delivered a bowl to you." Firenze muses in a light tone and he squirms slightly in guilt.

"I didn't mean to... It's been days since I had anything to eat." He tells the blue eyed Centaur as he puts the bowl by him.

As he uncurls, he moves towards the bowl and begins to lap up the broth before moving onto the rest of the contents. His ears perk as he hears the fire get stirred back to life.

He sighs as he finishes licking the bowl and with a shake, feels stronger then when he woke up for his first bowl of stew. As he moves back to his mat, he finds Firenze watches him with a thoughtful look in his blue eyes.

"I heard you and Bane talking outside of the tent." He tells the Centaur resting by the fire. He's a bit surprised at how odd it looks seeing a Centaur siting on the ground since in his short experience with the race, they're always standing, walking, or running.

"Well, nobody quite expected you to be able to speak." Firenze admits and he just sighs.

"I didn't expect to either. After all, I look like some kind of mutated red lion who's tail is on fire." He states with a hint of bitterness.

"I find it hard to believe that the Headmaster would allow you to be caged." The blond Centaur admits.

He couldn't help but snort before explaining how he ended with that collar around his neck as well as caged. Firenze's blue eyes seem to harden as he describes his treatment by the trio consisting of Dumbledore, Moody, and Snape.

It didn't take him long before he's also telling Firenze about his findings in the Tri-Wizard rule book and his later discoveries in those law books he read while never attending classes in his pursue of that knowledge of why Dumbledore acted the way he did after confronting him when his name came out of the goblet.

"I see, but that doesn't quite explain why you choice to become an Animagus." Firenze says after a stretch of silence.

"My dad and two of his best friends became illegal Animagi while they were attending Hogwarts. And I knew if I would be discovered, Dumbledore would keep it quiet because he needs me fairly whole and in one piece or he wouldn't have gone to a lot of trouble keeping my godfather from having a trial so that I would be forced to live with my magic hating aunt and her husband." He explains with a sigh.

"This is very alarming allegations; highly disturbing." Firenze muses softly as the Centaur turns to look down into the fire.

"Disturbing, that's putting it mildly, it's down right scary that he's managed to get away with it without anyone either recalling it or seeing under his act. But then, having the ability to erase memories helps him hide the evidence." He says as he moves to curl up into a ball as he recalls how those three treated him as if he were a feral beast without any intelligences.

"And I had thought the man to be honorable." Firenze sighs and he glances at the Centaur.

"He trusts a known Death Eater and he's allowed rich ones to bribe their way out of prison. He had the authority to stomp out corruption in the Ministry, to shoot down the restrictive laws placed on Muggle-Borns and on Werewolves." He says.

"And it's very telling that they do get passed." Firenze adds and he nods.

"I know that phoenixes are good creatures but there are ways of binding magical beasts to serve Wizards. It seems that is what happened to Fawkes." Firenze states his thoughts out loud.

Within minutes, the blue eyed Centaur gets up off the ground and once he retrieves the bowl, leaves him alone in the tent. Within nothing to do or somebody to chat with, it didn't take long before he's once more allowing sleep to overcome him.

**- = (V) = -**

Five times he woke to find a filled bowl of stew resting about a foot or two away from him, causing him to get to his feet and walk toward said bowl.

Once he's polished off what's within the bowl, he would either return to the mat and get lost in his thoughts or pace around the fire a few times before returning to the mat and taking a nap.

While he didn't know how long its been since he escaped from the 'loving' care of Snape, did know that for the first time in a long time he felt a certain need to . . .

With a sigh, he gets up off the mat and moves towards the flap of the tent. Poking his head out, he blinks slightly in surprise at how large the encampment is as he notices the number of brown or green tents that are laid before his eyes.

As he brings his front paws and shoulders out of the tent, he finds an elderly looking Centaur coming his way. After a few seconds of debate, he asks, "Err... excuse me, but do you know where I can... That is, do my business at?"

The buck skinned Centaur blinks and looks down at him, giving him a startled look before smiling slightly. Once the elderly looking Centaur tells him where to go, he says his thanks and moves fully out of the tent so that he can go do his business before he has an accident.

Once he relieved himself, he enters the Centaur camp, retracing his trail back to the tent he's staying at. Unsurprisingly he had a few admirers watching him as he walks through the encampment on his way back to the tent.

During this he spots his first viewing of child Centaurs as a few of them decide to trail after him, clearly wanting to watch him as long as they're able. It's not everyday one encounters a cat who's tail tip is always aflame.

**- = (V) = -**

After consuming a bowl of stew brought to him by one of his admirers earlier that day, he pauses as he hears a group approach his tent.

As he raises his head, the tent flap opens and in walks Bane with Firenze following after him. Then once those two were in, three elderly looking Centaurs enter, all of them seem to be Centaur women.

He moves into a sitting position, an action that causes Bane to scowl at him while Firenze adds some wood to the fire. Glancing away from the two Centaurs that he knows of, he regards the three elders.

"So, you are the child who is to be of Gaia." The center elder muses after a few minutes of silence.

He couldn't help but be confused at the reference. "Isn't that just another name for our world?" He asks and ignores the disapproving look Bane sends him while the left elder chuckles softly.

"So many believe." The right elder muses as the left one regains control over herself.

"There is another world, a world where all life truly connected. We had hosted a ambassador from Gaia before the Romans began conquering the world. One who told us that a child will be marked with fire who will be expected to leave this world, our world, to go to their world, to their Gaia. Though what destiny you'll have there has been lost over time." The elder on the left explains.

"So I am to leave this world behind to go fulfill a destiny on a different world?" He asks as he feels oddly relieved to have a way to leave the Wizarding world and Dumbledore, especially, behind him.

"That seems to be how it sounds." The middle elder admits in a dry tone.

"I don't suppose there's a way for me to bring two others with me when I leave?" He asks and the three elders glance at each other before the right one says, "And who do you have in mind?"

**- = (V) = -**

"I can't believe there's a full moon out and I'm not transforming!" Remus says while he's laying next to the daughter of Nanaki, also known as Red XIII.

"We are on a different world Remus, the magic here is different then what we're familiar with, so much so that it shouldn't surprise us at all." His godfather muses.

"Or perhaps Gaia has taken pity on your plight and had taken it upon herself to cure it." Bugen, his soon to be brother-in-law says.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm just grateful that you two could accompany me here." He states with a sigh.

"It's not like we had anything important going one back there." Sirius answers with a shrug while poking the fire to stir it up.

_Well, I might not be able to control who I'm to marry but at least I'm not expected to go up against a mad man with a tyrant sitting behind me._ He thinks as Aerith rubs the top of her head against his chin.

**- o 0 o -**


	9. The Many Shades of Naruto Part 1

I don't own Naruto.

**- o 0 o -**

"Ah! Come one, boss! You've got to have some tales to tell us!" The soon to be nine year old whines to him as he tries to focus on doing some taijutsu practice using his clones.

He sighs as both his clones and himself stop to glance at not just Konohamaru but also with a few other kids, likely other students from the academe too. He frowns slightly at the group, he really didn't have a story to tell the group of eleven, after all, he's only been a Genin for less then a week.

"The thing is Konohamaru... I haven't been a ninja long enough to go on any cool missions yet." His one of his three clones supplies as his mind begins to turn this over.

"I guess we can make one up... But I'm not very good at telling stories that aren't about me." A second clone chimes in. The other two clones and him nod in agreement with that.

"How about acting it out?" One of the girls asks. The other kids besides Konohamaru all murmur their agreements.

"Yea! You can have your clones Henge into different people and stage a play or something!" Konohamaru suggests and pretty much the whole gaggle of kids nod in agreement with that suggestion.

"Well..." "I guess..." "we could do it." Each of the three shadow clones muse before they glance at him.

_I wonder..._ He suddenly flashes a foxy grin at the crowd of kids. "I think I might have a slightly better idea." He says and then cries out, "Huddle!"

The three clones move and they lean in to listen to his bright idea. After he outlines his idea, the three clones all seem to frown in thought before they begin to make a few suggestions on how to make that idea better.

"Alright, you guys go do that research while I trying their idea first. Although... are you sure this research is even needed?" He asks his three copies.

The three glance at each other before they chime in all at once, "Yes! After all, if we're going to do this, we'll do it right the first time!"

"Alright then, you each have your topics, so dismissed!" He says and with that, they break their huddle. He turns to regard the group of eleven kids as his clones head into the village, although they transform so they don't have to worry about getting banished from books stores and libraries.

Although it wouldn't surprise him if one of his clones will be forced to move from trying to find written information to asking various ninja questions about their respective subject topics. _I wonder if it's even possible to create shadow clone that size...?_ He wonders but with a shake of his head, he dismisses that thinking since he is Uzumaki Naruto! Soon to be sixth Hokage of Hidden Leaf!

With a single hand sign, he creates a good ten shadow clones, which soon transform to look like total strangers. Complete with new cloths, looks, ranging from various ages and genders.

It didn't take him long to realize that he also needed props if he really wants this to work too. _I guess I just have no choice but to create them out of..._ Seconds later he creates a larger force of shadow clones and then had them transform into wagons pulled by oxen, saddled horses on which some of his clones should be able to ride on, and etc.

"That... was tiring." He admits as the group of kids move to sit down on the grass while various clones move to get into position. He's very pleased to note that those clones that were Henged into horses were capable to bearing the weight of his human clones.

It also takes him a few seconds to realize that the 'human' cast number had grown by at least five clones but decided that he likely needed the extras, especially as the five dart off to 'plot' an 'ambush' for the ' merchant caravan'.

Clone #1 - Code Name: **Paw**

_Pay dirt!_ He thinks as he picks out an animal biology book off of the book shelf of the public ninja library. He flips to random pages and couldn't help but grin at the image of a skeleton of a cat.

Closing that book, he begins to find others to take to one of the free tables. Slowly the pile of books grows to be too heavy for him to safely carry without dispelling under the strain. With a sigh, he takes the stack and heads for one of the tables.

Just before he begins to crack open one of the books, he looks up to see Ram walking up to the front desk. It didn't really surprise him that this library didn't have any information about Shadow Clone no jutsu. The original had learnt it from the forbidden scroll, which means it's likely too high level for anyone but a Jonin to access.

With a shake, he dismisses his brother's quest from his mind so that he can focus on his own quest.

Clone #3 - Code Name: **Blade**

"What a large collection of miniatures you got there." He muses after staring at the miniature village that seems complete with mini figurines in various poses. The clerk's back is to him as the slightly overweight person seems to be totally absorbed with their task of adding more to the store's miniature display.

"Are you ready to buy something?" The clerk asks, not even bothering to turn to look at him.

"I'm just wondering if you can point me to any books on how to create your own miniature scenery." He asks, swallowing his original question about seeing if there isn't a jutsu that could allow one to turn regular sized things shrink to a smaller size without destroying them.

The clerk seems to sigh in such a way that makes him want to punch the guy. As the man's head turns to regard him for a few seconds before getting off the stool to waddle slightly to a desk.

Soon enough he finds himself out of the store with a scrape of paper with a list of book titles on it. "Ok... Mental note, never ever enter into that shop again if I can help it. Also, if they complain, charge them with getting the items from said shop." He muses before wandering away.

He makes sure to pick some pockets so that he might be able to make the book purchases, deciding that if they can't protect their own money from such a simple robbery that they desired to be robbed, especially when they're walking around in a ninja village.

_Have to supplement the purse strings until I get my first pay check some how._ He muses before remembering that since he's a clone, the money he was already carrying on him isn't real to begin with either, which only causes him to smirk at the thought of what would happen to it when he dispels.

_Well, better hurry up before I run out of chakra and dispel before I'm done my task._ He muses as he moves to enter into a jog.

Naruto

He wanted to collapse on his bed and call it a night, but the memories of his three researching clones; their 'names' Blade, Paw, and Ram, began to bug him. With a sigh, he picks to review Ram's memories first and he couldn't help but smile as he viewed the various answers Ram had received from various parties, although most of those had been Chuunin who were asked during their lunch breaks.

_So it is possible to make shadow clones that size..._ He muses before he grins at the idea of reversing that thinking to create giant clones. He could just imagine what kind of reaction he'd get if he 'summons' a dragon or something other mythical creature.

It goes without saying that if he goes down that path that he'd have to refine his transformation jutsu to such a degree as to create a chakra system that didn't look human. Also it seems that he would also have to figure out how such a creature would be able to fly, sound, attack, and a bunch of other little details.

_As they say, Hell is in the details. So if I do want to be able to summon something breathtaking I better iron out such things. Though I guess it would be easier ironing out the details in them by first creating them miniature size and then work on make giant, functional versions._ He decides.

That sounded like a fine plan in his mind and he already seem to have a group of people to bounce ideas off of since he doubts that Konohamaru and his friends will be satisfied with one 'play'.

He sits up and glances over at the table. He finds a bunch of books and a small note book on it. Seconds later, he remembers where they come from and what they're doing there, even though he feels a bit guilty about how he got the books in the first place.

"I'll work on that later." He muses out loud to himself once he's standing by the table and studying sketches of a spine that Paw had drawn.

"I'll make more clones to read through those and to go back to the library to continue to study those biology books. I'll just have to remember to buy more note books though." He says as he walks into his bathroom so that he can have a shower.

**Month Later**

"I still don't think you'll be able to make clones that small, boss." Konohamaru says while they set up the 'stage'.

Currently, they're alone and he send a Shadow clone to deal with his team today, leaving him fairly free today to try and perfect his attempts at creating clones under ten centimeters in size. He's hoping to have the smallest of them to be about two centimeters in height.

"I think I'll get it today, brat. I completed tree-walking and water-walking two days ago. Hopefully that will help me control how much chakra goes into creating them. Heck, if this works then you and your friends might be able to pull this jutsu off!" He tells the goggle wearing kid.

"You know, I hadn't thought of that, boss! No wonder you're the boss, boss!" Konohamaru declares.

"Yea, well, this is why I'm a Genin after all." He says with a slight grin on his face. He'll never admit it but he liked having somebody listen to him for once.

He gives himself a shake, refusing to dwell on how even after a month of being a team that their teacher hasn't been on time or started to train them beyond having Sasuke and him spar. He frowns as he recalls his various defeats at Sasuke's hands.

_Shouldn't Kakashi be giving me... us pointers during and/or after those spars?_ He wonders, after all, he use to spy on training sessions similar before he became a Genin. Such sessions always had the teacher talking to both combatants about how they were standing, how their balance get screwed up by holding their arm in position A when it should be less tight, etc. etc.

As a headache threatens, he just leaves off the matter for now. especially since he had other things to be happy about, like how well his biology research is coming alone. He's slowly putting a test form together, one that shouldn't share have many 'human' traits. _I wonder if the end result will be too cute for my tastes..._

"Done on my half, boss!" Konohamaru states and he snaps out of his thoughts to look at Konohamaru's section. He nods in agreement with the younger boy's declaration before turning to study his side with a critical eye.

"Well then, I might as well give it a try before the others arrive." He muses and Konohamaru watches intently as he goes through the whole series of hand signs.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu Revised! Seal Release Mini-mes!" He shouts and he holds his breath as tiny puffs of smokes erupt on the table containing the miniature landscape. As the smoke vanishes, he finds at least one third of his mini-clones look normal while the other two thirds looking horrid with huge heads.

"Well, it's not perfect yet, but at least it worked!" He crows and Konohamaru rapidly nods in agree.

"Oh boy, aren't the others going to be surprised!" Konohamaru states and he's sweeped away with a feeling of achievement. He thoroughly enjoys the sensation and hopes that he'll be feeling accomplishment more in the future as he finally finishes his current projects.

"So the bandits are going to attack the town's barrack today then?" Konohamaru asks as the tiny clones begin to move about the fake forest. Those failed clones soon transformed themselves into various forest beasts or farm animals.

_Good to know that they can still transform even if they didn't turn out to be perfect little mes._ He admits privately to himself as Konohamaru begins to try and drag out today's story plot from him.

As soon as the other members of the audience, which has grown by eight kids, begin to trickle in, he spots a small figure standing a few feet away. _She kind of looks like Hinata. I wonder if they're related?_ He muses as most of the kids move to get a better look at his mini-clones.

It takes a few minutes for the kids to settle down and to stop jocking for better positions around the 'front' of the miniature model. Once they were, he begins by giving the kids a short summary of what happened last time and then stood back and allowed his tiny clones to start up their drama.

_I'm so going to have nightmare later._ He realizes shortly after the tiny clones started to wage war on each other.

Shaking his head, he prepares to create replacements as the tiny clones began to dispel after receiving their hits. _I think I need to find a way to make it so that these clones can take more then a hit._ He decides and files that idea away to ponder on at a later date.

**The Mission Wave**

_Just my luck that Kakashi wants us to preform that. Blah! I've already got it down packed!_ He thinks as he watches his bemasked teacher walk up the trunk of a tree.

"But I already learned how to do that chakra control exercise!" He whines out loud once the Jonin is on one of the branches. _And I've got water walking down too._

"Yea right, like a loser like you could even preform this technique!" Sakura declares with her arms crossed over her chest.

He didn't have to glance at Sasuke to know that the guy with a hair style in the form of a duck butt agrees with the pink haired girl. He scowls at the two of them before he walks at one of the trees and then up the tree trunk until he's resting on a branch higher up then their so call teacher's.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Kakashi asks him, he could hear a bit of controlled tension in the Jonin's voice.

"Nobody taught me, I just witnessed Kiba's team doing this a while back and after looking it up in the library, I found a reference about it in one of the books for Genin." He states calmly, though kind of puzzled as to why his teacher is giving him a disapproving look on hearing that.

"Can you go all the way to the top?" Kakashi asks and with a sigh, he proceeds to go to the very top of the tree.

"What next? Want me to go guard our client or something?" He calls out from his position. He really didn't like this for some reason, he didn't like it at all.

**One Hours Later**

He smirks as he finishes doing a drawing a few poses for an Oni Henge, the female version at that. He's privately glad that he created that clone to deal with whatever task Kakashi wanted him to preform once he demonstrated his ability of tree walking.

He pauses as he's about to start on a fresh page of his fourth note book to be filled with research of Henge creation ideas. Memories of a clone who had been among a party of shadow clones that he sent into town to check on those warehouses play out within his mind. He taps a finger on the note book before he creates a new clone.

He watches as the clone, one that appeared right off the bat in a disguise, runs off towards town to give those at the warehouses orders. Sure, they're only here to protect the bridge and the builder but he didn't see anything wrong with booby trapping Gato's places of business or stealing food from those crates to give to the town's people.

True, he just thought of doing so this morning and will be delivering the food late at night or early morning, but still, he figures that if things vanish from people's shipments that somebody just might hire an assassin to put an end to Gato, even if it wouldn't be for the right reasons.

With a sigh, he dismisses those kind of thoughts to glance at the miniature group of clones attempting to perfect the two versions of the Tengu Henge. _"They're getting better at it. A few managed to use the wings to extend a leap."_ A clone calling himself Lore tells him.

It didn't take him long to spot the four foot animorphic Lore. Much like his latest clone, Lore had been created in that Henge shape; a stepping stone on the path to creating the image of him having his very own summons.

"I see. Well, once we've got bother versions to fly, we'll move onto trying out the dragon Henge. The Chuunin exams are coming up and I get the feeling that Kakashi will be entering us just to smooth Sasuke's ruffled feathers." He says and Lore's reddish brown furry, almost cat shaped head nods in agreement.(Think of Moombas from Final Fantasy)

_"Have we tried creating some kind of storage for lighter then air gas in those dragon Henge?"_ Lore asks as the four foot clone cocks his head to the side and regards him with emerald eyes.

_Yip, I created a very cute Henge._ He decides as Lore's tail flickers slightly from around the very slender waist. "We might just do that, but I'd also want to see if we can add a few skeleton tips from birds too. They some how pump air into their bones. Might be wise to see if doing both will support each other." He says and Lore nods his furry head before glancing back to where the mini clones were.

_I'm still a bit stumped about where the telepathy came from._ He muses as he studies Lore for a few seconds before returning to begin sketching on the latest inner workings of the dragon Henge; trying to incorporate what he knew of how birds manage to pump that air into those air pockets within the bones.

Clone #31 - Code Named: **Frost-Wind**

_This is going to be so much fun!_ He thinks with a chuckle as he slows as he enters into the village, skittering around the buildings at the outer part of the village as he heads to hook up with the nine other clones.

Finally, he spots clone #23, code named Steel, sitting by a wall of a building across from the chain fence about the target. Slowing, he glances around to see if he can't find clone #27, code named Paw; the sixth clone to use that particular code name actually.

On spotting Paw, he begins to walk pass Steel, making sure to drop a stone onto the ground before his fellow shadow clone. He feels Steel's gaze at his back as he slowly turns into an alley. He waits a few minutes and he spots Arrow on a roof top.

Seconds later, Fire arrives and he nods at Fire. "#31?" Fire asks and he nods. "Frost Wind." He supplies and Fire grins in amusement of his choice.

"It's a go." He answers the unasked question.

Before Fire signals Arrow to signal the others, Fire asks, "How goes the Tengu Henges?"

"None of the nineteen have dispelled yet, so I say its improving." He answers before he frowns.

"Has #0 dispelled yet?" Fire asks once the signal to Arrow is given. He blinks before shaking his head in reply.

"I guess we won't know what kind of training Kakashi had wanted Naruto to do. Troublesome." Fire murmurs and he chuckles at how much Fire sounded like Shikamaru when he added the last part.

"If we get this done, we could always spy on #0. It's not like Kakashi will know that we're Naruto's clones, he would likely think Gato's trying to keep tabs on Leaf nin." He remarks and Fire nods in agreement with that observation.

"You know your position?" Fire asks and he nods.

"Of course! I feel betrayed that you would think I won't! After all, Wind is like a _father_ to me." He says with a foxy grin on his face. This time, it's Fire's turn to chuckle.

They parted soon after, both of them heading off to complete their part of the plan.

**- o 0 o -**


	10. The Many Shades of Naruto Part 2

**- o 0 o -**

Naruto

"Home sweet home!" He says with a sigh as he drops his pack down on the floor of his apartment. His arms were up in the air before he begins to stretch before he walks towards the fridge to grab something cold to drink.

He smiles at the sight of a filled fridge. _It really pays to send a team of clones ahead to refill the shelves._ He admits with a smirk as he opens a can of soda before closing the fridge door.

He rests on his couch to stare out of the window, at the Hokage monument that's overlooking the village. It wasn't long before his thoughts begin to drift towards the cold shoulder Kakashi seems to be giving him.

He gets startled by the sound of somebody knocking on his apartment door. He blinks in stunned surprise but recovers quickly and heads for the door.

"Hi." He says as he stares down at the girl who reminds him strongly of Hinata Hyuuga. For a moment, the girl looks like a deer caught in a flare jutsu.

It didn't take long before the kid to recover and give him a slightly icy look. "I would like for you to teach me how to create those mini-clones." The Hyuuga girl says and then, blushing slightly, which strengthens the resemble between Hinata and this girl, adds as weakly as she suddenly stares down at the floor, "Please."

He smiles slightly at the slightly shy and yet bold child standing before him. "Well then, can I at least know the name of my student to be?" He asks the young Hyuuga.

"I'm Hanabi, Hanabi Hyuuga." The newly dubbed Hanabi tells him as she looks straight up at him. He smiles and it wasn't long before he's ushering Hanabi into his apartment so they can discuss this.

After all, he had read up on the Hyuuga's bloodline limit and he could use some help with recreating the chakra system of his various custom Henges. He's sure that Hanabi had some thoughts on the matter since she has attended his productions using .

**First Part of the Chuunin Exam**

He allows his head to hit the wooden desk that contains the written test they need to complete. _I don't understand a single problem._ He mentally groans to himself and he turns his head to look out the window.

At the sight of a sparrow flying from a tree branch to another tree branch, an idea began to form. He manages to keep a grin off of his face and making a single hand sign, he creates three Shadow clones in the form of sparrows. Within seconds, the three move out from under the desk and take to the air.

_"Hey! Check it out! Somebody put mirrors up here!"_ Sparrow clone #1 declares. He's so glad that he managed to apply the telepathy of his first custom form to all of his shadow clones, although it comes more naturally to that first Henge(the one that looks like a Moomba) then when applied to any of the other Henge and with his clones.

_"Huh, why does this one have a vest under that jacket?"_ #2 muses while #3 seems to be trying to perch on somebody's shoulder.

He suppresses a sigh as he waits for his sparrow clones to get serious about looking at other people's test papers so he can write down the answers to these super hard questions. _"This guy's going pretty strong."_ #2 says.

_"Mind feeding me the answers then?"_ He asks #2 as he gets ready to write down the answer his clone sees on that one's test sheet.

Hanabi

She smiles as she watches as her little clones head though the small hole in the wall that leads into a special part of the library, the one that holds information about the Hyuuga's curse seal.

She activates her bloodline every so often to make sure that nobody is observing her and her mini-clones. Finally the last of the thirty-four clones vanished through the minor crack in the wall, she feels relieved at this as she begins to walk away.

_Maybe Hinata's got the right idea about Naruto. After all, altering a jutsu can't be done by just anyone._ She muses as she walks to the family dojo for some practice while she waits for her Mini Shadow Clones to complete their assignment.

Naruto

He walks out of the building in a minor daze now that they're out of the classroom. It takes him a few seconds to realize that he's alone. He stops and glances around for Sakura and Sasuke only to find that Sakura seems to be in an argument with Ino while Sasuke isn't anywhere in sight.

For a few seconds he felt angry and sad that neither of his team-mates were exiting the building with him after they entered it together. With a sigh, he shakes his head and tries to dismiss those feelings by focusing on something else.

_I wonder... is there anything in the rules against scouting out this field and maybe, setting up various traps in it for kicks?_ He wonders and in the end, as he walks out towards the training fields, he decides that it's worth a try.

With a grin, he transforms into a very familiar form once he's created over two hundred shadow clones who range in various colors and fur styles. His fur is more of a dark honey brown color with a creamy gold for his belly fur and around his hands and feet. His tail tuff is a darker shade of brown and finally, his eye color is a deep sapphire blue.

He grins at his army of clones and declares, _"Ok people! It's show time! Get yourselves organized in units. Some of you will head back to the apartment to get trap supplies, another group will begin gathering stuff to make more trap parts, and then most of you will first scout around this training field nicknamed the Forest of Death."_

He watches as his army gets organize and finally, he then leads the majority of the clone army to the right training field. A few of them drop to all fours and seem to pull out front of the group. It didn't take long before more of his clones mimic their actions and then, finally, he joins in.

It didn't take long before it becomes a race to see who arrives at the site of the next exam. _"You know, now would be a good time to see how long we can exist without getting dispelled."_ One of his clones muses, one who's dark gray in color.

_"And if you're still around, you can actively work to prank them."_ He muses privately to the gray one, one who he's already beginning to think of as an adviser of sorts.

_"There is that."_ The gray one says and he says, _"Well then, consider yourself second in command..."_

_"Stone-Child."_ Stone-Child supplies and he privately wondered if these code names weren't becoming active names among his clones.

_"Stone-Child it is then."_ He says and then returns to trying to win this race.

**Next Day**

He suppresses a yawn as he waits for the gate to open. By the end of the day, he had lost about thirty clones to various natives within the Forest of Death and had in turn, created twenty replacements for each clone that dispelled.

Finally, he decides to check in with Stone-Child. They didn't really exchange conversation, just thoughts and memories, which only took less then two minutes for them to be done. He felt more energized coming out of his trance and already had a good idea of how to control his team's progress.

_Step one, take the scroll from duck-butt. Step two, taunt them into giving chase. Step three, wait for clones to supply the needed scroll next to the tower._ He plots as he tries to keep his expression carefully schooled so neither of his team-mate had any inkling about what's about to happen.

Finally, the gate opens and he makes sure to bump into Sasuke to get the scroll. Within seconds, he's bolt ahead of his team-mates. "Let's see if you can get the scroll back, Mr duck-butt and Mrs duck-butt!" He shouts as he moves to get higher up in the trees to travel through the very tops instead of on the ground; where most of the large creatures were and where his clones and himself had set up the traps.

"Na-Ru-to!" He hears Sakura shout in a very acid tone. All he did was laugh at her unspoken threat as he continues to out pace the rest of his team.

Clone #346 - Code Name: **Laughing-Storm**

With a swish of his tail, a Genin team from Mist sets off one of the group capture traps. It didn't take long before Dull-Claw, Wet-Fur, and himself move to taunt the group into throwing things at them which should cause the pouch contains to fall out, giving them a chance to steal their scroll.

((Something that is slowly beginning to happen throughout the Forest of Death as various teams soon find themselves triggering traps set by Naruto and his clones.))

Tenten

"We're not alone." Neji declares and at a glance, she notices the veins around her team-mate's eyes were more visible then ever before.

A slight meowing sound erupts and it's answered by high pitched growl. Then, with a snarl, a group of four super cute creature step through the bushes. "Oh! Are you guys cute!" She declares within seconds of them getting about six feet towards them.

"Yosh! They do appear to have a large amount of youthfulness, don't they?" Lee muses and one of the mousy brown critter then flash Lee a toothy grin before giving the mini Green Beast a thumb up.

"Yosh! They truly do burn with the power of youth!" Lee declares with fire suddenly appearing around Lee's frame. She isn't the only one to back away, the cherry bay colored one sends the mousy brown one a minor glare.

The mousy brown makes a slightly clicking sound and looks slightly guilty about causing that. "Don't blame him too much, Lee's easy to set off." She tells the strange beings and that seems to do the trick as the others seem to let up on the mousy brown.

"Don't let your guard down, Tenten! They could be enemy summons." Neji says and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh yes, what blood thirsty demons these are. Eek, save me before they kill me and drain me of my blood." She say in a highly sarcastic tone before moving towards the group of... whatever they are.

"Can you help us? We're looking for a scroll like this one, only with a different character on it." She says to the group, even going so far as to show them the one she's carrying. She even went as far as to couch down to look so they didn't have to look up at her.

The group of four glance at each other and then back at the scroll. Then one of them grabs her wrist while making odd animalistic sounds. "I think they want us to follow them." She says as they begin to head off in a northern direction.

"I don't like it." Neji declares as she pockets the scroll.

"Yosh! Surely such youthful creatures won't trick us." Lee states, clearly supporting her decision.

"Besides, what kind of Genin's capable of summoning four of these guys?" She points out and then sprints off in the direction the furry beings had clearly been headed in.

It wasn't long before she hears the soft patter of her team-mates following her as she follows the strange being.

Clone #163 - Code Name: **Tail-Brush**

_"There's the one they need."_ He cries out and as the other three slow, he keeps up his pace until he's at the site.

With a cry of trumpet, he picks the scroll out of the little hole. _"I say we bargain for Neji, not Lee."_ Flash-Step grumbles with his arms crossed over his chest.

_"No way! We could use that green jumper and force it on somebody else!"_ Thunder-Rider counters.

_"Well, there isn't much cloths to chose from at this moment, but I agree, we exchange an hour with Lee for the Earth scroll."_ Fern-Pelt says firmly, which puts an end to that argument.

And so, they move to the agreed meeting point where they'll hook up with those closest so they can dress Lee Rock up in something other then the green spandex bodysuit. After all, it's not as if they'll likely have many teams willing to do anything but attack them.

Which makes Tenten's team to an unique team as far as they know. Which is why they'll be giving Tenten and her team the scroll they need.

Once they arrive at the old tree trunk that likely had belonged to a very tall and very old tree, they wait. By the time Tenten's team arrives at the site, more of their 'brothers' have arrived with what cloths they managed to steal from other teams pack or off their very backs.

All chatter stops as they turn to see Team Gai arriving. With a deep breath, he moves to greet the team. He's carrying the scroll that they needed as well. He makes sure to stop a few feet away from the group of humans.

He then holds the scroll up and he watches as the veins around Neji's temples pop, showing that the Hyuuga has activated his bloodline limit. He makes a odd meowing chirping sound which he hopes sounds like a question as none of them really want to give away that they're capable of telepathic communication.

"You found one! We have it?" Tenten asks and he turns to stare at Lee for a few seconds before he points a clawed 'finger' at Lee.

Neji seems to scowl, it seems that the Hyuuga had an idea of what they want before they'll turn over the scroll. Tenten sighs while Lee seems to scratch the side of his head as the bowl hair cut teen tries to make sense of their demands.

"I think they might want Lee's jumper in exchange for the scroll." Neji finally supplies and he nods rapidly in agreement.

"Oh..." Tenten says and it's about then does she notices the pile of cloths that they put out. Finally, Tenten moves over to her team-mate and pats Lee on the shoulder.

"We thank you for your sacrifice, Lee." Tenten says in a serious tone. Lee looks puzzled while Neji quickly knocks Lee out while Tenten turns her back on what's about to happen.

_"Do they really think we'd force him to go naked from here on?"_ Leaf-Stone wonders and he just shrugs.

_"Anyway, what kind of colors do you think would work to totally be opposite of his attitude?"_ Fern-Pelt wonders and soon, they begin to debate on which cloths they'll use.

Naruto

As he walks down the hallway, heading for the washroom, he runs into Team Gai. "Didn't you wear a green jumpsuit at the beginning of the test?" He asks the teen with bushy eyebrows.

"We made a deal with those cute beings. They took his jumpsuit and in return, we got these new cloths and the scroll we needed." Tenten explains and he gives them a startled look before moving so they can make it to their rooms.

_What do they want to do with his jumper then?_ He wonders thoughtfully as he continues to the washroom.

Ino

"I hate you." She declares in a flat tone as she walks out of the bushes wearing a very tacky green spandex jumpsuit.

The furry creatures that she had first thought harmless just got their faces added to the list of beings in her bad books.

"Look on the bright side, at least we didn't have to go up against any other Genin to get this scroll." Choji suggests and that earns a very hard and frank glare from her.

"Can we go now?" She demands and the one with the scroll tosses it at Shikamaru before they scurry away into the surrounding forest.

**- o 0 o -**


	11. The Many Shades of Naruto Part 3

**- o 0 o -**

Naruto

He glances around at the other four other teams that made it through the forest and his vast army of clones. He's not the only one to have found seeing Ino in Lee's spandex jumpsuit to be funny, though Ino had literally fainted when she found out that the suit belonged to Lee.

_Five teams, fifteen Genin..._ He muses as he recalls what happen to most of the other teams. By the end, all his clones had to do was open up the scrolls and they'd be knocked out by whatever was written on them.

He suppresses a shudder as he recalls the encounter with a certain ninja that seemed to be part snake. He's a little more then glad that the scrolls affected that one in the same way as it did the others or else that ninja would have discovered that those creatures were actually shadow clones.

He tones back in as Kiba shouts out, "You mean we're not done with the second part of this test?" Akamaru barks out in agreement.

"But there's an odd number! Does that mean somebody has to fight twice or something?" Sakura asks from in front of him.

He's not as worried about this, well, so long as he doesn't fight Gaara he's fine with it since he's still not willing to let people know that all of those furry creatures they made contact with were his clones since he rather not get booted out of the Chuunin exam, not when he's so close to seeing it through all the way.

_Although I wouldn't mind seeing Sasuke get his butt handed to him by Gaara._ He admits as he looks over Sakura's shoulder to stare at the brooding Uchiha.

Before they headed up onto the catwalk an electric board appears on the wall. His name appears as does Kiba's. Kiba cheers something about having to fight an easy opponent while he just begins to think of a strategy to help him in this fight.

He also bite his tongue as Akamaru leaps off of Kiba's head and onto the ground. He already had a feeling that Akamaru is very much allowed to fight for Kiba since nobody seems to be asking dog boy to have his canine pet follow Hinata and Shino up the metal stairs.

_Hope my plan works..._ He mentally prays as he waits for the match to begin. He eyes the master and his pet, wondering who's going to make the first move.

"I bet your puppy's got bigger teeth then you do, dog breath." He taunts Kiba and the other Genin just smirks.

"You want to know what your problem is, Naruto? You're all bark and no bite!" Kiba counters with his puppy arfing in agreement.

"I bet Akamaru's farts smell better then your breath, mutt." He says and then charges at Kiba as his hands form a single hand sign.

Kiba seems to snort, likely realizing that he over shoot the leap but as his tiny clones appear in his jacket, he manages to somersault just over Kiba's head. Tiny silver balls drop out of his jacket and onto Kiba's head.

As he lands, he finds that he has yet to receive any memories from the newly created clones. _"I just need two of you guys to get into his ear and then shout really, really loud when I give the signal, ok?"_ He sends to his troop of tiny clones as he does his best to counter Kiba's attacks.

_"Rogue!"_ The clones chime and he then creates a few regular sized shadow clones. He did in a distracted manner notice that these clones did take a bit more damage then a single punch but is too busy trying to figure out where Kiba and Akamaru were going to attack from while a smoke screen is up to really think about it.

Finally he feels two chakra pulses from Kiba and manages to back a few feet away. "Well then, I guess its time to try this jutsu I've been working on." He then goes through a series of five random, de-powered hand signs and then shouts mentally, _"Now!"_

And with that, Kiba suddenly drops to the ground clutching his ears while howling for him to make it stop. With Kiba down for the count, Akamaru doesn't know how to help his master. "If you forfeit I'll cancel it!" He declares as loud as he can.

Finally, after two minutes Kiba forfeits and he wins the match. It didn't take long before he dispels the remaining mini clones so that they stop shouting in Kiba's ears. He did notice a pair of people in tacky white uniforms checking on Kiba to see if there's permanent damage from his experimental 'jutsu'.

"What jutsu was that, Dobe?" Sasuke asks and he snorts softly once he's with his 'loving' team.

"One that you'll never get to work, duck-butt." He tells the brooding boy as they wait for another two names to pop up. While Sakura decides to harp on about being disrespectful to Sasuke and Kakashi frowning in disappointment, the board finally settles on Sakura vs Ino.

"Sakura... Sakura! You're either going to forfeit now or get down there!" He shouts as he cuts in between Sakura's shrieking lecture.

"What are you talking about, loser?" Pinky asks as she turns to see what's written on the board. He also noticed a few disapproving looks from the nearest teams within hearing range, it seems that they didn't particular like listening to the pink banshee scream at him.

The match wasn't very impressive and he felt confident that if Kakashi had even once tried to do his job, Sakura wouldn't have looked so pathetic as Ino possesses Sakura to causes pinky to forfeit, which apparently is a legal tactic within minutes of the match.

Sakura, of course, being horrified at how easily she had been defeated had left the arena in tears while Ino walks up to 'claim' a hug from the icy prick of the north, also known as Sasuke 'duck-butt' Uchiha before returning to her own team.

The next people to be call to fight were Shino and Kankuro, it had been a long match but it seems that Shino won simply because the Sand Genin underestimated Shino's ability to think a few more step ahead of him. Although if Kankuro had used the poisons he had on him then it might have been Shino being defeated.

Shikamaru vs Tenten appears once the floor is cleared. He could only imagine Shikamaru declaring this all to be bothersome, although unlike what he expected, Shikamaru actually walked down to fight against an older Genin, especially a girl.

He watches as Shikamaru used the shadows of the catwalk to maneuver Tenten. He shakes his head as he watches as Tenten hits her head on the wall behind her as she mimics Shikamaru into dodging a kunai. _Not a bad way to win a match without any real bloodshed._

The board then flashes Sasuke's name and then Lee's name. He coughs to cover his laughter, after all, he just knows that Lee's going to win, hands down and ten minutes later, Sasuke's right arm is at an odd angle, he's got a bit of blood around his lips, and he's got this dazed look on his face.

He could tell that pretty much nobody seemed to expect Lee to walk away with a victory in that match. He notices how Kakashi slips to follow Sasuke and the healers, leaving him pretty much on his own.

He notices a frown on more then a few Jonin's faces. It seems that even they expected a better showing then that from the 'Great' Sasuke Uchiha. Especially when the dead last of the class managed to win his match.

He just leans on the rails and waits for the next begin, of course that seems to be taking a while as Lee doesn't seem to be stopping in his victory ranting about how youthfulness and hard work wins out over born geniuses.

Finally, Gai intervenes and finally the match between Temari and Choji can begin. It didn't take long before Choji's too dizzy from rolling around the floor and getting blasted by wind that Temari creates using her fan.

The next match is Hinata against Neji. He did try and cheer Hinata on as she tries to prove to Neji that people can change. Sadly, Neji hit her square in the chest and as he watches on, he suddenly had a very good reason to complete his dragon Henge before the third part of the exam takes place.

It's about then does he realize that Gaara has of yet to be call down to fight. Although he's a bit surprise at how quickly some of the seven matches, including his own, had been.

And finally the old man ruled that due to the uneven number of participants that Gaara will automatically advance and this seems to cause Gaara to frown but he noticed a tension leave not just the Jonin with the Sand team but also Kankuro and Temari.

_Huh, how odd._ He muses before those that were moving onto the next stage of events were to be on the floor so they can see who's fighting who in the next round.

_Neji right off the bat, too, huh? Oh boy is everyone in for a huge surprise. Nobody will consider me a loser after what I'm about to unleash._ He muses as he watches as a board if filled with their names on it.

**Two Weeks Later**

As he;'s laying down on his back as he watches a few of his ten to five foot long dragon shape clones snake through the air. A few clutch pearls with kanji on them, these pearls solo purpose of gathering chakra to help power their body structure and energy blasts.

"Naruto?" He hears a familiar voice calls out and he sits up to find Hanabi Hyuuga struggling to keep from staring in awe at his collection of dragons.

"Hey Hanabi. How's it going?" He says with a warm smile at the young girl.

Hanabi smiles shyly at him before she gives him a questioning look. "I'm trying to perfect my ability at summoning dragons." He explains and Hanabi raises an eyebrow for a few seconds before she continues towards him.

"I need some help with my Henge jutsu." Hanabi says with a sigh and he stands up.

"Ok, let's see your progress so far." He suggests and Hanabi nods in agreement. Seconds later Hanabi transforms into an odd likeness of Neji, and by odd, he means slightly larger hands and what appears to be a third eye being covered by a headband with a symbol of spiral without the added bits that make it look like a leaf.

"Well, you're not as bad as Konohamaru was. He made a lot of them overweight." He tells her and in a puff of smoke, Hanabi returns to normal.

"Now then, have you tried doing this before a mirror?" He begins and Hanabi blinks as she shakes her head. He thinks about it for a few seconds before saying, "Ok, I'm going to go through a series of hand signs and I want you to copy them, ok?"

Hanabi nods and he begins going through the hand signs for one of his rarely used custom Henges. He goes as slow has he dares and Hanabi is just a few seconds. It didn't take long for them they visibly sport a pair of large furry ears on the top of their heads, slitted eyes, claw like nails, and bushy tails.

He's very pleased that Hanabi managed to get it right the first time around. Their cloths altered to permit their tails to wag about behind them. "You got it one go! Pretty impressive, it took a whole day for Konohamaru to learn my Sexy jutsu. Congratulations." He tells her as she pulls slightly on her tail and yelps in pain after tugging a bit too hard.

"I don't get how come you're having any difficulty using the academe Henge jutsu." He admits as he frowns with his arms crossed before him.

"Well, I haven't practiced it much." Hanabi muses as she begins to notice that she's got a pair of furry ears on her head. "My clan doesn't use a lot of jutsus, especially genjutsu."

"Well, I guess that explains why Hinata didn't try a fire jutsu or something on Neji." He muses and Hanabi nods.

"If that's so, then try practicing the Henge before a mirror. It also helps if you make sure to focus on the details as well." He says and Hanabi nods in agreement.

"How long will this last?" Hanabi asks him and he blinks before shrugging. "Never thought to see how long it'll last without me dispelling."

"So if I want to end it now, I'd have to dispel it then?" Hanabi asks and he nods. Hanabi seems to be highly relieved by that.

"Anyway, if you get frustrated just do the variation I gave you to remind yourself that you're not hopeless in using Henge." He says and Hanabi nods before she holds up her hand as she leaves.

Once Hanabi is out of sight, he turns to regard those dragon clones. "Let's see just how large I can make the next set." He muses and before he begin on the handseals, he takes a few moment to gather chakra for the up coming clone.

**- o 0 o -**


	12. The Many Shades of Naruto Part 4

**- o 0 o -**

**Final Exam**

The crowd roars at Neji's name while he's trying to wrap his mind around just how many people showed to watch this tournament. He feels a tad nervousness about preforming before such a huge number of people.

_I hope I don't choke._ He muses as his name is called. He almost doesn't hear the bit of advice that the proctor gives them, which kind of helps settle his nerves.

And so, as the match begins, he already visualizes which dragon he's going to 'summon'. Biting his thumb while Neji begins to launch a verbal attack, he does the hand signs for a summoning jutsu.

Seconds later everybody seems to quiet down as the dragon Henge tagged Streamblast appears under him. He's standing on his clone's head. "Let's roar through the sky, Streamblast!" He shouts and Streamblast lets loose a high pitched call before they raise high into the air.

It didn't take long before the crowd roars loudly as Streamblast begins to circle high above the stadium since there wasn't enough room for Streamblast to do so within the confinements of the stadium.

_"They look like ants from up here!"_ Streamblast muses and he glances downward to find that his clone is right.

He glance behind him and finds the string of soft green pearls rotating around Streamblast's midsection. "Well, let's see if you can fire off energy blasts." He muses and Streamblast growls softly in agreement.

The creamy green dragon moves into position in such a way that he has to use chakra to keep on his clone's head. As energy begins to gather between Streamblast's open mouth, he did wonder if a single warning shoot will be enough to get Neji to forfeit.

Neji

He couldn't help but stare in dumbfoundment at the dragon his blond opponent has just summoned. A dragon that's at least a good sixty miles in length. Naruto says something to the dragon and the summon takes to the air.

_Maybe I shouldn't have tried a speech at all and just go for the kill._ He decides as he feels something heavy weight down in his midsection. _I didn't even know there is such a thing as a dragon contract._

As he recovers, he glances at the proctor and asks, "Does this mean I win? He's clearly out of the stadium." He really hopes there are rules about this.

"Flying summons are permitted to fly above the stadium." The proctor rules.

As he's about to say something else, something flashes off to his left and he finds a beam of blue light hitting the ground. Seconds later, the ground around the impact spot explodes and he's hit by the rumble that's blown up into the air because of the beam of energy.

"I think I would like to forfeit." He says as calmly as he can as he ignores the sudden wetness of his pants.

"Wise choice." The proctor says before declaring loudly, "Winner! Naruto Uzuamaki!"

The crowd goes wild and the dragon descends to the ground with its summoner. _Next time, attack before they can pull something like this out of their bag of tricks._ He tells himself as he walks out of the arena floor.

Orochimaru

_How dare such a child gain such a powerful summon without my knowing! And to think I believed Manda when he said there wasn't such a thing as a dragon summoning contract!_ He growls mentally as the dragon with a string of pearls slowly rotating the midsection of the slender scaly body.

He eyes the blond hungrily. _Too bad I can't have Kabuto befriend this Naruto Uzumaki and tempt the blond to come to Hidden Sound._

Naruto

He watches as white feathers begin to fall seemingly from the sky. As he begins to feel sleepy, he manages to flare his chakra slightly and he felt more alert. As he glances around, he finds that Temari is now by Gaara while Ino's body lies on the ground.

He glances around the box but in the end, he heads down to find out what the heck is going on. Just as he lands, he notices action already erupting around the crowd. Without a thought, he creates a huge army of regular shadow clones as he sprints towards Ino's body.

"What the heck is going on?!" He demands as he crouches down to check on Ino's body. His army of clones were already moving to lend help where they can.

"You want to know what's going on?! That girl is trying to possess a person who's already possessed!" Temari snaps at him. He could tell that Temari is stressed out by this.

He watches as Temari jumps at least two feet into the air as sand begins to move. With a roll of his eyes, he performs a powerful water jutsu and within seconds, Gaara and the ground around him is now very muddy.

He raises an eyebrow at the sight of the large gourd begins to run. Three water jutsus later and the gourd made out of sand is totally been made into mud while Gaara's voice finally gives and silence seems to reign while Gaara trashes about at random times.

"Ino... I think it's time you came out of there." He says while he begins to get memories of the clones he created. As Gaara turns to glare at him, he gets the feeling that Ino's silently declaring, 'Geeze, you think?'

With a mental groan, he walks up to Gaara and then, in a single punch to the head, knocks Gaara out. Seconds later, Ino's body is moving while Temari just stares in flat amazement at him.

"You just hit Gaara... You're still alive!" The teen says in dumbfounded amazement and he just shakes his head and sighs.

"Yea well, good to know that such a simple thing amazes you." He says as he helps Ino up off the ground.

"Do you know how much that punch hurt?" Ino asks in her best threatening tone. It didn't work since she's clearly exhausted and is swaying on her feet.

"Will you marry me?" Temari asks as she seemingly appears before him and clutches his hand in a death grip. As he stares into her eyes, he suddenly gets the feeling that his next answer could change the course of his whole life.

"We barely know each other! I don't know about you, but I kind of hoped to marry for love, you know?" He answers in a slow manner.

"Yea! You can't marry him, your village is currently trying to invade us!" Ino growls as she leans more on him to stay up right.

"I don't think they're trying, I think they're doing." He murmurs as he frowns at the number of battle scenes his clones are getting themselves in before they're 'killed'.

"All the more reason for us to marry! It could be a political marry to help repair the bridges between my village and your's! I am the daughter of our Kage." Temari says and he blinks.

"You do realize your father's dead, right? Gaara figured that some guy with snakes has been impersonating him a bit before you guys left for the Chuunin exam." Ino counters.

Temari looks startled before she gives Ino a slow grin. "Well then, it seems I'm not the only one who's interested in Naruto, huh?"

To his surprise, Ino's face reddens slightly. "Well... you have to admit that with him possessing the summoning contract he has, he's going to be one famous ninja in under a week's time." Ino says and he turns sharply to get a clearer look of Ino's face.

"And here I thought you were like pinky, pining after that Uchiha." Temari says with a smirk.

"Yes well, I'm sure that the village would rather have him marry a native then a foreigner." Ino counters and he suddenly turns away from Ino, suddenly feeling very light headed and not just from the memories of his clones.

While the two girls begin to argue over certain points, he takes the time to contact various clones. Once he's done that, forming a single hand sign, he creates about five hundred and some clones who then take off, already knowing where to go and who to help.

"Just how many of those kinds of clones can you make?" Temari asks as the last of the clones vanish out of the arena floor. He blinks to look at the Sand Genin.

"I don't know, over a thousand? I've lost count months ago." He admits and he feels Ino stiffen behind her.

"But you couldn't do a simply clone while at the academe!" Ino says in awe.

"If they had bothered to teach me how to control my chakra while at school, I might not have done too bad at performing those jutsus. I'm better at jutsus that need little chakra control but a large supply of it, the ones that are ranked over B and up." He admits sourly, not that he doesn't still like Iruka but he has to admit a little praise at the fact he had Kage level chakra would have been nice to hear while at school.

"You can make a thousand of those clone now? At your age?" Temari asks and he nods. It didn't take long before the Sand Genin's eyes seem to stare off into space without really seeing him.

"Give it a few years and you'll be able to make..." Temari trails off as awe and shock appear on her face. "Millions... you're pretty much an army onto yourself!"

"And you always did have good stamina..." Ino muses and he continues to feel out of his depth as this conversation continues on.

Finally a cheer erupts and Temari's other team-mate, Kankuro, appears with some Jonin who's hiding half his face. "What have you been doing all this time, Temari? And what happened to Gaara? Why haven't you escaped with him while he's occupied with the dizzy blond?"

"Who are you calling a dizzy blond, Mr who wears make-up while playing with dolls?" Ino growls at Kankuro and Temari nods in agreement.

"Knock it off! We have to go, now!" Barks the Jonin from Sand as Kankuro moves to threaten Ino. As Kankuro picks up Gaara off the ground, Temari just sighs and the team vanishes, likely heading out of the village.

"Well, at least they didn't attack either of us." He muses as he feels Ino pull away from him. "Feeling better?"

"Much. You wouldn't believe what I found in his mind." Ino answers and he frowns but doesn't say anything since he's chosen to go through his latest set of memories.

He pales and Ino asks, "What's wrong now?"

"The old man Hokage... He's dead." He tells her and Ino gives him a look of disbelief but as her teacher comes towards them, Ino finally asks, "How do you know?"

"A clone who witnessed the battle finally dispelled and I just sorted through his memories." He tells her before he looks off in the direction of where the Third had fought against that snake ninja.

**- o 0 o -**


	13. The Many Shades of Naruto Part 5

**- o 0 o -**

**Bar**

As they stalk out of the bar, he's very intent on beating this old lady for totally dissing the title of Hokage. _She'll never know what hit her!_ He tells himself as they space out while the old lady's student tries to stop their fight.

"Ready when you are, old lady!" He shouts out at the blond with a purple diamond mark on her forehead.

Tsunade snorts as she muses, "Confident little snotty brat, aren't you? All I need to defeat you is with a single finger."

He snorts as he just smirks at the seemingly young ninja. _Who says I'm even going to get within close quarters with you?_ He thinks at the woman before him.

He goes through the act of summoning and calls forth one of his clones in a dragon Henge that's about twenty foot in length. He feels highly satisfied at the looks of shock at the sight of his dragon clone. _"This is just too easy!"_ His clone declares as the robin blue dragon clone begins to power up a blast of wind to knock the woman off of her feet.

As the woman recovers from the sight, she's within half a second of getting hit with the attack. The wind attack blasts her about a foot away from where she's originally standing. His clone roars as he climbs a bit into the air before beginning to circle over him.

"Not exactly what I expected from you, brat." Tsunade admits as she picks herself up off the ground. He couldn't keep off a smirk from his face, not that he tried too hard though.

"That's just a warning shot, the next one won't be that weak." He informs her and his growls in agreement.

"We'll see if the next one even connects." Tsunade snaps at him and he just shrugs.

_"She likely thinks you need time to gather the energy into your mouth."_ He muses to his clone with a smile. _"It would be true if I were at least forty feet in length."_ His clone reminds him.

_"Details, details."_ He says as he watches with a bit of confusion as the old lady before him seems to be judging something.

Then, suddenly, she stomps on the ground. He leaps back within seconds of her raising her foot. He lands on the side of a building and watches as the street between where he had originally stood and where Tsunade had been look like a minor earthquake just occurred. Tsunade gives him an annoyed look, forgetting about his dragon clone.

Big mistake as his clone fires off rapid energy blasts, at least eight of them. At least three connect while the others hit the street around her, causing minor craters to be created around Tsunade's fallen form. "Lady Tsunade!" Shizune calls out as she races to check on her teacher.

"Isn't that a little over kill, brat?" Jiraiya asks and he shrugs. "I warned her that the next set won't be as weak as the wind blast." He points out and the Toad summon just sighs.

"That's not the problem." The white haired man states while his clone comes to land by him and he begins to stroke the navy blue mane that belongs to his dragon clone.

With a sigh, the clone moves to lean in closer as the spring green eyes close slightly. _"So then, what's your name?"_ He asks as they wait for Tsunade to recover from getting hit by those energy blasts.

_"Just call me Tide."_ The clone replies and he just sighs. _Why am I not surprised?_

"How is she?" Jiraiya asks as Shizune helps Tsunade get to her feet. "Ask her yourself, you pervert." The blond woman growls as the pair take a few steps towards them.

As Tsunade spots Tide, she frowns. "Since when has there been a dragon contract?" The old woman asks him while she stares at Tide.

"Well then, what would you call him if not a dragon?" He asks her, wondering if she suspects the true nature behind the mask of the beast. Tide glances over at the Hokage to be, pulling away from his hand.

Though it takes a few minutes, Tsunade and Shizune stand before Tide and soon the pair are examining Tide before Tsunade finally sighs. "Fine, it's a dragon." Tsunade declares and he felt a mixture of achievement and relief on hearing that.

_All that hard work, it seems to have payed off big time._ He muses with a wide grin on his face with his arms crossed behind his head.

**Six Days Later**

"So that is a boss summon, huh?" He asks Shizune while once Kabuto has finish smearing some blood on the snake nin's arm. He also noted how blood thirsty the giant purple snake seems now that it's been summoned.

"Haven't you summoned the dragon boss yet?" Shizune asks and he shakes his head as the snake summoner and summon finish their discussion. As one, they turn to regard the toad with a dagger hanging from a belt.

"No, no I haven't. So far the named dragon I've summoned has been Streamblast and he's about sixty miles long." He admits while he begins to consider ideas of what he wants his boss dragon to look like.

"And he's not the boss? Take Manda there, he's a hundred miles long! You should be more then able to summon your summon's boss." Shizune tells him and he blinks before he regards the purple snake with a calculating look.

"Really? I wonder if Streamblast could take that snake then." He wonders before glancing over to the prone form of Tsunade.

"Is she going to be any help?" He asks, he feels pity just looking at the grown woman who's proven to be very high strung individual. He thought she wouldn't have cracked the way she did.

"Sadly, Lady Tsunade is hemophobia after losing so many of her loved ones." The familiar voice of Kabuto supplies, he looks at where the voice came from and noticed that the white haired teen is no more then ten feet from them.

"Well, that explains why you've got blood running down your arms." He muses calmly. He hadn't really cared much about what this guy had to say at the first exam and finds that he still doesn't care.

"What? No shock that I'm a traitor, Naruto?" Kabuto asks and he just shrugs in a uncaring fashion.

"I never gave you any more thought once the test started. It's not like you didn't desire to vomit after mouthing off before a room of foreign ninja." He points out and this causes Kabuto to frown. It seems that the white haired teen had hope to have made a greater impression on him.

"Besides, you were sucking up to Mr duck-butt, so it's not surprising at what kind of boyfriend you picked up since then." He states with a smirk. "I'm sure he appreciates you're skilled hands too; in many ways and in may positions." He adds with a toothy grin in a very suggestive way.

He's very satisfied to hear Shizune snicker softly as she finally gets what he's implying but what really sells it is the slightly gaping look Kabuto is giving him. It wasn't long before Kabuto recovers and gives him a glare with a hint of killing intent.

"Oh? Was that just a secret I stumbled upon? Oh well, I'm sure it would have come out sooner or later, after all, the man is old enough to be your grandfather. It's a classic case of hand in the cradle if I ever saw one." He adds in a very authoritative way, complete with his chin resting on a fist.

He's more then privately bemused at how riled up Kabuto has gotten within the span of minutes. Finally Kabuto seems to finally realize that he's being made fun off and it's throwing him off balance. It takes Kabuto a few seconds to calm down, but he could tell that the teen still is simmering with anger, well for the moment at any rate.

"It seems you have a very active imagination." Kabuto muses and he replies, "Not half as active as pervy sage over there, but then, I guess it's hard to see your boyfriend's old flame court him, huh? Just look at the passion glinting from the pair of them! They must have been one hot item at one time."

And finally, Tsunade finally reacts by giggling at the image that brought up. _About damn time she snaps out of it! Heck, I'm not sure if Kabuto's realized that he's all healed up yet._ He muses as the ground shakes as the big old toad lands on the ground after leaping out of the snake's lunging bite.

"Besides, what kind of man did you expect to sign a snake summon, huh? It wouldn't surprise me if he has other uses for 'snakes' of all shapes and sizes." He continues on saying.

"I don't believe I'll ever look at Orochimaru the same way ever again." Tsunade muses while Shizune sounds as if she's suppressing her chuckles. He doesn't take his eyes off of Kabuto, he really rather not find himself dieing without knowing what hit him.

Kabuto pushes his glasses up in a manner that scream 'sinister'. "Well, enough chit chat. Lord Orochimaru needs Lady Tsunade's medical skills to restore his arms. So either surrender her or be prepared to die." The white haired teen says and he snorts at how corny that sounds.

"The sad part is that you're likely right about the only reason why he'd be insterested in a woman is when he needs their ninja skills." He says in bemusement and he finally gets Kabuto to develop a minor tick.

Without saying anything in verbal retaliation, the teen begins to launch his attack. The moment Kabuto seemed to vanish, he created a number of clones and managed to switch places with a rock. Just in time too as Kabuto suddenly appears and stabs the rock.

With their target sighted, his clones begin their attack while Shizune looks torn between guarding Tsunade and joining his clones in fighting off the white haired teen. It didn't take long before a clone and himself to create the Rasengan in his left hand.

"Try this on for size, you creepy boy toy!" He shouts within seconds of entering into a charge, a pair of clones racing in front of him as he charges at the white haired ninja. "Rasengan!" He shouts as the pair of clones before him puff out of existence as Kabuto slices through them with some kind of chakra blade.

He manages to hit the teen in the stomach but Kabuto manages to slice him in the right shoulder before the force of his jutsu finally sends the teen flying backwards while rotating about in the air. As he clenches his shoulder, his various clones move to make sure that Kabuto's knocked out.

"Here, let me see that." Tsunade says once she's standing next to him. He hisses as he tries to shrug his shoulder and he watches as a hand covered in green chakra moves over his shoulder.

"Thanks." He says as the strange mixture of numbness and pain begins to fade within seconds of having her work on his shoulder.

He glances up as one of his clones alert him to the fact that Kabuto's still awake. "He's still awake but it seems he's having trouble repairing the damage caused by that attack." He tells the pair of medic trained ninja.

"I do believe we have more immediate concerns." Shizune says and it didn't take him long to notice how the toad looks like it's on its last pair of legs.

"I do believe it's time to throw my hat back into the game." Tsunade says calmly and he glances at Shizune in puzzlement as he begins to flex his right side of his body. "Huh?"

"I think she's accepting the position." Shizune says and his eyes widen on hearing that. "Oh!"

And so, while his clones decide to see what kind of injuries done to Kabuto takes the most time to heal, he watches as Tsunade bites her own thumb and summons a giant slug. "..." He really didn't know how to comment on seeing that one.

**Hidden Leaf**

"It's my contract and therefore I get to decide who signs it or doesn't, you bastard! So bugger off and go get lunch from a pond or something!" He shouts angrily at his supposed all powerful team-mate, the one with the hair style in the shape of the rear end of a duck.

"Now, now, Naruto. Sasuke's your team-mate, it's only right for you to share your successes with your team." Kakashi says in a disapproving manner.

He turns to glance at his team's leader before noticing the disapproving looks of a few of the ninja that were now gathering about them as he tries to have lunch in peace. _Oh, so that's how it is. I get a new trick and now I'm suppose to 'share' it with them. I don't see Kakashi pushing for Sasuke to share his fire jutsus._ He thinks sourly before turning his back on the pair of them.

He picks up his chop sticks and begins to eat his cooling bowl of Ramen. He's so tired of having to fight Sasuke off and now he just learnt that Kakashi is throwing his total support behind the Uchiha in the brat's current obsession with bullying him into allowing the ice prince himself to sign the supposed summoning contract with dragons that he 'discovered' during that month between the second and final part of the Chuunin exams.

He feels the tension rise but he refuses to continue speaking with them. "If you do it, I'll teach you a jutsu." Kakashi offers and that tears it.

"Oh yea, where was your offer of training while I getting ready to participate in the third event of the Chuunin exam? Oh wait, you were training the Genin who didn't even pass the preliminarily fight with Lee Rock! I bet you didn't even take Sakura along with you to give her training to help her get over her lose to her _former_ **best friend**!" He shouts as he turns to face the pair once more.

The crowd gasps and its clear that many of the ninja gathered around seem to be highly disapproving of Kakashi's code of conduct.

"You know what? I think I'll ask the old lady to transfer out of this so call team of yours since it's clear you're more interested in a master and apprentice training then in _team_ training! You never taught me anything, nothing at all! I learnt tree climbing and water walking all on my own with some vague hints I read from a few books in the library! I bet you can't even name any jutsu you ever taught me or Sakrua, tree climbing doesn't count either." He practically got Kakashi cornered as the crowd waits for the masked Jonin to prove him wrong.

Kakashi's silence proves very damning as seconds tick by. Sasuke seemed to have enough smarts as to not say anything about how useless training their pink haired team-mate as she'll never amount to anything. By the time two minutes have come and gone, the crowd begins to murmur among themselves, most of the whispers were on how sad it was that Kakashi couldn't live up to his teacher's example.

"If you want Sasuke to be able to summon, why don't you let him sign your dog contract, eh? Just leave me the heck alone." He states before he just sighs as he turns to once more face the counter so that he can returns to eating his very cold Ramen. He feels a kind of hollow feeling now that he's confronted Kakashi about his teaching methods or lack of.

_I bet my clones are having more fun then I am at this very moment._ He muses with a sigh. He felt old before his time. _Although that's likely because of witnessing that invasion from different view points._ He adds with a frown as he swirls his chop sticks in the broth.

**Three Days Later**

"So just how much is this building going for?" He asks Tenten as he passes by her with a full box of stuff. He has two clones packing stuff away into books in each of the rooms of this old inn.

"Why? You interested in buy it?" Tenten asks and he nods.

"Sure, why not? It's not like I have to spend a lot of my on hiring people to restore it. Heck, I could sell it after I do so for more money then what I bought it for since they wouldn't have to spend money on fixing it." He explains to Tenten and she gets a thoughtful look on her face, as if the thought of using a jutsu in such a way never crossed her mind.

"Just what sort of things do you use your clones for?" Tenten asks after a few minutes of thinking about this. He blinks and considers carefully about what to reveal.

"Well, they're good at gathering information, a simple Henge and they can spend all day in the library studying, having them practice jutsus, having them take turns entertaining Konohamaru and his friends... I guess I can use them for pretty much everything." He admits and Tenten looks impressed before Lee calls out Tenten's name.

"Maybe I should check in and see just what kind of entertainment you're providing those kids." Tenten says before she continues on her way to take Lee his lunch.

He then continues on his way carrying the box in his arms down to the trash pile since most of what's in the box is bits of ruined walls and ceiling. He finds a few of his fetch and carry clones currently taking a break. He waves at them once his arms are free of the box.

"Just remember, you guys only get fifteen minutes every three hours!" He calls out at the group of eleven clones. They all either just nod or wave in acknowledgment of that reminder.

He did notice that the owner seems to be grumbling about something while sorting through the other boxes, the ones that contain items that they founded in the rooms, like broken picture frames or dirty shoes.

He walks over to the table where his lunch is resting on and began to dig through the bag to get at his lunch. It wasn't long before Tenten comes out of the ruined inn to eat her own lunch.

"Hey Hanabi! Neji isn't here, he's joined in a patrol. And, what happened? How did you get that tail and those ears?" Tenten calls out and he turns to find the young Hyuuga child standing just out on the street.

"I've come to speak with Naruto. He's been helping me with my Henge jutsu." Hanabi says coolly and he waves the girl over.

"So then, what seems to be the problem?" He asks her once Hanabi is standing before him, complete with twitching tail and flickering ears.

"I'm still not getting it right." Hanabi admits with a minor hint of redness on her checks. He hums thoughtfully as he studies her for a few seconds.

"Have you tried transforming into somebody your age? I mean, the Henge you have on doesn't try and add height." He muses before he takes a bite out of his sandwich.

Hanabi nods and goes through the standard Henge hand signs. A puff of smoke later and Konohamaru appears, he nods in approval and in another puff of smoke, Hanabi appears once more. "Your Konohamaru is perfect! Try transforming into others of your age and then slowly advance through the age groups." He suggests to the child, who then nods thoughtfully.

Then, hasting slightly, Hanabi asks, "I don't suppose you can show me another special Henge before I go?"

He blinks before smiling as he puts the sandwich down. "Sounds fine. You ready to memorize this?" He asks and Hanabi nods her head rapidly.

He slowly does the hand signs for another body modification, the Henge is for one of the Tengu two version he created. Within seconds, he's wearing a bird mask with his cloths being replaced by a black set of robes that allows wings to stretch out behind him. A flute hangs off the belt with thick, sharp nails on each finger. His feet are now bare with only three thick toes tipped with talons.

On hearing a whistle, he turns and finds Tenten admiring his new appearance. He runs a hand through his even more spiked blond hair. "Tenten! I forgot you were there..." He trails off, his voice sounding a great deal deeper then it usual is.

"Do these really work?" Hanabi asks and he glances over to study the smaller masked Tengu flaps her black wings. "Maybe, it depend on the strength of your muscles." He answers Hanabi's question.

"How long does it take to develop those muscles?" Tenten asks and he frowns behind the mask as he tries to think up the answer.

"It's more like getting use to the flapping them, it also helps if you leap fairly high in the air while focusing a steady bit of chakra to the wings." He admits as he recalls the memories from his previous Tengu clones.

"Like this?" Hanabi asks and within seconds, the young Hyuuga is in the air and with a few flaps, lands a good twenty some feet away. "You might need to wait until you got more upper body strength, but good first try." He calls out to Hanabi.

"That's... kind of freaky." Tenten admits and he turns to glance over at the soon to be fourteen year old.

"How so? I'll admit, it's a different transformation from taking the likeness of others. I'm sure plenty of others have transformed in similar things. I mean, Kiba could get Akamaru to transform into a duplicate of himself and get that wild look to transfer onto him." He points out to Tenten as a few of his clones begin shouting out pointers.

"You do realize that Henge is only a genjutsu that enshrouds you, right?" The teen informs him and he just stares at her, although its likely lost on her as his face is covered by a mask.

"Really? But how does that work? I mean, it kind of sounds as though you can't impersonate somebody older or younger then you. And why would they even consider it a transformation jutsu if it doesn't alter your body in anyway?" He asks after a few minutes, lunch pretty much forgotten.

"It's just to alter your appearance, nothing else." Tenten explains and he sighs.

"I've never been good at genjutsu, it's why I can't do the basic clone jutsu." He admits with a frown.

And then silence reigns between them for a few seconds before Tenten asks, "Can I touch them? Your wings I mean."

"Just don't try to tug a feather out, they vanish in under fifteen minutes." He explains to the older Genin.

It takes a few seconds before Tenten actually moves to touch his extended left glossy black wing for her to feel. "Feels soft." Tenten says and he hums thoughtfully, he glances over to where Hanabi is on the ground, likely panting.

"I styled them off of owl feathers." He explains and Tenten begins to use the palm of her hand to pet his feathery wings.

"What do you look like without the mask?" Tenten inquires and he grins. "If you're envision a long nose, there isn't one on this Tengu version Henge." He answers.

"I think I'll be the judge of that, Naruto." Tenten says and he folds his two black wings. "If you say so." He replies.

With his right hand, he removes the bird mask and reveals an unaltered face that the mask hides. "So if Hanabi removes her mask..." Tenten trails off and he nods with a grin on his face.

"Her own face will be unchanged as well." He says and then puts the mask back on.

"I think it's time for us to get back to work." Tenten suggests and he nods. Within seconds the Tengu Henge vanishes and he returns to his original appearance.

He mentally tells one of his clones to stay behind to keep an eye on Hanabi. He's more then a little happy that the owner of the property had already left by the time Hanabi appeared. It, hopefully, mean that there won't be any gossip concerning his 'corruption' of a member of the Hyuuga clan.

"Err, could you kind of stay silent about how I'm helping Hanabi with her Henge jutsu? I really don't need people getting certain thoughts in there head about what kind of relationship is going on between us. It is a very stressful time and people are pretty nervous right now." He says and Tenten nods.

"I understand. I'll keep is hush hush, although I really do expect that the next time you entertain Konohamaru and his friends, that you at least extend an invitation to me so I can come and watch." Tenten says and he replies, "Sounds reasonable."

**- o 0 o -**


	14. The Many Shades of Naruto Part 6

**- o 0 o -**

Tenten

As she walks through one of the training fields, heading to meet up with Naruto to see just what kind of dubious entertainment he provides for young academe students. Although she couldn't help but consider the suggestions on practicing the Henge jutsu. _Those tips would have helped while I was learning it._ She admits.

_Although, I have to admit, I wouldn't have minded learning how to Henge into a Tengu._ She admits as she recalls the few short flights Neji's young cousin had managed to pull off. She can't recall ever seeing a Hyuuga disregard their dignity and aloof stance to do something that would likely cause them to look like a fool in front of people.

_But then, it's always been a flight of fantasy for any human to fly. Although you'd think ninjas would have achieved that considering like that by using chakra or seals._ She admits and she soon spots a small group of kids walking a few feet in front of her.

It wasn't long before more kids appear out of the surrounding forest, which pretty much hinted that she's going in the right direction considering the number of kids slowly beginning to join up. They reach a clearing and she spots an unusual miniature landscape and she stiffens as she notices movement among the fake trees.

"What the hell?" She murmurs under her breath as she gets close enough to spot people, beasts, and Oni moving about in different areas of the model landscape. Most weren't even over five centimeters in height.

"Pretty cool, huh? I can't wait to see what's planned for today! Are they going to find the lair of Kilian and rescue Yolie from the Oni lord of the South? Or will they all get there too late to save the priestess? Ooo, this is so going to be exciting!" The young girl with a pair of goggles about her forehead.

She just slowly nods, although privately wondering if this isn't a genjutsu. So, forming a hand sign, she tries to cancel it and finds that none of the moving beings vanish. "There's a type of shadow clones mixed with Henge jutsu." Naruto says to her from behind her.

She turns to stare at the blond Genin, not really sure if such a thing is possible... and yet, she couldn't detect that the blond is lying about it. With a sigh, she backs away and joins the academe students in standing about a foot or two away from the miniature.

Naruto moves to stand behind the miniature. As the bewhiskered Genin clears his throat, everyone of the kids quiet down. "I'm sure you've noticed a guest among us. I'm not sure if she'll be come a regular or not, but her name is Tenten and I expect you guys to show her some proper respect since she is a Genin." Naruto tells the group of youngsters.

They all turn to regard her briefly before once more staring expectantly towards Naruto. The air seems to be pretty thick with excitement as Naruto begins to give a summary of what's going on in the drama that Naruto's clones are acting out. Despite her reservations, it didn't take long before she's caught up in the story as the tiny clones begin to do their part once Naruto's done talking.

She takes careful note of what hand signs Naruto's doing and it didn't take long before they can clearly hear the conversation going on among the various actors. _I wonder where he learnt this jutsu..._ She muses as she watches as the six heroes argue among themselves as they journey through a meadow.

After a few minutes, she finds herself totally absorbed in the drama slowly unfolding before her.

Naruto

He feels like groaning as he finds that he's expected to go on a mission with his old team-mate. He had been kind of hoping to remain pair with Lee and Tenten to help rebuild the village but it seems that the old lady had other ideas. He is privately glad that he's mission briefing is alone, without him having to put up with their comments on his behavior as he tries to wiggle out of the mission since he didn't think it's fair that he's expected to put up with any kind of abuse or bad mouthing from anyone on that team just because people think they should work well together because they had been team-mate.

He made sure to make a very detailed report of what kind of behavior he had experience while on Team 7 and by the end, he managed to get Anko admitted as an observer to judge if any of his accusations pan out. After all, he sure as heck didn't want to deal with people thinking that the rife between him and his ex-team-mates were just because Kakashi had supported Sasuke's bullying tactics as the Uchiha tried to gain the ability to summon dragons.

He's even more glad that Anko's presence isn't going to be a secret that he doesn't have to share with his 'team' since Tsunade admitted that Kakashi would likely alter his behavior while on this mission. He's to met with Anko to discus how to bring her along.

He's got a few ideas and he wouldn't have any problems with teaching her one of his custom Henge if it means that she'll remain unrevealed throughout the mission.

"Another plate of Dango over here, bar keep!" A familiar purple haired special Jonin calls out as he enters into the bar that one of his clones reported seeing her in before heading off to inform Konohamaru and them about his minor long term mission out of the village.

"I think you should hold up on that dango, Anko. Here, read." He says and tosses the mission scroll onto the counter top by Anko's left arm.

She gives him a look before picking up the scroll and opening it. Anko snorts a few times before rolling the scroll up. "Like I'd be able to hide in plain sight from three of Sharingan eyes." Anko tells him and he says, "I've got an idea or two on how to pull that off, if you're willing to learn something from a lowly Genin."

Anko raises an eyebrow before waving him to take a seat.

Anko

_Ok, so maybe the brat wasn't just bragging about how well designed his Henge jutsus are._ She admits from her position around the blond's neck.

Currently, she's a white ferret that supposedly belongs to a very rich family who asked for Naruto specifically to watch over their favorite pet ferret and they're currently offering such a large sum of money for this D ranked mission, that the fact that Naruto is heading out of the village isn't a good reason to void this D ranked mission.

_I wonder if the brat hasn't gone through previous mission statements when he thought that story up._ She muses from her position about Naruto's shoulders. If she got too cold, she's more then capable of sliding into the jacket to get warm.

Her attention is more on watching Kakashi reading porn as the actors do their jobs before the camera. So far, she's not very impressed by the starling performance of Kakashi's current students as they interact with their ex-team-mate.

Sure she expected some hard feelings but pinky seems more concerned that Naruto hadn't allowed the Uchiha brat to sign the dragon contract when the brooding brat demanded it from him. "He's so much more deserving to summon such powerful being they you are! You should be grateful that he even bothered to ask!" Were pinky's comments within minutes after the mission began.

The fact that Kakashi hadn't even bothered to explain that summoning contracts tend to be very personal and private things only made her more incline to see why the blond brat had fought to get out of the mission as well as to see for herself that the rumors about Kakashi's attitude.

_And of course Kakashi hasn't shared his contract with his 'prized' student either._ She muses before her thoughts turned to the brooding Uchiha.

_I wonder if he's usually that aggressive when it comes to picking a fight with the blond?_ She wonders as she recalls how the Uchiha had, after Uzumaki refused to 'spar' with him, attack the blond as Uzumaki moved to head into town after Kakashi had vanished after handing them their tickets to the movie.

Uzumaki had managed to pick up that the Uchiha had been moving in to assault him from behind and had switched out with a bit of garbage. Naruto managed to KO the brooding brat with a quick and hard punch aimed at the back of the head. Of course pinky then punched Uzumaki in the jaw for knocking the Uchiha out.

She recalls the bit of killing intent the blond had sent at pinky, it only lasted for about a minute before Uzumaki regained control of himself. She's not sure how, but Naruto had all three tickets and before entering the theater, sold the other two cheaply to a couple of kids. _Sneaky, very sneaky._

She hadn't been highly interested in the movie, so she slide into the jacket and took a nap, feeling that since the other two brats weren't about, there wasn't any need for her to stay alert.

_How in the nine circles of Hell did this team survive their encounter with one of the seven swordsmen of Hidden Mist? This team is a MIA just waiting to happen. No wonder the kyubi brat wanted off, the bullying for the contract likely had been the final straw._ She muses before turning her currently ruby eyes away from the masked Jonin.

She shivers slightly and within seconds, a hand begins to stroke her head. She felt slightly flushed as it continued. _This feels pretty good._ She muses before she decides to worm her way into the jacket sleeve.

As she wiggles her way to the shoulder, she can hear and feel the blond brat wigging out. Once in the main part of the jacket, she moves around the waist before poking her head out of the collar of the jacket. She makes a few ferret sounds before glance up to see the blond giving her a minor glare, although it's ruined by the slight smile plastered on his face.

_I wonder if I could jump from this brat to..._ She wonders as she turns to study the bemused Jonin who soon returns to reading his book.

Crawling out of the jacket and balancing on Uzumaki's shoulders...

"Ami!" Naruto shouts as she leaps at Kakashi. In a flash, she's making her way into the Jonin's jacket and then...

"%$#!" Kakashi curses after she bites a very sensitive spot. She continues to move around until she slides down the pants and races off towards the Uchiha to see if she can get him to curse.

Naruto

"Move aside. That ferret is getting skinned." Kakashi orders and he just stands his ground before the bookcase.

"Sorry, but I'm first mission is to see to the safety of that ferret. Just because Ami did things that embarrassed you, doesn't mean that I'm going to let you harm my client's pet." He says firmly before the three thoroughly disgruntled ex-team-mates.

_Besides, I really don't want you guys to force her to be normal again, not when this mission isn't over and give you guys a chance to put on some kind of act when you learn that she's spying on us._ He admits privately.

"It dies!" Sasuke growls with his Sharingan active.

It remains a stand off as he and his clones remain firmly positioned around the bookcase, keeping Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke about four feet from the bookcase.

**Hidden Leaf**

"Is that all you have to report?" Tsunade asks after Kakashi finishes his report. He really wanted to roll his eyes, true, the report didn't leave anything of real importance out but it didn't say anything about their continued attempts at killing Ami the Ferret, AKA Anko.

As Kakashi remains silent, the old lady turns to him. He fishes around his jacket and pulls out a slightly bandaged ferret. Within seconds, he places the disguised special Jonin on the floor, Anko appears in a puff of smoke.

"Well, I do believe I've got my report pretty well ready to be filed." Anko muses and he notices how the other three all just stared wide eyed at the Chuunin exam's second test proctor before Kakashi sends a look towards Tsunade and on noticing the unsurprised look, Kakashi asks, "You sent her to observe us?"

"Naruto flat out refused to work with you and your Genin and the only way I could get him to go with you was to send an observer." Tsuande explains.

"And the blond brat's objections seem to have a lot of ground to stand on after what I've witnessed. While I'll admit that some of what I saw clearly had been created from some of Naruto's own actions regarding his leaving of Team 7, but I did find that his reasons for leaving to be still ingrained you three." Anko says and Sakura stares down at the floor while Sasuke just begins to put off an aloof stance.

"Like take pinky over there. She apparently doesn't seem to understand that the world doesn't revolve around the Uchiha brat. Within minutes of being with Uzumaki, you berated him for not allowing the Uchiha to sign the summon contract. Clearly you haven't researched anything about summons and their summoners or else you'd know how rude the Uchiha had been in trying to bully Uzumaki here into allowing him to sign it." Anko states.

"And yet again, Kakashi, you didn't do anything to explain to her so she might correct her thoughts on this manner." Anko says.

"Well then, I believe Team 7 is dismissed, for now." Tsunade says and Kakashi looks like he's about to argue until Tsunade gives him a very flat look. He didn't try and stick around, he's the first leave the office.

Once outside, he creates about a dozen clones before exiting out of the gate of the tower. Most of his clones will be heading to the library to find books about northern animals, two clones will likely be pouring through his stretch books before working on a new set of custom Henges. He's got some new plot ideas as well as miniature landscapes that need to be created.

The rest of his clones were to go shopping while he heads to the hot springs. He currently believes its a good idea to hang around some very public places for the rest of the day. He really doesn't want to find himself getting interrogated by Kakashi about why he no longer feels safe to be with his 'team'.

_I wonder how long it'll be until those around me finally put the pieces together about how I'm capable to creating such an army._ He muses as he turns to regard the departing backs of his clones, taking his mind off of his situation with his ex-team.

**- o 0 o -**


	15. The Many Shades of Naruto Part 7

**- o 0 o -**

Ino

"What do you know about summons?" Sakura asks her dully while she's doing some window shopping. She couldn't help but blink as she regards her former best friend's reflection in the window before her.

"What brought this up?" She asks the pink haired Genin, curious since she had always figured that Sakura would have read up on everything in regards to all of the branches of jutsus.

"People seem to think that Sasuke's being rude for demanding for Naruto to allowed him to sign this dragon summoning contract." Sakura finally says and she sighs, she had kind of hope that rumor was just hear say and nothing more.

"Well, yea, it is. There is a reason why animal summons are highly coveted as they're highly prized. They can be very temperamental too. They're not mindless automatons that appear went ever you want that you to point them at your enemies, expecting them to go forth and destroy them in a bloody ways." She begins to lecture Sakura once she has turned to face her.

Sakura cringing after hearing that. "Sasuke comes from a ninja family, he should have known that there's more to summoning contracts then that! Even if you manage to sign one it doesn't automatically gives you authority to boss them around. Heck, the boss of the toad contract is said to have refused to obey the Fourth Hokage a few times!" That seems to impress upon Sakura about one of the reasons why summons aren't common.

"If the summon takes a huge dislike of you, you'd be lucky to walk away with your life!" She stresses, remembering the conversation she had with her father about this branch of ninja jutsus.

"Naruto's very fortunate in not just finding one to sign but who obey him, it must have taken him the whole month to endure himself to any dragons he summoned during that time! Didn't you see the size of that dragon he summoned during the Chuunin exams? It could have swallowed him in a single bite if it had half a mind!" She says as she remembers how the dragon took to the air with Naruto riding on its head.

"I bet plenty of clans are beginning to look at Naruto with thoughts of marrying their daughters off to him. I doubt the Hyuuga clan will put forth an offer since they don't have any real use for jutsus besides their clan's taijutsu. Heck, that foreigner from Sand pretty much just purposed marriage to him within minutes of him knocking her brother out so I can get free from his mind!" She states before blushing as she recalls her admission to marry him not long after.

"But that's insane! He's nothing but a troublemaker!" Sakura shouts and she just sighs.

"Yea, well, opinions change as things change, Sakura and the bottom line is, Naruto's capable of summoning a race of beings that nobody in our history has been credited to summoning. Heck, did you know that he managed to create an army of Shadow clones without even needing to form a hand sign? If he's capable of making a thousand clones now, at his age, just imagine the numbers he'd be able to create when he is in his twenties and has better chakra control! One of these days, Naruto Uzumaki, the class clown, will be listed as one of Hidden Leaf's Legendary ninja, heck he might even be called the Orange Swarm of Leaf or even the One Man Army. Right now, his title probably is Naruto Uzumaki, Summoner of Dragons."

Sakura just blinks rapidly as if this information being very difficult to swallow.

"I have another name to toss in, the Creator of Mini Shadows." A new voice adds and she turns to find the girl who fought Shikamaru standing a few feet from them.

"Huh?" She asks and Tenten sighs. "Well, you know how a class of academe students head out of one of the training fields about twice a week?" Tenten asks and she nods.

"Well, it seems that Naruto's entertaining the lot by acting out a drama on a miniature landscape using tiny clones disguised in various Henge. He's pretty good at it, you should come see tomorrow afternoon." Tenten says.

"How do you know he's back in the village?" Sakura asks in a suspicious manner. "Well, for one, he did say he's gone on a mission with Team 7, so, seeing you're back, it's logical to assume that he's back." Tenten points out and she nods thoughtfully.

"Just how good are we talking about?" She asks and Tenten smiles.

"Well, I find it every entertaining, but come and see for yourself. Just follow the stream of kids that head into the training fields. They'll lead you right." Tenten says and then her name gets called by the Hyuuga on her team.

"Later!" Tenten calls out as she jogs over to join her team-mate. With that, she returns to studying her ex-friend, this time with her arms crossed over his chest. Although, truthfully, her thoughts circle around this latest development with Naruto.

"So, what happened to cause you to come to me with questions instead of trying to find the answers in the library?" She finally asks Sakura.

"We had an observer for our last mission. You remember the second exam proctor?" Sakura asks and she nods.

"Well, it turns out that the ferret Naruto had been charge to protect was the proctor and she mentioned how Kakashi should have corrected me when I started to rag on Naruto about him not handing over the scroll for Sasuke to sign." Sakura tells her miserably and couldn't suppress a sigh.

_Well, I guess that means that Naruto really did transfer off of Team 7._ She muses as she begins to consider that maybe the current set of rumors aren't just hear say.

"Well... what did you expect, Sakura? I mean, what have you been doing since your team passed Kakashi's test? Surely you haven't stop your training just because you're a Genin? How did you expect to become a Chuunin if you don't keep up your training? Sasuke isn't going to be around all the time to save your butt, you know." She lectures Sakura, privately glad that she's managed to bug her father into giving her more training since her encounter with Gaara and his resident demon.

Naruto

As Konohamaru and him finish adding the finishing touches to the model as Tenten appears with a pair of Konohamaru closes friends, Udon and Moegi. He flashes a smile at the three while Konohamaru calls out a greeting.

"Hey you guys! Come to take a sneak peak at the model before everyone else gets here huh?" Konohamaru says with a wide grin.

"Is the torture chamber complete?" Moegi asks as the girl comes surging forward to look at the model in hopes of finding it. He chuckles at her actions before nodding at Tenten as she moves to take a look at the tiny weapons that a few of the Oni clones were testing.

"I still won't want to met any of those in real life." Udon mutters and he regards his mini Oni clones, privately agreeing that he wouldn't want a real life Oni that his Henge Oni were based off of.

"Got any idea for the next part of the story?" Moegi asks him and he replies, "Of course I do! I'll have you know that I had been on set for a Princess Gale movie as well as help rescue a genuine princess during my last mission!"

"Really?" The other four asks in surprise and he nods. "Really! But that's another story for another time." He tells them.

And so, the kids began to arrive, he's a bit stunned when Ino appears with the last group. He watches a look of surprise flicker in her eyes as she gets a better view of his mini clones and a slightly jerky reaction at the sight of his Oni clones.

"They're really... detailed." Ino admits to Tenten. "You should see his demon wolves! Now those were scary." One of the kid says with a lot of the kids nodding in agreement.

"Good to know my hard work is appreciated." He says with a smile, one that's returns by pretty much all of the kids.

As he moves to stand behind the model, he takes a few seconds to see if he can't spy Hanabi around before he begins his summary of what happened last time.

Ino

"Too bad Sakura didn't show. I'm fairly certain that she would have loved that performance." She tells Tenten as they watch as Konohamaru and Naruto finish getting anything movable off of the table before storing it in a storage scroll.

"Well, it's like that old saying about leading a horse to water but not being able to force the horse to drink." Tenten points out and she just smirks.

"Well then, who ever said that never knew a member of my family it would seem." She says in bemusement. "My family's specialty is using jutsus to alter a person's mind by forcing our will on them."

"Ready to go, Tenten? I think the auction starts in under an hour's time." Naruto says and she blinks as she glances questioningly at the older Genin.

"But the only auction going on today is a property auction..." She admits in confusion.

"Yea, there's a few properties I want to try and buy so that I can fix them up to sell for a larger sum at a later date." Naruto explains and she feels her jaw drop at the idea of what Naruto just purposed to do.

"But how do you... Never mind, I get a fairly good idea of where the labor is going to be done by." She admits as she recalls just how many clones Naruto's capable of creating.

"You can come along if you want. Tenten's going to pitch in money if the price is going over my limit. I promised her a quarter from the sale if she helps me with the wiring and half if she helps me buy it." Naruto explains and Tenten nods.

"So... if I offer to help decorate it, can I expect to get a minor payment for my services?" She asks and Naruto blinks, kind of surprised at her interest.

_I always wanted to decorate a house to prove what great taste I have. I just might be able to start with this one!_ She thinks with a grin.

"Well, most of the properties I'm trying to get are old inns. I'm not sure if it would be fair to expect you to decorate all of the rooms... But, you could always try for the lobby or for a whole floor." Naruto offers and she quickly grabs his hand and shakes it.

"Deal!" She cries and then they're off to the auction, she made a mental note to begin a color book for various things, mainly for carpet and paint, for now at least.

Naruto

As he waits for the first lot to come up, he couldn't help but review how he managed to arrive with not just one girl, but two. _And I'm not even trying to date and I've already got at least three girls interested, well, I'm not sure if Temari is still in the race considering I haven't see her since the Chuunin exam..._ He admits thoughtfully to himself as he glances first at Tenten's profile before turning to regard Ino's.

_Well, at least I had those clones read through most of those home improvement books before my last mission._ He admits as he watches as bidding wars erupt for certain manors that likely belonged to rich citizens who had either died during the invasion or decided to move to safer portions of the village, away from the walls that surround the village.

Finally, the first of the four properties comes up and he begins to finger his bidding paddle. Finally the time has come to try his luck at buying a property to renovate so that he can sell it at a higher price later. "The starting bid for this property begins at seven hundred dollars, do I have seven hundred dollars for this lot?" The auctioneer asks.

He waits as he glances around to see if anyone's going to bid. After a few seconds, he raises his paddle, it seems that nobody wanted the old inn because it's missing a corner edge of the roof. It takes a few seconds before the people to realize that he's here and that he just put in a bid for a property.

Unsurprisingly, somebody decides to bid against him simply to spite him. By the time the bidding ended, he didn't win the bidding but he managed to make one of his spiteful opponents buy it for a whopping seventy thousand and eighty-two dollars and nine cents.

"They would rather pay ten times what it's worth just to keep you from buying it? What an idiot!" Ino hisses softly as a new lot is put up for bidding. He notices that by now, the man who won finally realized just how much he had paid for an already run down inn that will likely need a new roof.

"What can you expect when people aren't thinking rationally?" Tenten muses and he nods in agreement, though he did notice Tenten seems to be less tense now that the lot is gone.

After three lots, the second lot of interest to him appears and like before, once he started to bid on it, it suddenly became a very hot item, but unlike the last guy, this one stop doing hundreds and began doing tens, so this guy didn't pay as much as the first fool, but it's still a price higher then what the lot is worth.

He gathered a few evil eyes, although the auctioneer looks slightly pleased about the prices for both properties and as new lots appeared would look expectantly at him in hopes of him trying to place a bid on them.

"Must work at a percent commission." Ino muses as she caught the man with a grovel glancing at him with a slightly hopeful look.

"Well, we're not really looking for houses, just inns, at the moment." Tenten says and he nods slightly in agreement.

"You know, I think I just might save up my money and buy myself an auction house when I want to move out. A lot of these properties after going for a fairly cheap price." Ino admits.

"Well, some of these are ones that the Council inherited from families or confiscated when the owners are found to be traitors of the village. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Uchiha land up for sale later on since old man Third did buy them from Sasuke after the massacre." He whispers to his seat neighbors.

"Really? I thought he still owned it." Ino admits and he snorts softly before whispering, "He likely visits parts of it at times but he's got no real claim to it. Although if he ever marries, I believe somebody just might buy it and gift it back to him as a wedding present. I mean, it's been up for years and nobody's ever been interested in them, believing that the lands are cursed because of what happened."

Tenten and Ino glance at him, both likely stunned by what he's said. "Then why not buy them if they're going to be up? We could totally renovate the whole district!" Ino says and he sighs.

He frowns but doesn't comment since he really doubts that they'd be able to buy it. _Oh well, it's not like it'll appear until after we're done here._ He tells himself.

"And before we continue, I would like to draw attention to lot number seventy-two, the Uchiha district. This lot has been offered since the last Uchiha of the village sold it to the Third Hokage, three month after the massacre occurred. Now then, the bidding starts at ten dollars, do I have ten dollars?" The auctioneer calls and he suddenly has a very bad feeling about this.

"Ten dollars right here!" Ino calls out and it takes him a second to realize she's holding his arms up. His eyes widen as he glances around at the stunned crowd, each and everyone of them were gasping at him, and a few at Ino.

Finally, three minutes pass and the auctioneer declares, "Sold for ten dollars to number fifty-nine." The gravel hits the stand, finalizing the sale.

"What just happened?" He asks Tenten as Ino lets his arm drop. "I think you just bought the Uchiha district for ten dollars." Tenten replies.

"I thought that's what happened, I had been kind of hoping that it had just been a daydream is all." He admits numbly as he tries to wrap his head around this sudden turn of events. _Sasuke is so going to try and kill me._ He decides as he just stares straight ahead in a daze.

**- o 0 o -**


	16. The Many Shades of Naruto Part 8

**- o 0 o -**

**Uchiha District**

As evening approaches, the three of them walk down the deserted district that seems to be more likely a small town then a clan district. "I could probably have some clones start clearing out the houses, boxing what they find and then tear down the buildings so that we can recycle as much of the materials as we can so we don't need to buy much." He suggests as they walk pass two story shops that had likely been family owned.

"Just how many Uchiha had there been? I mean, this place seems to suggest that a few hundred lived here." Tenten says and Ino replies in a matter of fact way, "There had been about ninety when the massacre happened."

"I wonder if they had their own library?" He muses as they come to the main house, its where Sasuke might have lived before his brother killed off the clan.

After all, the clan were the greatest copy-cat ninja in the world and surely they kept some kind of written record of jutsus for those few who hadn't or couldn't activate the clan bloodline limit.

"Well, think of it this way, your army of mini clones can fit in about every nook and cranny of the property. If there is one, I'm sure you'll discover it." Tenten points out and he nods.

"I won't ask Neji or Hinata to help since the village likely had the Hyuuga clan take a look around." He admits and Ino gets a thoughtful look on her face.

They stood there, staring at the main house for a while as silence hangs about them. "Well, I guess we'll let your clones do your idea and come back in the morning to get a better view of things. Although are you sure your clones will manage to do all that tonight?" Ino asks.

"They should, especially if I create a few in particular Henges, after all, I just have to reverse the formula that creates mini clones to create giants." He admits thoughtlessly. He suddenly prays that they haven't caught on how else he can apply that, especially with Henges.

"You really are full of surprises, huh, Naruto?" Tenten teases and Ino just grins in agreement. "It's not as if it's hard to seem so." He admits and he waits until they're at the entrance before creating three different waves of clones.

The first wave are normal clones that look like him, the second wave stand about seven to eight feet and look like lizard people. The clones of the second wave were built for strength and durability, it also helps that those thick talon like claws will be able to help pry fixed wooden panels off the frame. Of course the second wave took various colors.

"Now those I wouldn't want to fight." Tenten admits at the sight of the lizard men clones.

"I wouldn't expect you to last too long against them either, they're made to be strong and durable, that hide isn't just for show either. I've tested this type and they're fairly hard to dispel using range weapons and simple kicks and punches." He pauses before continuing, "They also take more then a single hit too. I think it's got something to do with me mixing my Henge jutsu with the clone jutsu before it exits out of my body that makes them more superior to the human ones that I create."

"Which explains why those Oni could take more damage then those mini hero clones, huh?" Tenten muses and he nods.

"Yea, although I have been finding that if I form a hand sign while creating the normal type, they're capable of taking at least three hits before dispelling. In a few years, who know? They might be able to take five or even six." He admits to the pair.

With his third wave of clones, they were likely the strangest looking out of the three waves, but he needed them to check for left over traps. They stood about four feet high at the shoulder and a good six feet in length without including the long whip like tail that is about four feet in length. They're black in color with thick toes with tiny, yet sharp claws. He hopes that the toes will mimic gecko toes so that his clones could climb vertical surfaces without using any chakra.

"Trap finders. Although, I'll admit that their Henge is still in the testing phase." He explains to the two stunned girls as the third wave begins to advance towards the buildings with the other two waves bringing up the rear.

"You're just a regular zoo, aren't you?" Ino says dryly and he flushes.

"Actually, trap finders are a pretty smart move, especially if they're capable to surviving a beating." Tenten admits thoughtfully.

"You can transform into those two varieties then?" Ino asks curiously.

"Yea, but I prefer to use clones as Henge testers since if there's a fatal flaw in the Henge design, I don't die." He explains.

"How many clones did you lose to that?" Tenten asks with a concern frown.

"Too many, but I'm getting better at pointing them out on paper before I start physical testing. Although, you can't catch everything." He admits in a dull tone as he recalls the memories of those slowly dying clones who couldn't even dispel to have their misery cut short.

Such memories were just another source of nightmares but they're also the reasons why he tries his hardest to catch the mistakes before he even begins to create them. _I better watch myself, those thoughts lead to the duck-butt side of life. And I'm sure as hell not going to travel that path if I can help it!_

"Well, I better head home before daddy sends out a search party." Ino muses jokingly and so, they split up for the night. They'll meet back here around eight to study a cleared district.

Tenten

_His clones did a pretty good job at tearing down most of the buildings._ She admits as she waits by the gate for Naruto and Ino to show.

She's not sure what to make of Ino's sudden intrusion into Naruto's life but then, a lot of things seem to be going loopy lately since the invasion from the villages of Sand and Sound. Heck, she never thought she's find herself enjoying the company of the villages biggest prankster, but here she is, waiting the the blond to show.

"You want to take a look at the boxes while you're waiting?" A normal clone asks her after a few minutes.

"Will, I guess it wouldn't hurt. You mind waiting here to tell them where I am?" She asks the clone.

"I'll direct Ino if she show up before Naruto. Naruto won't need me to do more then tell him." The clone states calmly.

"Isn't it confusing to be a copy of him? I mean, you're Naruto too." She says and the clone just smiles slightly.

"Well, we've gotten into the habit of picking names for ourselves. Me, I'm Cloud-Sight, the ninth clone to use that name." Cloud-Sight explains.

"So you all take names?" She asks, glancing over at a group of resting lizard men clones before staring back at Cloud-Sight.

"Yea, see that dun with pedal spots on the forehead? That's Daze. The green with black stripes is Soft-Field. The brown with dull red socks and the muzzle blaze is Battle-Rim." Cloud-Sight tells her with a slight smile on his face.

"I'm not sure if I should be concerned about Naruto having a mental disorder or relieved that I can call you lot by individual names." She admits and Cloud-Sight just chuckles.

"It's not as bad as that, Naruto's more then capable of knowing who he is not matter how many sets of memories he gathers. Naruto also doesn't have much time to review each clone memory in full detail, he's more incline to skim through important events of a clone's life then to relive it." Cloud-Sight explains.

"Well, I just as long as Naruto's mentally sound, it's alright. Though how he's managed to remain so after creating so many of you guys, I don't think I want to know." She admits and the clone named Cloud-Sight just shrugs.

"Each to their own, I guess. Anyway, the boxes are that way." Cloud-Sight tells her and she nods her thanks before heading off in that direction. _I wonder what kind of reaction Naruto would do if I called him Cloud-Sight?_ She wonders briefly before dismissing that thought as she finally spots the large selection of boxes piled in neat stacks.

Naruto

He knew he should have expected to be called to the old lady's office but he had kind of hoped it wouldn't be until after he's visited his newly own district. _I wonder if I shouldn't rename it? I mean, I'm not an Uchiha and I really don't want something I own named after a dead clan._

"You really ruffled a lot of feathers by your acquisition of the Uchiha district." Tsunade says as she enters into the office with Shizune in tow.

"Blame Ino! She's the one who held my hand up to bid on it. I just wanted to purchase of one of the run down inns being auctioned off. Tenten was there, you could check with her if you don't believe me!" He states in his defense.

"We do have reports that you were with to girls." Shizune tells him and he relaxes slightly.

"Ok then, why have I been called here then?" He asks as calmly as he could considering that he's very edgy about this whole meeting.

"The council wants to know if you plan to make any changes to the district." Tsunade explains.

"Oh boy." He says. "Err, are they for changes to it or against changes to it?" He asks nervously as he holds his hands together as he stares at Tsunade.

"I get the feeling they don't want you touching it at all." The old lady tells him with a raised eyebrow.

"Has anyone been out to check on the property since yesterday afternoon?" He asks and Tsunade shakes her head.

"Well... I'm not sure how to say this then... I've already have my clones working on dismantling all of the buildings and before I came here, sent a few clones to begin checking on prices for standard construction equipment. I'd say that by tonight, there won't be a building left standing." He tells the pair behind the desk.

"Just how much of the buildings have been disassembled?" Tsunade asks with a hint of amusement.

He shrugs as he replies, "Wouldn't know, I haven't visited the site since I set my army of clones to take it apart. I did create clones to find traps and then I created another group for heavy lifting. But I feel confident to say that maybe a third of the building have been done with another third likely already in the process of being dismantled. They have been at it since yesterday evening."

Silence seem to hang thickly in the air as Tsunade reaches for a hidden bottle of sake. He notices a disapproving look on Shizune's face at this action. He begins to wonder if he's allow to go now that he's pretty much answered her questions.

"One more thing, might I examine another one of your dragons?" Tsunade asks him after taking a sip from the bottle. He blinks, wondering if she's caught on to his trick.

"Sure, how big do you want it?" He asks curiously, he wonders just what kind of tests the old bat will put his clone through.

"Nothing too big." Tsunade tells him and he gives her a calculating look before shrugging.

Within seconds he's created something highly unique, something he hadn't done before. He created a female dragon clone. _"Oh, exploring your feminine side, eh?"_ The three foot neon green dragon clone muses with mischief glinting in her navy blue eyes. The horns on her head were just orange nobs and she lacked the characteristic whiskers that the majority of his dragon clones usually sport.

"A young one, eh?" Tsuande muses from behind the desk and he raises an eyebrow at her before asking, "So, does this mean I'm dismissed?"

"By all means, go." The first female Hokage tells him and he glances over to Shizune before doing just that. Giving the female dragon clone a look, he walks out of the office.

**- o 0 o -**


	17. The Many Shades of Naruto Part 9

**- o 0 o -**

**Month Later**

He watches as his clones cheer as they finally create a building using an earth jutsu that creates stone pillars. It had taken time to modify the jutsu to expand its surface between two pillars, creating a wall.

The next step that they needed to do had been getting the wall to be created with pipes running through it and small tunnels for wires with outlets for wall plugs. Slowly, with the help of his clone to help control when and how the chakra got applied, they created floors complete with stairways, windows slots, and door ways.

He's been thinking of adding an elevator shaft to the larger buildings, one that will likely be either apartment buildings or for a huge indoor market place that Ino wanted built. _It's a good thing that I've already got clones learning as much as they can to build that seal engine that are used in mines to bring up cartfulls of ore and rock to the surface._

"Though how to adapt it so that they can chose which floor to stop at?" He wonders to himself as he watches at his clones finally stop cheering in favor to explore the contents of the two story house that's been freshly created.

_"Sakura and Sasuke have been spotted coming here!"_ Rat-Cloth shouts, he turns to glance at the furry four foot clone in the shape of his first custom, the one he had his clones use while they worked within the Forest of Death during the second part of the Chuunin exam. They made good scouts and fleet footed raiders, though what really helps is that nobody expected them to be as strong as they are given their slender build.

He groans mentally before nodding his thanks to Rat-Cloth. He then jogs to the gates of his district to met with them, he's sure that they wouldn't spot his clones shadowing them as they come towards these lands that use to belong to Sasuke's clan.

He slows once he's withing a few feet of the open gate. He stops between them and spots the two Genin that he had once been teamed with. _Why did I have a crush on Sakura?_ He wonders as he tries to think of a compelling reason why he had been sweet on her.

Such thoughts were interrupted when Sasuke says, bluntly, "What are you doing here, Dobe?"

"Here's a question, what do you think you''re doing here, duck-butt? After all, you no longer own this part of the village." He says calmly with his arms crossed behind his head.

Sasuke just sneers and tosses a bill onto the ground. "And now I do again." Sasuke says and he snorts.

"I'm not selling this land, not when I went to so much trouble tearing down the buildings. Although I am planning to sell the shrine and I guess that you can have it for ten dollars." He muses as he takes out the scroll and tosses it at Sasuke's feet.

"Kind of stupid secret, you know? But I guess if people knew it, they wouldn't be thinking that you're so hot, huh? Killing your best friend... you don't even have one to kill, do you? Unless you've somehow grown attached to Sakura there, I don't think you'll ever achieve that final version." He says as he puts a foot on the bill before it blows away.

Sakura looks pale, it seems that she hadn't believed it at first but on seeing that look of out rage which turns to blazing hatred, it seems she is now giving credit to his statement about the Uchiha's family secret.

"You read it?" Sasuke's voice seems icy and he shrugs.

"Actually, Ino found it and read it. She then told Tenten who in turn reported it to her teacher. He then came and confirmed what's written, made a copy of it while I tried to find a hint of a secret entrance. Later a group of Jonin came and took a look at the shrine within five hours of Tenten's teacher running off." He informs the pair and Sasuke's eyes seem to pop out on hearing just how many people were now likely aware of this secret.

"Then how's this the shrine?" Sakura asks as she picks up the storage scroll as Sasuke tries to kill him by glaring at him.

"Well, apparently, seals can store plenty of things like weapons, food, water, cloths... With a lot of help from Tenten and an anonymous student of mine, we managed to figure out how to seal a minor bit of land onto a scroll. Just think of it, if we continue with that line of research we can totally move huge tracks of land around." He takes a breather with a predatory grin.

"Need a mountain moved from your path? For the right amount we'll do just that. We'll make the impossible possible! Ino's practically drooling at the thought of what kind of money we can make by offering this kind of service! I swear she's already planning the wedding." He muses with a shake of his head, not really sure if the wedding is going to between the three of them or just two of them.

_I bet if Hanabi was old enough, Ino would be adding her to the bride list._ He muses. He did wonder what Hanabi has planned for her clan. He's not sure but knows that it seems to involve seals and using the few jutsus he taught her.

"She's already did." Sakura admits in a distracted way as she tries to hand the scroll over to Sasuke. _Not that Sasuke seems happy at owning that little bit of property._

"Well then, I do believe that our business is concluded, you can go." He tells the pair and Sasuke's face hardens a fraction.

"This district belongs to ME, you **DOBE**! You get lost before I skin you alive!" Sasuke snarls with his fists clutched and his Sharingan spinning.

He snorts, not very impressed with this action. _Thank god Hanabi gave me that seal proto-type._ He tells himself as he signals for his clone to stay back.

"You sold these lands to the village, duck-butt and I bought them after they've been up for grabs for years! If you intended to keep the land, you shouldn't have sold them to old man Third! Now get, you're not welcome here, little miss spoiled clan fan before you force me to do something to upset your supporting fan base." He tells the brat as his index finger rubs one of the seal tags in his pocket.

With a bellow, the Uchiha charges him and within seconds, the paper seal gets transferred from his hand onto Sasuke's bare arm. With a quick fire, the paper burns itself up and the spoiled brat stumbles to the ground.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouts and rushes automatically to the brooding bastard's side, dropping the storage scroll that contains the Uchiha family shrine.

One the spot where the tag had hit, there is now the kanji that means Seal within a circle within a triangle. _I wonder how much it hurt to have your eyes turn off by an outside force? Did it blind him?_ He muses, not that he can answer either question at the moment since Sasuke's face is blocked by Sakura's body.

Finally Sakura moves and he finds that Sasuke's eyes were back to their usual coloring. "What did you do?!" Sakura demands as she suddenly appears in his face.

"I warned him to leave, but did he listen? No! So I dealt with an aggressive intruder as I saw fit. Now get him out of here!" He tells the pink haired Genin with his fists around his waist as he dares her to try anything.

He swears he feels his clones tense up, ready to spring into action if she tried to hit him in the head like she has grown used to do while they were in the academe and were on the same team. He couldn't help but feel relief as Sakura looks away before she turns to try and help Sasuke get up off the ground.

Sasuke shakes her off as he gives her a glare before trying glaring at him. Within seconds, Sasuke cries out and covers his eyes with his hands. "Undo this." Sasuke growls and he just rolls his eyes.

"I haven't studied seals, try asking Tenten or a local seal master for help. Now, leave, I grow bored talking with the slow witted." He says as he picks up the bill.

He turns his back on the pair and other then feeling killing intent wash over him, nothing happens. He slowly walks away and one of his furry clones reports, _"They're moving away. Although, they're leaving the scroll."_

_"Could one of you guys tail them and find a way to give it to them without being seen? I rather not have to deal with anyone who still thinks I 'stole' it when they already left it behind."_ He tells the group.

It didn't take long before the matter to be settled before he's out of normal range of their telepathy.

Tenten

"I still don't believe that this is going to work." Konohamaru says as they finish bundling up one of the bags containing copies of Naruto's orange jumper.

"Hehehe! You'd be surprised at how many people picked in to help pay for this misison and I'm not just speaking about Anko's contribution either! Heck, Lady Tsunade herself helped by giving this mission a discount!" Ino tells them.

"So troublesome." Ino's shadow using team-mate mutters and she sighs. _I can't believe I lost to him._ She thinks as she finishes dumping rotten milk down the drain.

"Boss isn't going to like this, that's all I'm saying." Konohamaru grumbles as he drags the bag over towards the open door.

"Why is he here again?" She asks Ino as she glances out of the window to stare at the Hokage cliff monument. She couldn't help but admit that the Fourth face seems to have a soft look as she gazes at it.

"He threatened to go tell Naruto if we didn't let him help." Ino admits and Konohamaru huffs. "Don't talk about me like I'm not even here!" The scarf wearing kid says hotly with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well, I believe I've done what I can in the fridge. I guess we better start hauling them out of here." She tells the others.

Shikamaru pauses by the door for a few seconds to glance around the apartment as she begins to walk to join him by the door. "Maybe we should just..." Ino begins but Konohamaru shakes his head with a sigh.

"You guys are only suppose to be doing his wardrobe! Nothing more, nothing less! If Naruto wants that stuff off the floor, he's more then capable of doing the job himself." Konohamaru reminds the blond Genin with his arms crossed over his chest, pretty much daring Ino to try and do some house keeping for their fellow Leaf Genin.

"Well, let's hurry up and get these bags out of here so that we can then fulfill the second part of this mission before evening." She says as she picks up one of the bags resting by the door.

"So troublesome." Shikamaru says in his usual bored tone, well, she thinks it's his usual tone since she hasn't had any real reason to spend a lot of time with the so call Rookie Nine, well beyond Naruto and Ino.

"Where's the third member? The one I'm replacing." She asks as she carries two bags out into the hallway.

"Choji's getting some private training from his father today." Shikamaru explains as he joins her in the hallway with a bag in each hand.

"Ah, I see. I know how that is since Neji has recently been getting special attention from Hinata's father. Gai's a fair instructor so he's been giving Lee and myself private lesson on different days when we don't have any team missions and when Neji's getting his private lessons." She tells them as she walks towards the stairs with both hands full.

"I wish Asuma would do more then sit around playing board game with Shikamaru. The only time we really do anything is when we've got a team mission." Ino states sourly.

"Gee, I didn't know that being a Genin could be such a hassle." Konohamaru says as he drags one bag out of the apartment.

She's startled as he turns to look at the academe student. It seems she's not the only one who's forgotten about the Third's grandson. "Well... Naruto did transfer off of Team 7 because of Sasuke and Kakashi." Ino admits slowly.

"I thought it had something to do with Kakashi not using that month to train him for the Chuunin tournament. That not only did Kakashi train Sasuke, who didn't make it, but didn't even invite Sakura along so give her training." She says.

"It's probably both." Shikamaru says as they walk down the stairs to the main floor. The bulky bags hitting the stairwell and the wall as they make slow progress downward.

"So, the boss doesn't have a team at this moment? I thought it was because he's not getting along very well with duck-butt." Konohamaru admits.

"It's that's what it takes to break up a team then mine would have been dismantled within the month of our formation." She admits as she recalls how often Lee and Neji had fought during that time.

"So it's not much different then being an academe student, huh? Only instead of a whole class to deal with, the instructor only has to deal with three kids and they earn money by doing mission." The kid muses as they continue down with the bags filled with cloths. "How come there isn't more Genin teams? I mean, teachers are suppose to take kids and 'mold' them into decent ninjas, right?"

She blinks before chuckling and Shikamaru answers Konohamaru's inquiry. "After you get the headband from your Chuunin instructors and get placed on a team, it's down to the Jonin to decide if they want to deal with a group of kids or not. Most prefer not to, so minimally, only three teams pass. Since this is peace time, nobody feels any pressure to put up with a bunch of brats if they won't want to."

"Then what happens to those that form such teams? I mean, doesn't that kill their chances to become ninja?" Konohamaru asks in puzzlement.

"I think they get sent to some kind of boot camp, that is if they still want to become ninja, to be trained in a different set of skills. From there, I believe most go into being mail-nin, other with the right amount of control to the hospital for Medic training, and others becoming undercover agents." Shikamaru continues on to explain.

_He's surprisingly well informed for a Genin._ She admits. She never really gave much thought about what happens to those that fail their Jonin instructor's test and now she knows.

"After a while, most of them begin to pick up other trades and in their twenties, they quit being ninja to become skilled tradesmen with a family to support." Shikamaru finishes and she sighs.

"And of course, most ninja never bother to start a family." She muses thoughtfully, it's likely why so many quit the profession once they have kids to support.

Silence descends upon them and finally they're at the main level of the building. She finds it a bit tricky to open the door leading out of the stairwell but she manages with before Ino makes it to the bottom step.

"You think Naruto's willing to continue to give me lessons?" Konohamaru asks as they finally toss the bags into the garbage. They made it just before they came to load up the trash bins.

"I think that unless he's sent out of the village, he be up to teach you, as long as you don't take it for granted." She says to the kid. Konohamaru nods his head with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Now to go 'kidnap' Naruto from the construction site." Ino says while rubbing the palm of her hands together. She raises an eyebrow at the glint that accompanies Ino's plotting grin.

_Whatever it is that she's plotting, I just hope it won't cause lasting harm to the rest of us..._ She prays to whatever good spirits and gods were out there watching them.

**- o 0 o -**


	18. The Many Shades of Naruto Part 10

**- o 0 o -**

Clone #12 - Code Name: **Gem-Crow**

_"Intruders! Intruders!"_ He shouts mentally as he spots a group of three ninja wearing the basic black cloths as the three leap from one branch to another.

He takes aim and throws a rock at one of them. This action causes the three to turn to look at him as he takes out another rock to throw at them with him growling at them.

_"How many are there?"_ Silver-Tip shouts as the other comes to aid him.

_"Three dressed in classic ninja wear! Don't see any headband either!"_ He replies as he dodges to the left as a few kunai are thrown at him.

He makes angry vocal sounds as he continues to evade the incoming weapons while still attacking the party of three with rocks from the seemingly small pouch that's strapped to his left hip. The three soon join him on the ground but they split up without saying a word.

_"And here I am! The great Forest-Coat of the Moomba clones!"_ Shouts one of the four reinforcements that arrive, Forest-Coat makes sure to echo it by giving his best roar.

_Maybe Naruto shouldn't spend so much time with Tenten's team-mate... Although why does he call us Moomba I'll never know. Sounds like some kind of festival then a race's name._ He muses while Silver-Tip looks embarrassed about Forest-Coat's actions. Although it does seem that the three ninja seem to pause at Forest-Coat's arrival and his attempts at doing the good guy pose.

_"Let's just hurry this up? We don't know when the regular visitors will appear."_ Silver-Tip asks and with that, Forest-Coat takes out a length of rope that has two stones at each end and begins to twirl it in the air while the two, yet to be named clones take out short wooden sticks as they move to confront two of the three black clad ninja.

_"I've contacted Brass-Ring and Copper, they're moving their groups into position. All we have to do is get them to chase us in about ten minutes. So, keep them occupied until I tell you its time."_ Silver-Tip informs them.

_"Rogue!"_ They chime as they try to play a kind of tag with the three ninja.

Ino

_Where did these guys come from?_ She couldn't help but wonder as she does her best to defend herself from thrown rocks from a slightly familiar creature. _These guys are like the ones we encountered during the Chuunin exam!_ She admits with wide eyes as she recalls their encounter with the strange cute beings that forced her to wear Lee's jumpsuit.

_And nobody knew where they came from too! It's like they appeared out of nowhere and vanish the same way they appeared!_ She thinks as she tries to avoids the throwing rope that the one that did a good guy pose had been twirling about.

As Tenten takes hold of at least five kunai in each hand, the whatevers drop their tails and turn to flee suddenly from battle. Within less then a minute, Tenten's already pursuing them and soon, she follows after the older Genin. She silently curses the fact that she managed to get the others to agree to remain silent until after they've captured the bewhiskered blond since she would have called out to Tenten that they're running into a likely trap.

She couldn't help but notice that the beings were racing ahead of them while running on all fours, which makes it harder for her to get a good look at where they're going since she has to look more towards the forest floor to keep them in sight. As they break into a clearing, she watches as they suddenly and sharply change direction with a few going right and the rest going left.

But before Tenten and herself could adjust their course, they've hop over a log and within seconds, they find themselves in a net trap. Ropes manage to lasso Shikamaru before he had time to switch out with a log or something.

"Well, isn't this just great." Shikamaru muses and at the sound of Shikamaru's voice, the furry beings seem to stiffen. They look at each other before one of them moves and takes off the black cloth head dress.

_"Oh boy..."_ She hears a voice say within the depths of her mind as the strange creatures just stand there, staring wide eyed at Shikamaru's bared face.

"What do you mean, 'Oh boy'? Get us out of here!" She demands after a few seconds and with a start, the creatures turn to regard Tenten and her as they hang in the air in the net.

_"..."_ Then one of the more reddish furred beings moves to undo the knot that is holding this counter net with large stones.

Before the rope shots up to send them hurling to the ground, the same creature takes hold of that part of the rope. Then, slowly, they're lowered to the ground.

Once out of the net, she takes off the head part of the out fit and finally asks, "You're all Naruto clones, aren't you?"

They glance at each other before they nod with guilty expressions on their furry faces. _"How were we suppose to know that you guys were who you are? Those cloths didn't help at identifying who you are, you know!"_ A voice accuses them as one of the furry clones crosses their arms over their fluffy chest.

"I understand you but you're mouth's not moving..." Tenten murmurs in surprise.

She couldn't help but glance at Tenten first before giving her team-mate a questioning look. Shikamaru nods slightly, answering the unspoken question about whether or not he heard that too.

"So, Naruto's the one that made life difficult in the Forest of Death?" Tenten asks slowly and another one of the furry clones replies, _"Yea... but there wasn't anything in the rules against what we did you know. After all, you guys did get your scrolls without encountering dangerous foreign ninja."_

"He's got a point." She admits in a grudging fashion after a few seconds of silence.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru mutters as he begins to get out of those ropes with some help from Naruto's furry clones.

"That should be more surprising then it is." Tenten admits and she sighs as she nods in agreement.

_"Well, carry on then. He should know that you're on your way."_ Another tells them and with that, the furry shadow clones head off to patrol their portion of the forest, leaving them alone.

"I wonder how long he's been using Henge shadow clones?" She wonders as they slowly head towards the district that's now owned by Naruto.

"Well, I'd say since he started to entertain those kids." Tenten muses and she couldn't help but agree as she thought about the few run downs she's gotten from those same kids.

Naruto

As the clones begin to experiment on how stable the new building is, he finds himself leaning on a wall, waiting for his friends to arrive. He's kind of nervous about the whole episode with his clones.

_I wonder why they were dressed up though?_ He wonders as he reviews the images of Ino, Shikamaru, and Tenten that were passed along by his two hundredth and under clones.

But finally, the three arrived and he couldn't help but shake his head at the sight of them. _It's so different to see it myself then when reviewing memories from my clones._ He muses softly as he straightens up.

"I can't believe you forced me to wear Lee's spandex!" Ino shouts accusingly at him and he scratches duck his head in embarrassment.

"It's not as if I have any real control over my clones once I create them. They've been developing their own personality faster and faster these pass few months." He admits and he notices a slightly alarming look in Shikamaru's eyes for a few seconds before the same bore look takes hold in his eyes.

"But they're still based off of you, right?" Ino asks and he couldn't help but give that thought a bit of thinking before he answers, "Well, I am suppose to be the top prankster in Hidden Leaf."

Ino gives him a flat look while Tenten looks bemused that he'd be proud of that. "So bothersome, can we finish this mission?" Shikamaru asks and he frowns in confusion while Ino sends a slight glare at her team-mate.

"Huh? What mission?" He asks the three. It didn't take long before Ino's glaring at Shikamaru while Tenten says, "Well, apparently some ninja managed to break into your apartment to get hair samples for a scroll. They ripped apart your cloths for those samples, so we had to throw them out."

He blinks, he couldn't help it but wonder if this wasn't another one of those tasks where people were trying to get him out of his typical orange jumpsuit. "And what kind of scroll were they trying to create?" He asks in spite of himself.

"A summoning scroll." Ino states as Tenten's about to reply to his inquiry.

"Which village tried this?" He asks and Shikamaru seems just as interested as him in the answer.

"Ah..." The two girl trail off and he sighs. "Iruka sponsered the mission, didn't he?" He asks in a flat tone and the two girls get startled looks.

"Sure... It's Iruka's idea." Ino says and he gives her a blank look as he crosses his arms, waiting for Ino to spill the soy beans.

"Ok, fine, it was my idea but a lot of people donated money for this mission." Ino finally says as she crosses her arms over her chest with a scowl fixated on her face.

_Well, I'll have to hand it to her, she actually managed to get this whole clearing out my closet into an official mission. I bet she went right to Tsunade too._ He muses with a sigh.

"Ok, then who's paying for my new wardrobe?" He asks with a hand on his hip. "Huh?"

"You?" Tenten says and he just sighs before he frowns as some memories begin to slowly come into his mental reach. He couldn't help but cock his head to the side and stare off into space, busy trying to find fault with the idea.

_Why shouldn't it work? After all, I always did manage to appear without anything but those clouds hugging my form or without them... Heck, my clones often appear in other kinds of cloth then what I have one... Well, as long as I focus on what I want them to be wearing..._ He think to himself as he slowly nods his head in agreement with those thoughts.

As he comes out of his thoughts, he gives the group a foxy grin and within seconds of forming a hand sign, his attire appears altered once the smoke vanishes. The cloths he pictured in his mind were now on his body, a simple orange top with soft brown pants. His various pouches and his headband have vanished, which causes him to frown.

It takes him at least three more tries before he finally manages to keep his ninja equipment where he had it before, although he did have to straighten his handband. Once that's done, he begins to see if he can take off the shirt to see if it'll vanish if it's not in contact with his body.

Within the hour he's fairly confident at his ability to manufactured chakra cloths as if it appears to be a natural skill. He knows that it'll take him some more time before he'll be satisfied with this technique, most likely to see how well it'll last as time pass as well as to see if he can work on the quality of the cloths, to see if he can't make them more durable and capable to self-repair if he channels a bit of chakra into them.

A slight cough causes him to remember that he's got company. After blinking a few time as he glances at the group, he feels his face redden. "Just what do you think you were doing?" Ino finally asks him.

"You remember that Sexy jutsu I used to use? Well, I usually appeared naked right? I mean, sure the clouds blocked certain parts but still... And you know that usually return to be clothed after ending it right? And then there's the fact that I can create clones that lack cloths or better yet, come with their very own set of attire! So why spend money on cloths when all I have to do is spend chakra to create whatever kind that I want? I have plenty of chakra!" He explains as he leads them through his sudden brilliant thought process.

Slowly the others begin to nod with Tenten muses, "Shadow Cloths jutsu." He blinks slightly at the name before nodding in agreement. "Exactly!" He crows as he smiles widely at Tenten.

Ino's mouth moves but no sound comes out while Shikamaru has a thoughtful look on his face. Then Ino seems to recovers and within seconds he finds his hands being held by Ino's as she gazes at him, complete with stars in her eyes. "Teach me, great one! Teach me this jutsu and I'll be yours until the end of time!" Ino declares very passionately, causing him to feel like a deer caught in the path of a speeding fire ball.

_All this 'cause of cloths?_ He wonders as he tries to think of an answer to Ino's offer.

**- o 0 o -**


	19. The Many Shades of Naruto Part 11

**- o 0 o -**

**Mission Code Name: Talent Show**

_Why are we doing this again?_ He wonders as he stays behind the curtains. His clones and him were putting the finishing touches on some plot outlines.

"I can't believe she went along with this!" A clone of his murmurs, currently called Steel, and he sighs softly while wondering just how it was that he managed to get the last slot of this supposed 'talent show'.

"I think the citizens wanted some excuse to see princess Uchiha's mad 'skills'." Another clone, Silver, remarks.

"Can we stick to our discussion?" The third clone, called Copper asks in an annoyed tone while giving Silver and Steel flat looks. Silver rolls his eyes while Steel looks sheepish.

"Well, I think we can pull this off even with the slight changes we made to the story." He says and then frowns as he asks, "Too bad we couldn't translate most of the words it's written in."

The three clones who's job will be switching the stage props just give him a flat look. "I'm just amazed we figured out that whoever created that thin book wrote it from left to right." Steel muses while Copper sighs.

"It wasn't hard to figure out, especially with those advertisements hanging around at the end of it." Copper explains.

"I'm sure we've got it figured out." Silver says, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. "I'm more interested in the music and sounds that'll be helping to set the mood."

"Too bad I won't get to see their faces when we cause the right scene and set of actors to appear out of 'thin' air." Silver admits sorrowfully with a slight sigh and he groans while the other two clones just shake their head.

"I'll try and memorize their faces for you." He reminds Silver. "It just wouldn't be the same." Silver replies.

"I think Kiba's done." Copper says as the copper haired clone looks over the huddle. He perks up and glances to find a panting Kiba and a tuckered out Akamaru.

"Sakura, you're up!" Kiba calls out to the pink haired Genin. He watches as Sakura walks stiff legged towards the stairs that lead up to the stage.

"Well, we better get ready, I doubt she'll last the minimum of five minutes on stage." Silver says and then says, "I bet she faints."

"I bet she runs off stage." Steel says and he says, "I bet she vomits on stage."

"Very mature." Copper states with a roll of his eyes. "We're barely thirteen! We're entitled to be immature!" Silver remarks in a manner of fact way.

"We're Genin! We're pretty much legal adults!" Copper hisses and the silver haired clone just rolls his eyes while Steel and him glance between the two before a flash of white catches their attention.

Within seconds, Sakura is coming off stage on a stretcher. "I so win that bet." Silver says in a smug fashion and he snorts softly.

"Ok, the curtain is down. You guys know what to do." He says and before he climbs up the stairs, he creates the complete cast of mini clones on the large and diverse miniature stage. It wasn't long before Copper, Silver, and Steel were standing at the miniature.

_"Break a leg!"_ One of the cat creatures calls out mentally.

He moves out from behind the curtain and once at the center where the microphone is, he makes a slight throaty sound before he addresses the audience. He did note a certain teenager with her red haired brother and wonders when they arrived in the village, let alone what they're doing here at this talent show.

"As you all know, I'm the great Naruto Uzumaki! And for your enjoyment I'll be doing a command performance using only shadow clones as the cast. While I haven't the faintest idea of what the play that you're about to see played out before your vary eyes, I've come to call it The Fall." He says into the mic.

_"We are ready."_ Steel tells him and he smiles at the audience as he says, "Enjoy the show."

With that, he takes the stand and the microphone with him as he moves off to the side just as a bit of chakra flares up, signaling that the new stage has been set just before the curtains begin to raise up. Soft chirps begin to sound as most of the extra lights get turned off.

Soon he manages to alter his voice box and he begins to narrate into the microphone as his clones begin to take their positions. **"In the beginning, the gods wandered the land. In time they would grow bore and decided it was time to create life. And so they shaped a paradise, a place where all living beings were to lived in harmony."** He says into the mic.

**"It was a place of beauty, a land where man and beast lived side by side, at least, until humans began to lust for more, for a place where they stand above the beasts of the land, the water, and the air."** He says, he didn't bother to cast a glance at his clones, he knows that they're acting their part as typical sounds play from the speakers.

**"No longer content to be part of nature, humans began to gather allies from various species that live along side of them. These beasts were willing to risk it all in hopes of sharing in the domination of their neighbors."** He feels the scenery begin to alter and waits for it to end before continuing.

**"But the gods did not wish for this to be. So the gods took two felines and took them from being four legged... to two."** He says, pausing as his two clones let loose their roars and snarls. It wasn't long before the air simmers once more to reveal a battle field with two opposing armies.

**"The two warriors now blessed by the gods lead those beasts against the legion of traitors."** He says and then waits for the signal for him to continue.

He remains motionless as the battle rages within less then ten feet from him. He watches the audience's reactions to the fight on stage and more then a few looked highly pale, although Gaara, if he remembers that one's name correctly, looked on with a great deal of interest, so much so that the red head Genin had a slight smile on his face.

He did wonder briefly wonder how it was that his clones manage to 'bleed' but decided not to think too deeply on it. It wasn't long before a victory yowl and cries echo from the animal kingdom army.

**"And so after a great deal of blood shed, humans and their allies were driven from the paradise that the gods had created. It wasn't long after that the gods decided to test which of the two cat demi-gods were to rule over paradise. Taking over man's duty of shepherding those that inhabit paradise."** He says and it wasn't long before the scene has changed once more.

**"The gods placed a stone ankh into a pit of lava and decreed that the one to take the ankh out of the lava shall rule."** He says and continues after a brief snarl of anger and despair erupts from the Sabre clone.

**"Sabre tried in vain to reach for the ankh, he stopped only when the pain became too great."** He says.

**"But Panther used his tail to reach the ankh, showing a swiftness of the mind as well as a toughness of the body. And so Panther became ruler of paradise with Sabre standing by his side in an advisory position."** He tells the audience.

The simmer occurs once more and he prepares to tell the end of this part of the story. After all, this part, while brief, was the only part he felt confident in acting out, even if he's been unable to translate what's written on the pages of the story.

_"In time, Panther grew wary of governing the realm he had saved from human greed. Instead of Sabre moving to take over, Panther's two adopted children were given a chance to rule side by side."_ He says and waits for his next signal.

**"It wasn't long before White revealed himself to be more domineering and especially more cruel then his brother Black. So much so that Panther was force to step in before the balance the gods had wish to remain broke."** He says as he hears a scuffle going on.

**"Black and White were banished, as they left they were transformed. They became men. Forbidden to return until they have learnt their respective lessons, leaving their adopted father, Panther to reign once more over paradise."** He says and within a few seconds, the curtains descend and the stage returns to normal with another flare of chakra.

He glances around at the audience before heading off stage. He lets out a sigh he's been holding and heads to where his clones were to see if they experienced any trouble with switching and enlarging the various sections of the model as well as the mini clones.

**Next Day**

"You were marvelous! The passion! The creativity! You're a natural actor!" He jerks slightly as he's eating from his bowl of Ramen.

"Huh?" He mutters once he's swallowed what's in his mouth. He turns around and finds that not only were the Sand Genin standing behind him but some guy with sunglasses.

A guy who seems to be addressing him...

"How did you get the set to change like that? Was it some kind of jutsu? But then, that would mean that those clones would haven't have been shadow clones..." The man says and within seconds of saying that, the man goes into a thoughtful pose and begins to pace.

He sends the team from Sand a questioning look but face painted teen seems to be rolling his eyes at their client's actions. Gaara seems content to stare at him instead of answering his question.

"Then there's the fact that they still weren't full size..." The man muses and he decides to comment, "I didn't do full size because I doubted the stage would have held under the weight of an elephant. So I down sized the size of humans and the others followed suit."

"You can control the size of your clones?" The man asks slowly and he nods. "That's... that's... that's incredible! The cost of using smaller sets would be tremendous! You're a producer's dream all rolled into one! Not only can you be the star but you can even create faceless masses..."

He swears the man literally began to drool, complete with glazed eyes. He could tell that face paint and Temari look surprised at the idea of creating such small clones. _Oh boy, if only they knew..._ He muses softly to himself as he waits for the man to recover from his thoughts.

"Well, that's nice and all, but I'm a ninja. So it's not as if I can star in your movie." He says as he gestures to his headband depicting the village's chosen symbol.

"I'm willing to pay any price to have an actor of your caliber in my latest block buster!" The man declares with a lot of passion and with that, the man walks off towards the tower with the Sand siblings trailing behind.

"Well, well, well, it seems that we're soon going to be able to brag about having a famous actor eating from our restaurant." Muses Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku Ramen bar from within the kitchen.

He rolls his eyes as he turns to face the counter once more. He places the bowl back on the table and within seconds, he's back to devouring the contains of the bowl.

Hanabi

She jerks her head as the door opens and a man walks into the office just as Lady Tsunade signed her name, allowing her to travel beyond the village with Naruto as her escort/bodyguard, after all, she needed to get away to perfect her skills in seals without any of her clan knowing of her interest in the subject.

_Well, at least it got completed before my father remembers what it is he signed._ She muses as she watches impassively as a team from Sand enter a few seconds into the man has started to speak passionately with Lady Hokage.

_Isn't she the one who..._ She wonders as she realizes where she's seen this team before. She couldn't help but feel like smirking.

_Well, isn't this an interesting turn of events? I wonder if she's going to jump in and join the race for Naruto's heart? Oh well, I just hope that Hinata's not too disappointed when somebody else wins his heart._ She thinks as she studies the young woman from Sand.

It didn't surprise her much to find the red haired Genin is staring at her. She only gives the youth a blank look before turning to look out through the window behind Lady Tsunade.

_I wonder if I shouldn't go for a flight tonight..._ She muses at the sight of a few sparrows flying through the air before they land on the ledge of the window.

"So you want to have a Genin of our village star in your movie?" Lady Tsunade muses and she couldn't help but blink slowly as she realizes that nobody's notice that she's still in the office.

"The blond who specializes in shadow clones." The man says in agreement and she turns to regard the man with new interest. _Sounds like I'll be leaving the village sooner then I thought._ She muses as the Fifth motions for the man to sit.

"Do you plan to leave with Uzumaki today? After you're done here, I mean?" She asks the man.

"Young Hanabi here has engaged Naruto's services as she trains outside of the boundaries of our village." Lady Tsunade explains and the man sighs. "As long as she doesn't interfere with my movie she's welcome to travel with us."

With that, she gets out of the chair and after bowing respectfully towards the Fifth Hokage, she takes her leave. _I should probably try to use those proto-type teleportation seals to get my stuff._ She muses as she begins to make plans on how to get her stuff using only her slowly mastering ability of seals and the few jutsus she's been taught.

After all, her father can't forbid her if she's not there to detain.

**Two Years Later**

"How is it that it took two years to finish filming that movie?" Naruto wonders the open gate of Hidden Leaf comes within view.

"He did decide by the end there that he's got so much film that he'll be releasing two movies instead of the original one he wanted to film." She points out calmly to the now fifteen year old Genin as they pause to take in the sights of the village's walls.

"Really? When was this?" The bewhiskered teen asks her and she smiles as she replies, "When Serizawa and her friends were slowly herding you into that corner so that you'd agree to go out for dinner with them."

"Oh? Oh!" Her escort says with a slight blush and with that, they begin walking towards the gate.

"It's odd to see the village again and not through our shadow clones' memories." Naruto says and she nods in agreement with her almost sibling. After all the time they spend together, she's come to see him more as an older brother then a love interest.

"I still haven't a clue as to how that seal array managed to not just create a shadow clone but one where the scroll signer is the one the scroll creates shadow clones of." And then she muses, "Can you imagine how easy it would be to get an enemy to sign it and then to interrogate the clone?"

"It really would cut down on kidnapping enemy nins. Although you would need to add something to keep the clone's memories from returning to signer so they can't report about the interrogation." Naruto adds and she nods thoughtfully.

"I'll have to work on that." She tells the blond. "Well, if you need any help, I'm sure you'll find plenty of unprepared vic... test subjects." Naruto says and she just smirks in agreement.

"Although... are you sure you don't want me to undo.. well, you know." She says as she glances at his head and Naruto moves his bangs as he shakes his head.

"Nay, I'll keep them for now, you never know when I need to vanish in a crowd while being pursued by..." Naruto trails off and she decides not to press it.

"Besides, I'm fairly sure you haven't removed yours." The blond points out and she parrots the blond's words back to him. "Well, you'll never know when I'll need to vanish into a crowd."

Naruto chuckles but nods in agreement with that. "Amon, sister!" The bewhiskered teen says and she punches him weakly in the left shoulder while she works at keeping her face from burning up.

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" She says with a fixed scowl on her face. Her arms were crossed over her chest and silence hangs between them as they enter into the village after they left about two years later.

They show their passports to the pair of Chuunin guarding the gate. Once that's done, they head for the tower to report that the filming has finished and that the escort/bodyguard mission is over for her as well. _It's going to be odd not having Naruto sleeping in the room next to mine._

Naruto

_"Naruto!"_ He looks around until he finds Ino sitting with her team at the BBQ place. He waves at them as they walk pass.

"Hey boss! Hey Hanabi!" Konohamaru says as Hanabi and himself walk pass the much taller grandson of the Third Hokage as they enter into the tower where the Hokage office is.

"Hi Konohamaru, how are those D rank mission treating you?" He asks politely as they slow as they draw closer to the scarf wearing Genin.

"Eck, I can't believe that they're still ranking that cat retrieval mission as a D rank one when it should be ranked higher then that." Konohamaru complains and he chuckles.

One ruffled hair later and they're sitting before the old lady. He had made sure to have handed over the reports he's made over the course of the filming as well as the documents that the filming company had wanted him to give. Those were mostly about his share of the royalties from the movie's release and sales from merchandise they'll be marketing before that.

"Well, everything seems to be in order. I'll need you, Hanabi, to sign a few things before you leave the office. Naruto, you're dismissed." Tsunade says and he nods.

Once he leaves the tower, he heads directly to the district to make sure that his clones hadn't edited their thoughts and memories, but he doesn't do so as a human. One Henge later and a crow stands where a blond human once stood.

With a caw, he leaps into the air and within a few flaps of his wings, he's ascending into the air. As he soars over the village, he spots other birds riding the thermals. It doesn't disturb him to see so many crows hanging about the village, after all, they're one of the more common animals that enjoy eating dead nins.

Once he's high enough, he directs himself to where the district is. He's yet to think of a name for that part of the village and he's reluctant to continue to call it the Uchiha district since Sasuke hasn't owned it for years and he's not willing to change his name.

_I continues to amaze me that at how big Sasuke's ego is. I can't believe he still refuses to apologize about the whole incident or ask politely to have that seal removed._ he muses as the site of said incident comes within his vision range.

He spots a few clones moving about the stone buildings. With a caw, he moves to follow the team of clones as they carry bundles covered in cloth. Finally the clones enter into a large building, one that's at the center of the district that he owns.

Resting on a ledge by a window, he glances in and decides an indoor market. _I didn't know they build it to be so big..._ He muses at the sight of empty stores.

_I wonder if the generators for water and electricity are up and running..._ He wonders to himself as he ruffles his sleek black feathers as he begins to wonder if his clones were waiting for his return before looking for renters or if nobody's willing to live on property owned by a demon container.

Finally, he shakes himself from his musings to leave the district to see if he can't find Tenten and her team. After all, it's not as if he's got anything else to do for the rest of the day besides kill time.

_It wouldn't surprise me if by now even 'team' 7 have heard that I'm back._ He thinks to himself as he circles around the district a few times before leaving the area.

As he soars through the air, his thoughts slowly drift back to his time outside of the village, in particularly about the collection of seals that Hanabi set on his head. He's not sure if would be able to keep him from losing his mind to the fox's chakra if he draws on it too much. He's also not willing to risk it to see if it is capable of such a feat either.

_I never knew there were seals out there capable to altering your very thoughts..._ He muses once more whenever his thoughts drift to those behavior altering seals that Hanabi had used on him to help him transform into a totally different person, one that wouldn't scream 'I am Naruto Uzuamaki'!

_I wonder if Ino wouldn't be able to tell if I'm really Naruto when I activate those seals?_ He wonders briefly before letting that idea go since he wants that persona to be a secret as long as he can keep it a secret.

_I also don't want anyone to try mucking around with them too._ He adds as an after thought. _I don't think anyone would trust Hanabi if that ever got revealed too. People would likely burn her at the stake just on principle._

It hadn't been long before Hanabi created her own persona, complete without a bloodline limit. Although she had to add a sub-array to block her bloodline limit. _It had been so odd to see what her eyes could look like without her bloodline limit active._

_I wonder what kind of future there will be? Now that Hanabi and I have returned to Hidden Leaf?_ He wonders as he continue on his circuit of checking out the various training grounds.

He tries to keep his mind from going back to that last Cloud incident and how Hanabi had almost convinced him that they should just go to ground and never come up. To escape from the various plots that surround them.

_'May you live in interesting times' indeed._ He recalls that particular 'curse' that he heard on his travels with Hanabi while they left a few clones behind as their stand ins at times during the filming.

**- o 0 The End 0 o -**


	20. House Kirin Year 0

**Hogwarts Express**  
**September 1, 1981**  
**Narrator: Naruto 'Tao' Uzumaki**

"Well, this bites." He muses after he has searches about his person for his ninja headband and weapons. He couldn't help but scowl out of the window as he begins to twirl the oak stick that he found in a pocket.

He didn't know much about where he is but he did know that he didn't really have anyone to blame for his being here other then himself and whoever those voices belonged too. _I wonder I should have waited until they explain more about what this mission is about..._ He wonders as he continues to watch oddly dressed people continue to appear at the station.

"I wonder just where this train is headed?" He wonders but in the end, he decides to take a nap since he didn't see anything in the compartment to entertain himself with. True, he did spot a trunk but decided he rather be well rested for whatever awaits him at the end of this train ride then get frustrated with what's within the trunk.

**Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony**

He couldn't help but stare at the hat. _Great... Now I've seen everything. Who's bright idea was it to allow it to sing?_ He wonders until he spots somebody with a worse color scheme then what Sakura and his friends accuse him of.

"Who's the butterfly?" He asks a kid with bronze tan. Said kid gives him a minor glare before answering in a voice oozing with disdain. "That's the Headmaster of the school, mudblood."

"Must be touched in the head to wear such a... 'fruity' dress." He muses softly as the stern woman reads names off of a scroll so that the kid can walk up to the stool and put on the singing hat. Another kid behind him snorts softly, he's not sure if its in agreement or what, so he decides to stay quiet.

Then after forty-six names had been called, the stern woman states calmly, "Uz-make, Na-roota." The hall quiet downs and he glances around, wondering where this guy who's name sounds almost like his own is standing.

"What's your name?" One of the five remaining kids asks him softly and he replies, "Uzumaki Naruto."

"Isn't that what she said?" The sole remaining girl asks and he blinks. "Huh... I guess she could be saying my name..." He admits slowly before he walks up to the stool, although before he takes the hat off and sit on the stool, he corrects the woman.

"It's Uzumaki Naruto." He says and makes sure to go through the proper pronunciation, only stopping when the graying woman finally says his name properly.

_"Well, well, I didn't expect to see a member of that... mission so soon. I had hoped to have time to consider what to do with you lot but I guess I'll just have to wing it."_ The hat tells him and he sighs softly.

_"Well, I believe I have it. It's going to trample on 'tradition' but then, change has to begin somewhere."_ The hat finally says after a few minutes of silence. "House Kirin!" The Hat declares loudly and he couldn't help but notice how different that declaration sounded when the hat was talking privately to him.

The whole hall just stare at him with their lips moving but nothing coming out. He gets up off the stool and places the hat down as soon as a small table appears between the staff table where the teacher were siting and the head of the table where those wearing red and gold were sitting.

By the time he sits down, there are murmurs about how odd it was for a fifth house to be declared. He didn't really pay them much heed since he had other things to think about now that the hat confirmed that he arrived a little ahead of the rest of the team for this mission.

Once the last of the students names were called and they were sorted, the fruity Headmaster says a few words before the food arrives. At the sight of food at his table, he couldn't help but stare dumbly at it before sighing. _I'll just have to make request with the cooks to see if I can't get real food._ He decides before starting in with the chicken wings that were on one of the plates before his plate.

_And ask for some chop sticks to use until I'm comfortable with these strange tools._ He adds as he stares blankly at a knife, fork, and spoon.

**Kirin Common Room**

"Ok, let me get this straight... You guys aren't enslaved nudists midgets, but House Elves." He says and the almost naked group of tiny beings nod their heads in agreement with that statement.

"And you guys can't accept cloths because it'll 'free' you." He says in the same even tone. "Master Naruto is correct!" The leader, a House Elf named Poky agree with earnest agreement.

"Ok... but does that stop you guys from creating your own cloths to wear to cover up your nakedness?" He wonders and the total group of House Elves blink before they huddle together for a quick, whispered discussion.

While he waits for them to answer, he glances around the small room that's to serve as his house's headquarters. He already has a few ideas on how to make it look more presentable but before he goes through with them, he figures it wouldn't hurt to study up on what kind of spells could be used to make it more... homish feel to it.

He knew for sure that he does want a statue of a kirin to stand within a few feet of the entrance. Maybe include shorter statues of a dragon, turtle, tiger, and phoenix standing at the correct points around the kirin statue, making it the center piece as well as giving it an Asian touch.

He also wanted a library off to the side, another room next to the library where study tables could be housed, maybe a small dinning hall off to the side where he could eat his meals without having to put up with hundreds of students and teachers eyeing him throughout a meal...

_Would be nice to have an alarm clock to wake me up at the correct time..._ He mentally adds to the slowly growing list of items that would help make his stay at this school more pleasant.

"Master Naruto is such a great and thoughtful wizard! Anything that Master Naruto wants for his house sets, Master Naruto will get!" Poky announces with all of the other House Elves nodding in agreement.

He couldn't help but find the admiration with the little guy's eyes to be very amusing and a tiny bit creepy. "Good to know. Now then, I believe the first order of business is the library. I want the library off to the side and filled with a copy of every book that the school has. I don't care if you magically copy them or dig into some obscure bank account attached to the school. There will be a study room connected to the library, but I'm sure you've got a lot of spare chairs and table you can put in said room."

"Would Master Naruto want his own potion lab and ingredient cabinet as well?" Poky asks and he nods, not sure what a potion lab is but he gets the feeling it will come in handy in the coming years.

It was after midnight that he managed to hit the hay, mostly because the moment he let loose a yawn, Poky declared that for Master Naruto's own health, they will have to continue on at a different time so that he could get some rest.

Although the one thing he hadn't managed to settle on was House Kirin's colors, but none of the House Elves pressed him too much for him to pick a pair of colors.

**November 1, 1981**

He yawns as he heads down the stairs to the minor dinning hall that the House Elves had created at his request. He does pause to take in the sight of the ten foot tall kirin statue that's the center piece of the much larger common room. _They really out did themselves when they created that one and the other four statues._ He admits as he stares into the back of kirin.

The kirin's furry mane is colored a rich brow with the fish scales coloring being dull, tarnish orange. The belly scales being a creamy white and the hooves of the statue being black. Jetting out of the kirin's forehead is a single horn covered in gold. Even though he can't see the face of the kirin, he already has a good idea of baby blue glass eyes.

He straightens before he turns his gaze to the door leading to the minor dinning hall. Within seconds of his arriving at the table, a traditional Japanese breakfast appears just as he pulls his chair up. As he partakes of a sample of various dishes, a House Elf appears, Clicky if memories serves.

"Master Tao! Master Tao! He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Name is gone!" Clicky continues on that vein for while the House Elf dances around.

_I should have picked a different name in that rant... But at least they've stop calling me Root._ He thinks privately to himself as he tries to ignore the House Elf wearing a teal tunic and black pants tailored to fit the House Elf's small size.

It wasn't long before Clicky vanishes and he's able to continue to eat his breakfast in peace. He snaps his chop sticks and as they fall to his plate, everything on the table vanishes and within seconds, he's created roughly a hundred clones.

Without a word from him, the majority of his clones make a beeline for the library while the rest slip out of the common room in the form of cats to investigate the latest happenings of the day. He couldn't help but grin at the sight of the huge heated pool that the House Elves had created just beyond the washroom stalls. He had opted for co-ed washrooms instead of the classic men and women washrooms, although there is a wall separating the two sides just to give each gender some form of privacy.

He tosses his pajama pants into a basket next to the entrance way. A cold shower later finds him relaxing in the large, heated pool without anything covering his body. By the time fifteen minutes have passed, a clone of his dispels and he gains the memories of that particular clone.

_So, Harry Potter is now an orphan, huh? Stupid title though, Boy-Who-Lived. Not the most pleasant ways to become known either..._ He muses with a frown, trying to ignore how similar this event calls forth Sasuke's own orphaning.

He's privately glad that today's a Sunday so he didn't have to worry about anything other then how he wants to spend the day, which will likely begin once he's out of the hot pool.

_I wonder if I shouldn't try out that Come and Go room the House Elves told me about?_ He muses, after all, he's finding it harder and harder to find a nice spot outside to train at and he's kind of reluctant to find a spot within these stone walls to train in.

He rather not alert Dumbledore to the fact that he's more then capable to doing more then just magic and he's fairly certain that the paintings, ghosts, and the House Elves likely spy on the going ons of the school. Not that he holds it against the little buggers, only accepting the fact that they can only do so much without running into some order or other that Dumbledore have likely given them.

_It's pretty amazing that Dumbledore has forgotten to tell them to stop aiding the efforts of House Kirin now that the common room has been mostly done. Not that there isn't room for improvement but...._ He muses, he really didn't like the old greezer for some reason and is very determined not to slack off in his ninja training and skills.

**December 20, 1981**

"So you're telling me that there are hundred, possibly thousands of porn cashes throughout the castle?" He asks the sorting hat as he rests within the heated pool. It seems that the hat decided that it wanted company... particularly his company and its not as if he's going to try and steal the hat...

"Considering that your likely looking for a challenge, why not try and find as many of these cashes as you can? After all, the money you can make by selling some of these... collectors items might allow you to broaden your horizons while at school and out of school." The hat explains and he sighs.

"I really don't have a place to stay when summer comes, do I?" He asks the sorting hat and the hat remains silent, but he could guess that the hat agrees with what he said.

"Well, it's not as if I have anything better to do while this break is upon us. I might as well take advantage of the pretty much empty school to look for these things. Who knows, I just might stumble upon something that doesn't relate to porn." He muses before picking up a glass of chilled fruit juice and sipping it.

After a few minutes of silence, the hat says, "I must say, the House Elves have gone the extra mile for you. I never would have imagined they'd create this pool area."

"Well, you have to admit, it does cause work for them to do and from what Poky has told me, it seems that the number of House Elves at the school is rather... high. So high in fact that they're complaining about the lack of work to fulfill every House Elf's time. Seems that an elf only gets a turn to work about every third to sixth day. They like me because I can always find something for them to do for me." He admits to the hat.

"I'm having them learn how to make Asian style meals for me to eat while in the miniature dining room off to the side. They've decided that it's their task to go out and buy or duplicate every book out there so that there's a copy of every book in the world in the library. I have them investigating in purchasing a film projector and films to watch. They're also busy with buying and/or harvesting position ingredients and I've asked some of them to start going through Hogwarts personal vaults to organize the lot. I'm kind of hoping that they might be able to find interesting artifact that I can experiment with." He admits with a bit of guilt to the sorting hat.

"But you're not the type to take without giving something back." The hat points out and he sighs.

"I might have pointed them in the direction of exotic styles like latest muggle fashions and then gave them the idea of maybe creating new cloths for the students instead of allowing those that come from poor homes to wear rags... I also believe I mentioned something about stables... Does Hogwarts even have stables?" He muses and the hat chuckles.

"To answer your question, there are stables at Hogwarts. You see, that pet rule only applies to First years students. In the past, when relations with the muggle world were closer then what they are today, students were often taught how to ride just about anything or to house their favorite mounts, be they Hippogriff or a normal horse." The sorting hat says and he couldn't help but get thoughtful.

"I don't suppose they could be used to house... I don't know, other large beasts? Of course, they'd have to be, at the max, the same size of... what was the large mount to be house within the stable?" He asks curiously and the hat replies, "Well, let's just say there had been cases of hybrids that grew to be fairly large, say, about a foot taller then Hagrid."

"Interesting. I'll have to keep that in mind then." He muses with a slight grin on his face. "You do that." The hat says with a hint of amusement.

**Farewell Feast**

He tries not to fidget as he sits at a small table between the Gryffindor table and the Hufflepuff. He had forgotten what it feels like to be the center of attention and felt he should have just remained in his dorm. _Kami... I'm going to be forced fed European food aren't I?_

Anyway, the Headmaster finally finishes his speech by going over who wins the House Cup. He's not all that surprised that Kirin House came in last, more then a few people snorted and murmured, "What did you expect? There's only one guy in the blood house!' He didn't really react when Slytherin won the cup.

Finally the food appears and he stares at it a bit before shaking his head and using a spoon to fill his plate with some mashed potatoes, turkey, and various other food stuffs. He really didn't see how anyone could eat this type of food daily but from the size of some of his classmate's waist line...

_Well, hopefully next year, I'll at least have someone to befriend._ He thinks before he smirks as the potion he put into the staff's table interacts with the potion in their wine goblets and causes the teachers' skins turn bright red with various horns, claws, and fangs growing until the lot look like a bunch of devils.

_That prank did work out after all. Good to know that I'm not the one who's going to get caught for it too._ He muses to himself, after all, all he did was replace the potion some Seventh year Slytherin was going to sneak into their goblets. He's not sure what kind of potion the guy planned to use and its likely he really didn't want to know anyway either from the way the guy's expression shifts into dawning horror.

**So Ends Year Zero of the Kirin House**


	21. House Kirin Year 1

**Hogwarts Express**  
**September 1, 1982**  
**Narrators: Yachiru Kusajishi and Naruto 'Tao' Uzumaki**

Yachiru

She sticks her head out of the compartment and glances both ways before exiting it. With a giggle, she races off in search of sweets and, of course, her friends. She almost runs into a young red head wearing a dress.

"Sorry!" She calls out as she continues on her way. "Just watch where you're going!" The red haired boy calls after her and she just waves back in acknowledgment.

By the time the train finally begins to move and all of the other kids were hold up in their compartment. Finally she did find the sweets but not a sign of her friends. So, after liberating a collection of chocolate frogs and a few pastries, she tries to recall where her compartment was as she walks down the length of the train, careful to snatch the leaping frogs before they touch the floor or walls.

"Huh... I don't remember a blond being in my compartment." She muses as she finds a slightly older blond boy in the compartment. The blond blinks and glances at her with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Well... to be truthful, I did find the compartment empty save for the trunk up there." The blond points out before going back to reading a book called The White Dragon. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki by the way. Although most of the populace has taken to calling me Tao since they enjoyed mutilating my name."

She grins and replies as she sits down across from Naruto, "I'm Yachiru Kusajishi! And I don't have a nickname yet!"

With that said and done, she decides to continue devouring her liberated goods, leaving Naruto alone, for now at least.

Naruto

He glances up from his book to look at his pink haired compartment companion, one Yachiru Kusajishi. Placing a bookmark in the book, he closes it and watches Yachiru bounce in her seat for a few minutes before clearing his throat.

"So... what house do you think you'll end up in?" He asks the First year siting across from him. "House? We get our own houses here?" Yachiru asks as she stops bouncing to look at him with a hint of awe.

"I think that just answers my question..." He muses before taking the time to study her for a few seconds. "Did you know that we're on our way to a school that teaches magic?" He tells Yachiru and she shakes her head in a negative way.

He takes out his wand and says before she moves to take it from his hand, "You likely got your own pocketed on you." And with a slight flush, Yachiru searches through her pockets and brings out a yew wand.

"Oh!" Yachiru says as she begins to flicker the wand about, sparks sparkle causing the pink haired girl to say, "Pretty!"

"Want me to teach you a few spells?" He says and it wasn't long before Yachiru leaps forward and gives him a hug. "You're the bestest, Whisker!"

_Whisker?_ He muses mentally before sighing. "Alright then, let's start with a simple light spell..."

And so for the remainder of the train ride, he began to teach his soon to be fellow Kirin a few first year spells. Something that unknown to him, pretty much cemented Yachiru's good opinion of him which falls just under Byakuya but above Ichigo.

**Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony**  
Yachiru

She couldn't help but glance every which way as she enters into this huge room that have various students packed at each of the tables, although it took her a few minutes to find where Naruto is sitting as the table he's sitting at wasn't as large as the others and seemed to be more towards the table where the older people are sitting then with the larger students.

"Hey Naruto!" She shouts out over the dim and the blond waves in acknowledgment. She felt a lot of eyes on her after she shouted out that greeting.

Then the hall quiets and something begins to sing. It takes her but seconds to realize that the ratty hat resting on the stool is the source of the song. She almost couldn't keep herself from charging up to the hat and begin poking it and asking it to sing her current favorite song.

Polite clapping follows after the hat finishes singing its song and the stern old lady unfurls a scroll. Within seconds of this action, the old lady reads off a name and within the crowd of kids, somebody walks up to the stool and places the singing hat on their head.

The hat calls out, "Ravenclaw!" Clapping erupts from the table with the image of an eagle. And so a few more names were called before the old lady calls out, "Kusagishe, Yachu."

She makes a throaty sound and before walking up to the hat, correct the pronunciation of her until the old lady says it right. Apparently, some of the students at the larger tables chuckled or giggled at this while the table with the snake seem to be giving her glares.

_How rude! They don't even know me!_ She thinks as she marches up to the stool and places the hat onto her head once she's seated.

_"Quite but then, the quality of Slytherins have degraded over time. Most of them are only in that house because they lack having the positive qualities in spades that are typically needed for the other houses or they wouldn't survive for long in any other house besides that one."_ The hat tells her and she just shrugs, although she mentally begins to think up ways to get back at that house for those glares they're sending her way.

_"I see you've become well acquainted with Naruto, which is good since you'll be in the same house as him."_ The hat tells her and within seconds, the hat calls out to the crowd, "Kirin!"

Blinking, she glances to look at Naruto before shrugging. With a grin, she gets up off the stool and heads straight to the table where Naruto is sitting. Just as she's about to sit down, the blond says with a slight grin, "I think you're suppose to leave the hat on the stool for someone else to put on."

She sends a pouting look to the blond but the hat says, "I am not a MP3 player and while I'm flattered you enjoyed my singing, I really must continue sorting the other First year students."

Finally, she sulks back to the stool and puts the hat onto the stool and walks back to the table. "I didn't want that stupid ratty hat anyway." She mutters to herself and Naruto sighs.

"We can watch a movie once we get back to the dorms before we go to bed." Naruto suggests and she stares in astonishment at the blond. "Thanks Whiskers!" She says with a wide grin, thoughts of making away with the sorting hat banished by the suggestion that the bewhiskered preteen offers.

Soon the sorting ends and an other elder stands up to address them. "Fruity dress." She murmurs softly and Naruto snorts in wiry agreement.

Then the fruity man says something and food appears. "Ah! This isn't want I want to eat!" She whines and Naruto looks bemused as he nods slightly in agreement.

"Just eat it for tonight, tomorrow the House Elves will make us real food for breakfast." Naruto tells her and she couldn't help but find herself looking forward to that meal.

Naruto

_Ok... how did she talk me into watching a second movie?_ He wonders as the credits for Disney's Robin Hood plays out after he's put the first movie, Disney's Jungle Book away, after rewinding it of course.

_It might have something to do with the fact that she's got pink hair... Although Yachiru's shade of pink looks shiner._ He muses privately to himself as he relaxing in the soft chair with his legs resting on a stool.

Midway through the movie, he finds that Yachiru has fallen asleep and with a sigh and a wave of his wand, the movie stops and with a flick, the movie begins to rewind itself carefully as he gets up off the chair to pick the sleeping eleven year old, not that he's one to complain since he'll be turning twelve come this coming October.

Funneling chakra into his arms, he cares the girl all the wait to her new room and within seconds of placing her into the bed, Yachiru mutters softly, "Thanks Kenny..." He smiles at the girl before heading off to his bed.

**September 2, 1982**

"Whisker!" Yachiru cries out and he just grins as Yachiru gives him a hug. "Good morning to you too, Yachiru." He says as he returns the hug for a few seconds.

"Hungry?" He asks as he hears a stomach growls and knows its not his. "Yip!"

Once Yachiru lets go, he shows her to the minor dinning hall that's connected to the house's common room. He watches as Yachiru's eyes light up before she races towards the table and takes a seat.

"Ya!" Yachiru cheers as food appears in the space before her. By the time he makes it to his seat, Yachiru already has a plate filled with food and seems to be content devouring a small bowl of steamed rice before moving onto the stuff on her plate.

Within seconds Clicky appears with their time table for their respective year classes. Yachiru seems to pause for a few seconds before remembering her introduction to Clicky and a few of the other House Elves last night as he had them help him set up those enchanted sound shells for the films they watched last night.

"Thank you Clicky." He says to the House Elf and Clicky nods his head rapidly before vanishing back to the kitchen. He soon sits down and its his turn to pile on food onto his plate to eat.

"You remember with the washroom is?" He asks Yachiru and she nods rapidly.

"Well, the right side is the girls side and the right the boys. If you go pass that part, you'll find a heated pool. I'm sure that the House Elves have supplied both sides with swim wear too. Now if you excuse me, I'll be relaxing in that pool for the next ten to fifteen minutes." He says just before breaking his chopstick, causing his plate to vanish from the table before he get to his feet and head out of the dinning hall.

Yachiru

She couldn't help but stare in awe at the various swim suits within this closet side door. With a squeal, she picks out a few colors and types to try on. Five minutes later, she enters the pool to find Naruto floating about in the middle of the pool.

"Cannonball!" She cries and with a short fast walk, she leaps into the air and causes a large splash. As she gives her head a shake, she finds the blond grinning in amusement instead of being angry about it.

"I wouldn't try that with an unknown pool, you never know the depth of the pool you're jumping into." Naruto suggests and with a blink, she then nods thoughtfully as she begins to see his point of view.

"I'll try and remember that, Whisker." She says in a serious tone and Naruto nods. "Thanks, I wouldn't want you to break a leg or something. I'm not confident in preforming healing spells just yet." Naruto explains and she finishes, "And it would be difficult to explain why I'm wearing a bathing suit to the school nurse."

"Yachiru... Just be careful, I really don't want your to hurt yourself simply because I was capable of preventing it, ok?" Naruto asks her and she suddenly feels very guilty about her little stunt as it seems as though Naruto really does care even though they haven't known each other for long.

And so she places Naruto just under Kenpachi in her list of favorite people because of his concern for her safety and health. She really didn't want to cause him any undo concern, especially within the Kirin territory like the commons room and its connecting rooms.

**October 31, 1982**

"So... what is it that you're having the House Elves add to the other houses' cups?" She asks as she watches as the twelve year old blond works with one of his three pets. "And will Big Nose notice it in his cup?"

"Oh, you witness that did you? Nothing harmful, just the third part of a series of potions for a prank of mine. This one is to help alleviate stress of the transformation that should happen around five pm." Naruto explains as War continues to trot about the circle room. "As for Snape noticing it... well, if he hadn't noticed the other two potions then he won't notice this one." Naruto explains with a slight smirk and she grins slightly too.

"But wouldn't it look odd if we don't... dress up?" She asks and Naruto pulls out two glass containers that contain a slightly different potion then the one he handed off to the House Elves. Naruto puts the two away and she feels impressed with that.

"So... what will it turn us into?" She asks and Naruto simply says, "That's... a secret!"

She giggles while Naruto probes War to continue trotting about the room. War glances her way but doesn't make a move inward towards them. She couldn't help but marvel at War, after all its not everyday you get to see a horse with thick scales about its back.

"So War likes those bones you give him?" She asks Naruto and just hums in a positive manner. "His scales are coming in nice and healthy, so I believe they are. He's mood is getting better too." Naruto adds and she doesn't say anything, just watches War trot at a steady pace around the room.

"Well, I'm going to go check on Sin and Grin." She says and Naruto glances at her as he says, "Just don't tease them. Sin is nervous and vicious enough as he is."

"I'll remember that!" She says as she walks to the door after War has trotted by.

Humming a cheery tone, she skips her way towards the habitat where the two almost six foot long otters that had been modified by some Jamaican witch. Naruto's not sure why she did it but it seems that the two modified otters seem to be highly intelligent even though their coat colors are totally not natural since Sin now has dark purple with gold belly fur and Grin has teal with silver belly fur.

As she enters into the area with one-way glass as to not alarm the pair. She blinks at the sight before her. A minor pinch later, she couldn't help but squeal at the sight of the two ruby colored otter pups that were resting at Sin's side while Grin grooms Sin's neck.

She couldn't wait to tell Naruto about this and couldn't help but hope that the blond will allow her to name one or both of the pups. _I wonder if this makes me an auntie?_

**Naruto**

He stretches his newly transformed body while Yachiru seems to be more interested in giggling her head off. He's not sure what's so funny about his body design but the young pink haired lion cub just keeps on laughing. _Girls._ He finally decides as he gives his body a shake before he stalks down the hall.

He hears an 'Ouf!' and turns his head over his shoulder to see Yachiru trying to run up to him but keeps tripping. He snorts in amusement before sighing. He turns around and within seconds, picks up the pink lion cub by the ruff of her neck and carries her down the hall way.

When they encounter another group of felines, he gently lets Yachiru down and takes some time studying the mix group that contains a brown lynx, a black cheetah, blond tiger, strawberry blond puma, and a black snow leopard. "Having trouble walking?" He asks the group with a touch of amusement.

"What's it to you?" The lynx demands with ears flat against her skull. "Well, excuse me for offering to give you a tip!" He states with a flick of his tail as Yachiru decides to try walking once more.

"I did it! I did it! All I had to do was mimic War, Whisker!" Yachiru says and sure enough, the transformed First year is mimicking War's trotting gate.

"Good for you, Yachiru." He congratulations and he could see that the other transformed students were studying her with intensity. "Now, let's see if you can walk all the way to the Great Hall."

With a nod of her furry head, Yachiru takes point with him slowly trailing behind her. He can hear the other students trail behind them with only a few stumbling at the beginning but as they continue to encounter other groups, more then a few of them being First years, they would stop and try to give them some advice on how to walk.

"Hey! Check it out, Whisker! Fruity is so much smaller then most of the other teachers!" Yachiru says and he takes a few moments to study the white feline before deciding that Dumbledore had been transformed into a bobcat, a smaller relative to the lynx.

"I wonder where all the tables are?" A voice wonders and he turns to find a red lion cub behind him. "Well, it would be kind of hard to feed a bunch of felines if they serve the meal as if we were humans, now won't it?" He remarks and the other cub looks embarrassed.

"Guess so." The red cub admits before giving him a curious look. "I'm Bill Weasely, first year Gryffindor."

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, though since I don't want people massacring my name, just call me Tao. I'm sure you know Yachiru Kusajishi since you've likely have a few classes with her." He tells Bill and Bill looks bemused.

"I should hope so, she did knock me over as I was getting on the train." Bill states with a slight grin. "It's kind of hard to know who's who at the moment. I don't suppose you'd mind if I join you two?" Bill asks and he replies, "I won't mind and I doubt that Yachiru would mind."

"You do know she's not..." Bill says and he shrugs as best as he can. "Unlike most people around her, she's very easy to spot. She is the only pink haired lion cub in the hall after all." He points out with a slightly toothy grin and Bill chuckles as Bill nods his head in agreement.

"So... what kind of cat are you?" Bill inquires as they move to a spot close to the center of the hall since most of the students and teachers were preferring to stick close to the walls, as if expecting to be attacked at any moment.

He hums as he takes a few minutes to examine himself before answering Bill. "I'm either a leopard or a jaguar." Once he answers Bill, he begins walking once more.

"What's the different between the two?" Bill asks and he replies, "Well, a jaguar is a little bit larger and more sturdier built then a leopard. Jaguars are the third largest non-magical cat, with tigers and lions being place higher up on the scale."

"Well, you certainly so look muscular." Bill muses and he hums in reply as he takes his time before finally laying on the ground. He also begins to pant as he glances about the hall in order to spot a certain pink furred cub.

He feels Bill take a spot close to his back legs and a unhurried look confirms that. Not for the first time does he realize just how much smaller the first years were tonight. **I'll just have to make a note for next year to not transform the Firsts into young animals.** He concludes privately as he finally spots the fearless Yachiru annoying a certain black clouded leopard.

"Who is she bugging now?" Bill asks curiously and he answers, "I would assume she's bugging Snape."

"How would you know?" Bill asks and he answers, "When she's bored, she usually goes off to bug those that take time out to single her out and Snape just loves to single members of House Kirin for the simple fact and I quote 'that there wasn't a fifth house when the four Founders built Hogwarts so there shouldn't even be a fifth house', end quote."

"Harsh." Bill replies and he dismiss it with a flick of his tail. He's been center of worst things then just a lecture/rant from a man who's not even bothering to teach potion safety during his class. _Its not has if I care for the point deduction since it's not as if we actually have a chance to with the House Cup anyway._

Finally, Yachiru grows bored with Snape and comes rushing full tilt over to Bill and him. He had noticed how most of the first years have come to rest a few feet away from Bill and him. It seems that they were very reluctant to associate with the 'grown' felines about the hall.

They stopped whispering to each other as Yachiru breaks through their ranks to pounce on his head. He manages to up the pink furred cub onto the floor by his belly. He noses Yachiru in the back while she giggles as she moves to lay flatly on his exposed side.

As Yachiru gives him a seemingly innocent look, Dumbledore finally decides to address them. "Can I have everyone's attention?" Everyone become silent as they turn to look at the white furred bobcat.

He still feels Yachiru's weight on his side as Dumbledore continues now that everyone is giving them their undivided attention. "Now then, I must congratulate the prankster who managed to pull this prank off and hope that our transformation isn't permanent, that we will return to normal in due time."

A few dark murmurs erupt after Dumbledore has said that but quiet down as the white bobcat holds up a paw. "Now then, I believe that we're all quite hungry so, dee little little of a cat's cradle." And he rolls his eyes at the non-sense that Dumbledore says to have the House Elves send up the food.

He's not that surprise at the sight of roasted bodies of various animals ranging from rabbits and chickens to the size of pigs and goats. The very smell of their meal causes a lot of stomachs to growl and with a cheer, more then a few students pounce on the roasted bodies that were resting on mats instead of plates.

He waits for all of the first years to pick out which of the selection they want to eat before getting up and claiming a roasted pig that none of the others seem interested in eating. It seems they prefer to eat something closer to their size like a rabbit or chicken then a roasted pig.

There wasn't any chatter since pretty much everyone is busy eating like the animals they resemble. He could even hear a few growls along the lines of 'bugger off! This one is MINE!' The first years were the first ones to finish eating and three large dishes filled with three different drinks appear for them to drink out of.

And so, after the meal and drinking from one of the dishes, the mood of the hall becomes relaxed. More then a few began to wrestle with each other. It wasn't long before games of chase erupt.

Although unlike with the other groups, he soon found himself being besieged by the various first years being lead to attack him by the co-leaders known as Pink, AKA Yachiru and Crimson, AKA Bill. He fought valiantly but in the end, numbers won the day.

**Christmas Eve**

"Where do the many yous come from?" Yachiru asks as they lay on a table in the Great Hall to stare up at the magical ceiling that shows the weather outside. He's more then enjoying the sight of snow falling without having to be outside to witness it.

He blinks before turning his head to glance at his house-mate. "You're asking about them now?" He admits in surprise and Yachiru nods. "Yep!"

He chuckles softly as he turns to watch the illusion of the storm clouds overhead as he tries to think of how to best to answer Yachiru's question. With a sigh, he answers, "How about I tell you tomorrow, when we're out trying to find those Unicorns you want to see? We can exchange stories then."

"Sounds good!" Yachiru says and he's relieved that she's willing to wait until they're out of the castle to hear that story. "Do you think we'll see those lizard horses while we're looking?" Yachiru asks and he snorts in amuses as he privately chuckles.

"I'm sure we might even see a Centaur or two tomorrow." He adds and Yachiru sighs.

**Christmas Day**  
Yachiru

"Weee!" She cries as she weaves between the various tree trunks while having the school broom flying as fast as it can go. Finally, she spots a herd of those strange, winged skeleton horses that sport lizard features and slows to a crawl as she decides to watch them dig through the snow and snap up various rodents once they relax from her startling them.

"I'll give you points for your reflect skills but you really should be careful, these brooms aren't in the best of shape even though I did just renew their safety spells before we mounted them." Naruto says to her as he descends from the tree tops.

"How did you manage to find me if you weren't following me through the forest?" She asks him and he answers, "With a point me spell."

"I hadn't thought of that! We could use that to find the Unicorns!" She says with a dazzling smile and the blond nods in agreement before he turns to watch the strange winged horses.

"I wonder if War has a touch of their blood running through his veins." Naruto wonders thoughtfully. "He does considering how he's liking those organs I've been treating him too." She answers in an off handed manner as she causes her broom to fly down so that she can touch one of the horses.

It takes them about a half an hour to find the Unicorns but she decides it was worth it as she watches them graze on the grass under the snow. The herd would glance at them every so often but after a while, they slowly began to ignore them.

"Well then, I guess I can set up the blanket here since they don't look like they'll be moving on anytime soon." Naruto says as he pats the large blanket that's migrated to rest on his left hip before he flies to one of the trees in the direction that the herd is slowly moving towards.

She watches as the older blond manages to unroll it in a graceful manner and lays it on a branch. Naruto casts a few spells that causes the blanket to stretch and to stiffen as it begins to float in the air. Naruto's wand touches a rune at the center and within seconds runes appear at the corners.

Naruto looks satisfied and lowers his broom by the large tree branch before climbing off of the broom. Naruto then casts a spell to clean his boots before getting onto the enchanted mat. It didn't take long for her to follow his example.

"Hey! The air seems warmer then when I was on the broom!" She says and Naruto nods as he tells her, "I've been having my clones experiment with area control magic and found they work best when combined with runes. The runes also act like a switch, activating and deactivating the spell."

She's impressed by how much thought and effort Naruto put in the blanket. "Anyway, I did enchant this bag to carry our lunch and maybe supper so that we don't have to worry about going hungry or putting off telling our respective stories." Naruto says as he takes a leather bag from within his jacket and lets it drop in-between them.

It didn't take long before she pulls out a tube that's slightly warm to her touch. Unscrewing the top, she finds that the tube is filled with hot chocolate with little marshmallows floating around. She hums in satisfaction as she drinks some of the hot chocolate.

"I enchanted the tubes to hold up to eighteen liters of hot chocolate as well as keep it warm, not too hot but not cold." The blond tells her and she leans in a bit to give him a hug. "You're the bestest!" She declares and Naruto chuckles in reply while looking kind of embarrassed about it.

"I guess I'll go first." Naruto says after they've eaten lunch and she didn't say anything, waiting for the blond to gather his thoughts. "Well, I guess it all began with my father and a giant demonic fox with nine tails..." (Read or watch Naruto to hear Naruto's story and dido for Bleach!)

**June 17, 1982**  
Naruto

On opening the door leading into and out of the dorms and common room, he finds a group of eighteen students of various ages from first years to fourth years standing before him. "We're here for movie night." Bill Weasley explains and he blinks slightly before figuring that Yachiru likely had invited them.

He opens the door wider and moves to the side to allow them into the corridor that have a pair of Fu Dog statues resting about a foot from the door. He notices the reactions the group has at the sight of them. "There just Fu Dog statues." He tells the nervous group once he shuts the door.

"Do they come alive when you guys go to sleep?" A Hufflepuff third year asks and he snorts. "Doubt it, they're just decorations." He replies finally as he resists the urge to feed them a lie that they do.

Gasps erupt from the group as they enter into the main part of the dorms, the common room. "Wicked..." Bill sums up as the group stands transfixed at the sight of the kirin statue.

_I guess Yachiru was right about saying that adding that corridor would help add to the awe of the common room._ He muses as he motions for them to follow him as he heads for the study which has likely been transformed into a theater for the night. The group takes a few minutes before they trail after him.

"I'm kind of surprise by the lack of orange and brown your common room has." A fourth year Ravenclaw says and he pauses to give the teen a questioning look. "Well, that is your house's colors, right?" The teenager presses and he nods.

"I kind of figured that a house colors is just to help the teachers tell which house you're part of from a distance." He admits as he turns the door knob to the study. Yachiru seem to be busy drinking some soda when they enter into the room.

The young pink hair girl waves a greeting as he moves to the film projector to get ready to set up the movie. Once the group of non-Kirin students settle down and begin to relax, Yachiru declares that they're going to vote on which films they will see tonight and reads off the list of films Yachiru and him had created.

Those few among the eighteen who weren't muggleborn students were confused but it takes about ten minutes for the votes to be counted and he then summons Star Wars: A New Hope. Once he's dimmed the lights and activated the enchanted film projector, he walks to his seat to enjoy the movie since he hasn't seen this one before.

**Farewell Feast**

_I really got to thank the House Elves for getting those D&D manuals._ He decides as he watches as all the teachers once more transform into hellish looking beings.

This time not only did he have two potions slipped in to their drinks but he also managed to tag them with certain blue prints that would interact with the two potions so that none of the teachers transform into the same body shape or style.

A quick glance at Yachiru reveals that she also finds what happened to be pretty funny. _I'm so going to do this next year too._ He decides as Dumbledore's two heads begin to argue with each other while Snape glares directly at Yachiru; as if believing that she's the one responsible for this prank.

**So Ends Year One of the Kirin House**


	22. House Kirin Year 2

**Hogwarts Express**  
**September 1, 1983**  
**Narrator: Yachiru Kusajishi, Kasumi Tendo, and Naruto 'Tao' Uzumaki**  
**Special: Christmas Day with William 'Bill' Weasley!**

Kazumi

She couldn't help but stare at her reflection and the sight of a train station beyond. People dress in robes with trunks and pet cages floating after their owners. There were a few people wearing familiar cloths as they push carts containing trunks and cages.

She finally tears her attention from the window to look around the compartment she finds herself in. She spots a familiar items, namely a trunk. Then she goes through her pockets and finds a holly stick.

As she moves to take down the trunk, the door opens and a slightly taller girl with pink hair wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans stares at her for a few seconds before grinning. "Looks like we've got a friend already in here, Whisker!"

"Really?" A guy's voice inquires and as the pink haired girl moves to sit across from her, an older blond appears. "Nice to meet you! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, commonly known as Tao around Hogwarts. And that's Yachiru Kusajishi." Naruto says and once Naruto's within the compartment, she notices that their trunks were floating behind them too.

Naruto takes out a stick and with a slight flick, one of the trunks falls to the floor and Naruto moves to rummage through it. Yachiru takes out another stick and with a wave, causes the remaining floating trunk to place itself on the overhanging racks. She almost dropped her own stick as it slowly dawns on her just what the stick really was.

"Are you wizards?" She asks softly and Yachiru chimes in, "Well, since I'm a girl, I'm suppose to be a witch! And seeing as you're here, you must be a witch too!"

"But I can't be... I mean, I'm just... studying to be a nurse. These kind of things happen Ranma and Akane, not to me." She explains and Yachiru looks slightly bemused while Naruto seems to chuckle as he takes out what seems to be a movie projector.

"I might not know who those two are, but I can tell you this, you're on the Hogwarts Express which will be leaving in about, oh, twenty minutes to take us all to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Which means that for all purposes, you're a witch and can use magic." The blond explains as Yachiru flicks her wand and the window seems to get covered up.

"What are you doing?" She finally asks as Naruto tosses a white cloth over to Yachiru before the blond begins to enlarge small tin disks which, once she's got a good view of, turned out to be movie films.

"Well... Yachiru wants to go some where during Christmas holidays..." Naruto begins as he glances at Yachiru.

"I want to go see a Nundu! Then go see the pyramids and tour their magical tomes!" Yachiru explains as she finishes hanging the white sheet up using magic.

"But instead of funding it with our money, she gets this idea of doing some fund raising like setting up a movie theater at school and charging students three sickles per movie attendance. For teachers, six." Naruto explains and she blinks as she glances at Yachiru, who nods in agreement.

"But at this moment, we're only charging ten knuts to anyone who wants to watch movies throughout the train ride." Naruto says before adding as an after thought, "I'm not sure what we'll do for refreshments but, oh well."

"And how will they know to come to this compartment?" She asks curiously as Naruto finally finishes with the films and the film projector.

"I've enchanted fliers to be sent to each compartment to let them know. We should have more then a few muggleborns showing up out of boredom then anything else." Naruto answers as Naruto takes out a bit of brown carpet with thin orange lines that remind her of creeping ivory vines.

Within seconds, Naruto has the trunk floating as he lays the bit of carpet down on the floor. Yachiru and her hold up her legs as the carpet begins to grow about the ground. With a flick of a wand, Naruto's trunk drops to the ground.

She's not sure what Naruto plans to do with the tin can, shell, and set of miniature furniture. Naruto closes the door before he closes the lid of his trunk and sends it to rest on the over hanging rack. "Ok, I'm going to have ask you to stand up for this part." Naruto says to her and she finds that Yachiru has already done so.

Following Yachiru's example, she does so and Naruto chants something and the orange markings of the carpet seem to wiggle about. Then the whole room seems to grow until she can't spot the seats and overhang racks. She also notices that the small white sheet has expanded as well.

She couldn't help herself but be dumbfounded at this action. "Can I do the next part, Whisker? Huh, can I?" Yachiru asks the older student and Naruto snorts softly before waving a hand for Yachiru to take over.

With a cheer, the pink haired witch enlarges the shell and and the miniature couch and chair set. Then with another spell, she duplicates the shells and then sets about having them hover overhead. Yachiru then does the same for the furniture and sends them about the expanded room in rows, duplicating more until she has at least seventy rows.

"I kind of forgot the one to create the stairs." Yachiru admits with a slight blush and Naruto then uses magic to cause the floor of the compartment to shape themselves into big steps and then into smaller ones along the isles so that people can walk up and down the various rows.

Naruto then causes the shells to light up as well as turn off the lights within the room, leaving only the shells to be the only source of light, for the moment anyway.

"So then, Kasumi, would you do the honors of placing this on the door? It's already been enchanted, all you need to do is tap it with the tip of your wand once you put it on the non-sliding part of the door. Just tap it with your wand and it'll lock the door until people up in the right amount of coins." Naruto asks her as he holds the tin out to her.

"But I don't have any money to put in it..." She trails off and the pair share a bemused look. "Just think of yourself as a temporary member of House Kirin. After all, it's free for our fellow house members." Yachiru supplies and with a sigh, she does as she's been instructed.

About ten minutes later, other students began to enter into the compartment and after taking a few seconds to gawk at the expanded space, they hurry to take their seats. Once the train begins to move does the film begin and the noise from outside of the room seem to disappear.

More kids would file into the room after the movie began, although, thankfully, they were fairly quiet since she couldn't help but enjoy the animated movie, one that's called The Last Unicorn.

**Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony**

She sighs, she really didn't know why she's here and not either of her sisters or future-brother-in-law, but she had to admit that she enjoyed being out of the house and doing something other then buying groceries while out of said house. _I have to admit that I'm a bit curious to find out what kind of household and healing spells they have here..._ She admits privately to herself.

Naruto had offered to give her private tutoring if she grows bored of the current course material. _It was nice of him to offer._ She thinks to herself as she glances at the smaller table where Naruto and Yachiru were sitting, for some reason, she had expected there to be more members of House Kirin since there seems to be a lot of students going to this school of magic.

"Tendo, Kasumi." Professor McGonagall calls out, startling her out of her thoughts. She flushes as she feels everyone's eyes on her as she walks up to the hat.

She puts it on as soon as she sits on the stool. _"No need to be so nervous, child. Nobody's going to harm you, well, right now at least. I can't promise anything beyond this feast you understand."_ The hat's voice whispers within her mind.

_"Tut, tut, tut, such a disappointing father you have, child. He'd be more at home at a daycare then as family head, and don't try to defend him. You have quite a bit in common with both Naruto and Yachiru, although unlike the two of them, you've just given up on having your own life; believing that you're only fit to be a home-maker."_ The hat says and she flushes but knows she had thought such thoughts about her father when she was younger.

_"I can see why you were sent on ahead. This is your chance to finally do what you want to do instead of doing what's needed. You aren't a failure, Ms Tendo, you've got a lot of untapped potential that's just waiting for you to use it. Just remember to, life is meant to be experienced!"_ The hat tells her and then out loud calls out, "Kirin!"

Yachiru cheers loudly while Naruto claps. It didn't take long until she's off the stool and places the hat on it before heading to their table. The pair congratulate her softly and she thanks them both, although she gets the feeling that they would have been surprised if she hadn't become a member of their house...

Naruto

He watches Kasumi's expression out of the corner of his eye as they enter into the main part of the common room, which gives the newest member of Kirin a good look at the statue featuring their house's name sake and symbol. He's not disappointed as Kasumi's face contains a star-struck look.

A glance at Yachiru, he gives her a questioning look and the pink haired preteen grows thoughtful before she grins widely. "I'll give you the tour right now! We can then discuss girl things along the way!" Yachiru says with excitement as the second year grabs Kasumi's wrist gently to drag her off on the tour.

He watches the pair and hopes that Kasumi will loosen up in Yachiru's company since it would be just the two of them, both of them were girls after all so it should help Kasumi to lower her guard and allow Yachiru to befriend her with ease. With a slight sigh, he glances at the old grandfather clock to see the time.

He briefly wonders if Yachiru would want to watch a film or not tonight. After all, they did get in at a few movies in while riding on the train...

_War and them are fine. Yachiru's two were settling in._ He muses as he reviews the memory of a clone he created to go check on Yachiru and his pets down in the stable before the feast began.

He checks out the wooden cabinet that's a new addition to the common room and confirms that the brooms he's created and enchanted were within it. As he stares at the brooms, he couldn't help but think of a hobby he picked up during the summer. _I wonder if I should enchant my skateboard so that it can fly a foot or two in the air?_

With that in mind, he heads for the library to find those books that his clones had noticed while browsing through the library last year, about the time he realized just how crappy the school's brooms were when compared to what's currently out on the market. He had been lucky to test fly one of the latest models early in the summer, which clinched his desire to supply Yachiru, himself, and any future member of House Kirin.

**September 2, 1983**  
Yachiru

"You know what they should give out to first years? Maps of the castle with locations of where the classes are held." Kasumi says as she flops down on one of the cushy chairs in the main common room.

She blinks and glances at Kasumi in surprise, after all, she did remember seeing something like that in Meanie's office, in one of the filing cabinets at that. "Hold on, I need to go fetch something! Be back in a jiff!" She says as she drops her book onto the chair she had been sitting on.

Before she enters into the corridor, she glances at the broom closet that holds the brooms Naruto had created and then enchanted. She's pretty sure that he had used clones in carving up the wood since they couldn't use the wands that often appear on them, leaving the original to enchant the pieces.

Coming to a swift decision, she charges up to the cabinet and grabs one of Naruto's creations before charging out of the house dorms. Without a thought, she empowers the broom and flies at high speeds through the castle until she finds Meanie's office, she ignores the cries from those walking below her as she flies over their heads.

It didn't take long for her to find the map and to leave a transfigured duplicate in its place. Hurrying out of the office, she once more climbs onto the broom and speedily flies back to her house's entrance while carrying the map.

It didn't take long before she puts the broom back into the closet and to return to her chair. "I didn't know we could fly through the halls." Kasumi muses and she blinks but shrugs it off, she really rather charge through the halls of Hogwarts on foot then to fly through the air since it would cause her to stop interacting with her fellow students.

"Anyway, here's your answer to your map problem!" She tells the very self-conscious first year. Kasumi takes the map from her and opens it. "There isn't anything drawn on it." Kasumi says and she shows it to her after she gives Kasumi a questioning look.

"Oh! I forgot the secret words to activate it!" She declares and within second, she casts a password spell on it and then declare, after tapping it. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!" She says and with that, ink writing begins to appear and then expand into more then just words but into lines that detail various floors of the school.

"This is a bit too much detail considering I just want something to show me the best and safest routs from here to my classes." Kasumi says as the map shows that Naruto's currently in the sable, likely attending to War, which reminders her that she has to go and check on Su Xia, a Chinese Fu Dog that Naruto bought her for her birthday, and Score, a magically altered crane that not just featuring iridescent feathers but also stand close to fourteen feet in height.

"Huh, this doesn't have those paths that Whisker shown me." She admits as she studies a particular floor. "Or about that entrance to that huge chamber where Whisker found that huge snake skin! Or that the chamber leads to a huge cave deep in the Forbidden Forest."

"Maybe you can create an improved map?" Kasumi muses and she hums thoughtfully as she also begins to list a bunch of improvements and add ons to help make the map more complete and helpful. "I could make it 3D." She muses out loud.

"Don't forget portable." Kasumi points out and she nods thoughtfully. "And to sell them for about twenty galleons for our winter trip to Egypt!" She adds with a grin.

"I guess so..." Kasumi admits with a sigh. She then stands up suddenly and declares, "To the Map Room, Kasumi!"

"Do we even have a Map Room?" Kasumi asks and she pauses, making a mental note to talk with the House Elves into creating a map room. "Ok then, to the Study!"

Kasumi

"So, what movie are we showing tonight?" She asks Naruto as Yachiru puts the finishing touches on the room with Su Xia, an actually, magical breed of dog that the Chinese had developed, a legendary Fu Dog.

"Dragonslayer, it was made in 1981 by a fusion of two companies. It seems that not too many people liked it because of the mature themes." Naruto replies.

"And tomorrow? What films will be showing tomorrow?" She asks and Naruto raises an eyebrow.

"I would have thought Yachiru would have shown you the schedule already." Naruto muses and she shakes her head. Naruto takes a moment before listing the movies that will begin around one pm tomorrow afternoon.

"Disney's the Fox and the Hound, followed by Bambi, a break for supper hopefully, then a final cartoon movie of the day, the Secret of NIMH." Naruto then pauses before adding, "Then that night we'll be showing live action movies like the Black Stallion, the Wolfman, and Gulliver's Travels."

She blinks as she realize just how busy they're going to be tomorrow. "Nothing for planned for Sunday then?" She asks and Naruto nods. "I've got a number of projects I want to work on as well as finally saddle War up for a ride. I'm sure Yachiru wants to tinker with her magical map project too."

"I guess I've got to find something to work on too." She admits as she glances at a far wall. She notices Naruto studying her.

"You do realize we have a huge library filled with not just books on magic but muggle novels and comic books? Heck, you could spend the day making friends outside of the house." Naruto pauses before continuing in a soft, comforting tone, "You've got a fresh start, Kasumi, no matter what your previous role in life was before you came here, to this world. Don't let fear keep you from experiencing live! Don't be afraid to make mistakes or to appear to be a fool! Those are just part of the whole picture that makes life all that more interesting!"

Naruto stops and she couldn't help but feel her cheeks heat up. "You don't know that..." She trails off and Naruto snorts.

"Kasumi... my whole life has been defined by one action my father made. He scarified his life and his only son to have countless lives... I'll also have to admit, for a long time I didn't know what to feel about the course of action he choice since I could argue that by preforming it he destroyed any chance that I had of living a normal life." Naruto pauses and she couldn't help but think of Ranma at this point and the choices his father made concerning his life.

"Was it really terrible? This choice I mean." She asks and Naruto smiles slightly at her.

"I don't think the school is a safe enough place to continue this discussion, Kasumi. But, calling it terrible... it really depends on your point of view cause my father did become a legendary figure through the village and beyond because of his action." Naruto says with a sigh.

She remains silent as Yachiru comes charging towards them with Su Xia hot on her heels. "All done, Whisker!" Yachiru declares in a slightly sing song tone and Naruto just grins at Yachiru.

"Alright then, who's going to 'open' the doors of this 'grand' opening?" Naruto muses out loud with his arms crossed over his chest. After a quick game of Rock, Paper, Scissors in which Naruto wins, which leaves her alone with Yachiru.

"You really should take his advice, you know." Yachiru says as they walk to sit down at a special part of the make shift theater. She gives Yachiru a surprised look.

"How did you..." She asks and the pink haired preteen just flashes her a grin. "One of the enchantments is to cause sound to carry in here. It's why there isn't any of those sound shells floating about." Yachiru explains and a quick glance around reveals that she's right.

"Then he could..." She glances over at Naruto and Yachiru nods in agreement. She blushes as Yachiru begins to scratch behind Su Xia's right ear.

"You know, I have yet to think of a nickname for you." Yachiru muses after Naruto sits on the far right chair and puts his feet on the foot rest.

She does sigh slightly as she brings her feet up to rest on the rest of the couch. After all, its not as if she's expecting anyone to sit down next to her since both Naruto and Yachiru were occupying the two comfy chairs at either side of the couch.

Within minutes a large group of Hufflepuffs enter into the room and they quiet down as they stop slightly in their tracks. After a few seconds, they tear their eyes from the large white screen to walk down to their seats.

Minutes later most of the students of the Gryffindor House appear with Professor McGonagall following after. McGonagall looks slightly startled at the sight of the room but in the end, she picks a seat not too far from where they're sitting.

A few more teachers appear with each other while the next attendees appeared in either pairs or in groups up to ten people. By the time the movie is about to being, only five members of Slytherin appear to see what's what. The doors lock and the movie begins to play, the lights dimming a few minutes later.

_Well, I guess this is a good showing all things considered._ She decides as the credits finally give way to the actual movie.

**October 31, 1983**  
Naruto

"So... what's your form?" Yachiru asks as all of the members of Kirin sit on the deck of the lake. He sighs, he should have expected that Yachiru would have figured out that bit of training from observing which books his clones left out.

"I'm a raven." He says in a blank tone, after all, he hadn't expected to find his inner animal to be so... so... connected black in color. "Tested to be a raven?" Kasumi asks and Yachiru giggles.

"You know how McGonagall can turn into a cat?" He asks Kasumi and her eyes light up within half a second. "Oh! But I thought that took a lot of training to become one of those..." Kasumi says.

"Oddly enough, a few of the other countries have discovered easier and safer ways to achieve inner animal transfiguration. I might even attempt to gain a second form, though not now, I've decided just having the one form is enough for while I'm at school." He admits and Yachiru giggles.

"You must be highly disappointed, huh Whisker?" Yachiru says and he gives Yachiru a bland look before returning to staring out at the lake. "How goes your map project, Chi?" He asks Yachiru.

"I think I'm onto something, although if I don't get this thing done by the end of this school year, I'll get you to review it and get your thoughts on it." Yachiru says and he nods.

"How about you, Omi? You figure out how to get that film camera to work without causing the captured images to stay put while filming them?" Yachiru asks Kasumi, he could hear Kasumi's long suffering sigh.

"Stop calling me Omi, I'm not a guy, Yachiru." Kasumi says before answering Yachiru's question. "I think I figured out why they're moving and plan to stop using those potions the books recommend on the film at any stage. Hopefully before we go to Egypt I'll have it figured out so we can recorded our time spent there."

"Speaking of which... have you got Snape to sign that approval slip, Chi?" He asks and Yachiru hums thoughtfully before nodding.

"Good, hand it to a clone tomorrow and it'll land on Dumbledore's desk." He says and once that's said, a comfortable silence hangs between them.

The surface of the lake breaks as Grin and Sin leap out of the water to do a barrel roll before entering back into the lake. He notices that a tentacle seems to be trying to grab the adult pair of magical otters. Fire sighs and snuggles more into his lap while Sapphire just thuds her tail and chatters angrily at the lake before calming under a few good ear scratches.

"You would think Fire would be the more emotional one, wouldn't you?" He muses as the adult otters continue their adventure with the giant ocean dweller. The red and orange otter pup gives his left index finger a short nibble, he begins to scratch under Fire's chin as the young otter sighs in content.

"I thought they would have taken after their mother all things considered." Yachiru muses. Second later, the parents of Fire and Sapphire head for the bank, both chattering endlessly to each other before they sprinted a short distance away and out of reach of the latest tentacle trying to grab them.

The pair soon set about grooming first themselves and then each other. "So... what's this Halloween prank going to do to us?" Yachiru asks and he can tell that Kasumi stiffens slightly, it seems as though Kasumi hadn't expected that Yachiru would bring it up so... bluntly.

"I was thinking Slytherins but decided to go with the other egg laying mascot instead." He admits. "I guess you changed your mind after learning to be a raven, huh?" Yachiru asks and he sighs.

"I just didn't know there were so many kinds of snakes. It's going to take me a bit before I feel confident in having the whole school transform into the various types there are for that." He admits.

"And to brew a bunch of venom antidote potions too." Kasumi muses and he flashes her a grin. "Looks like you're catching on." He muses and Kasumi just sighs as she shakes her head gently, though it's kind of ruined from the slight up turn of the edge of her lips.

After a few minutes of silence, Grin and Sin come looping towards them to reclaim their two wayward off spring. The royal blue and navy blue pelted Sapphire slinks towards her mother while the lazy Fire just flickers her tail in dismissal, likely not willing to give up her position on his lap. Grin seems to huff slightly before walking stiffly pass Yachiru and Kasumi to get his wayward daughter.

Fire mews as Grin picks Fire up by the neck and stomps off to his mate Sin and other daughter Sapphire. He watches the little family walk off to the tunnel that will lead them back to their room within the stables. About that time does he note that Bill Weasley seems to be coming towards them, only to stop and watch the family of magical otters to walk off the deck and into a hidden tunnel.

"Hey Crimson!" Yachiru calls out at the sight of the red head. This causes Bill to flush lightly as Bill holds up a hand as he comes jogging towards them.

"I don't remember anyone mentioning that there were otters living around the castle." Bill admits as he takes a position next to Yachiru.

"They're Whisker's pet otters. You remember War, right? Well, there's a room that the House Elves modified to house them." Yachiru explains with a giggle.

"But I thought we're only allowed one pet at a time..." Bill says and he answers this one, "That pet rule only applies to First years and I doubt anybody really paid much mind to it beyond add anything more to it beyond killing those beasties who grow too violent and begin making meals of local humans."

"I guess that explains why Dumbledore hasn't done anything to Su Xia attending classes with Yachiru..." Bill muses. "Or keeping Score the crane from delivering her mail when the teachers tried to force us to eat all of our meals in the Great Hall during the third week of September." Kasumi muses and Bill sighs, few people know what to make of Score, at least they're getting to be familiar with Su Xia.

"You know, if I knew my mother wouldn't kill me for owning such a odd and likely dangerous pet, I would love to have something like War or Su Xia as a pet." Bill admits and he grows thoughtful. "Huh... I think I can contact that agent to see if I can't find something awe inspiring but mostly harmless as a Christmas present for you." He muses and Bill snaps his head to look at him with a hint of surprise.

"Err... Thanks, I guess..." Bill says and he waves it off. "Don't thank me until I get you one. Never know what kind of trouble I'd get you in just gifting it to you." He says and Yachiru just grins.

"Anyway, are you guys coming to the feast tonight?" Bill asks and he glances at the two before saying, "I think its a holiday feast we can't miss out on."

"How did you like being a lion during Halloween last year, Bill?" Kasumi asks out of curiously before Bill could say anything to him. "It was... kind of exciting. I mean, unless you train to be an Animagus, you don't really experience anything like that."

"There isn't any laws forbidding anybody about drinking a potion to transformation into an animal for a select amount of time. The only thing that comes close is dosing an unwilling person with one." Yachiru supplies cheerfully and Bill looks startled at this.

"Really? But I would have thought... How do you know this?" Bill asks and Yachiru replies, "We do have our own library and there is a school account that funds buying new books. Although why Fruity hasn't done so for the library... Ah well, just means that its just another duty he's slacking in."

"Huh?" Bill says, clearly still not over how casually they pick out the man's flaws and ignore the man's 'brilliance' or the fact that the man is hailed as the next Merlin.

"The man is either too busy in his other duties to do his job as a Headmaster effectively or he's come to the conclusion that the recent stuff is 'fit' for students to read." He pauses for a few seconds before adding, "Heck, he let's Snape control the student potion ingredient cabinet and let's face it, that overgrown bat has power issues since he keeps denying students from taking out ingredients for practice potions."

Bill blinks a few times before saying, "You mean we're allowed to make potions out of Potion class?" They all nod at that and Bill's mouth moves but no sound comes out.

"You could always ask McGonagall for a permission slip but she might be too busy trying to fulfill Dumbledore's Headmaster duties and her own duties as Deputy Headmistress." Kasumi offers before Yachiru adds, "Doesn't mean that Meanie will let you do so without breathing down your neck."

Bill looks startled before nodding. Then something seems to dawn on him as he asks, "You guys have your own potion lab and cabinet, don't you?"

"Now you're catching on why our house is so much better then all the others!" Yachiru states as she pats Bill on the shoulder. "Almost makes me wish for a re-Sort..." Bill grumbles and then his watch begins to beep, meaning that the feast will start in thirty minutes.

"Looks like we better head to the dorms to change out of these uniforms." He says as he gets his watch to stop beeping just before he gets to his feet.

**December 17, 1983**  
Kasumi

"Are you sure you wouldn't want to remain at Hogwarts for Christmas break?" Professor McGonagall and Yachiru cheerfully nods as she sighs. She couldn't help but notice the slight tightening of their teacher's shoulders before McGonagall holds out the Port Key.

"Are you sure that Meanie doesn't want to come in your stead?" Yachiru asks curiously and she hears Naruto chuckle softly at the thought that Snape would want to leave his dungeon behind. "That's Professor Snape, child." McGonagall corrects as Naruto and her move to touch the statue of a cat.

Within seconds, a jerking sensation occurs and the world around her seems to come out of focus for some minutes until gravity demands that she falls to the floor, which she couldn't help but obey as dizziness causes her to lose her balance.

"Welcome to the Straw Back Inn. I believe you four are the Kirin party from Britain?" A slightly accented voice asks in English. "That's us." Yachiru pipes in while Naruto helps her stand up.

"It is nice to met you, I just need to see your passports before I give you your room keys." The tanned wizard says and Naruto produces their passports save for the professor's since the graying woman should be capable of getting her own.

With that, the man summoned a teen to take them and their trunks up to their respective single rooms. She's glad that she followed Naruto's advice about wearing light material since even though the inn seems to have some form of air condition, it's still quite warm. She's sure that Professor McGonagall was just find that out since she seems to be looking a bit red in her face.

Naruto thanks the teen and hands over two sickles before the teen vanishes. "I believe we still have time for lunch before we can go sight seeing." McGonagall says and they nod in agreement before they each enter into their respective rooms.

By the time they met up once more, McGonagall has switch out of her usual robes to wear something more akin to muggle cloths. The professor glances between the three of them before saying, "I believe we'll use the buddy system. Naruto you'll be paired with Yachiru and Kasumi shall be paired with me."

Naruto nods and they head out of the inn to find a place to have lunch. She's privately glad that Naruto's in charge of pretty much all of their money since it would greatly curve Yachiru's shopping spree while they're here. Although she's not sure if Naruto's capable of protecting it from pick-pockets... But then, Naruto's likely more then capable of tracking down said pick-pocket using his clones if worst comes to worst.

She did manage to renew her sun screen spell as well as a spell to help keep her body temperature down. About a few hours later, McGonagall finally asked her to cast the same spells on her to protect her from getting a burn and the heat, they had lost Yachiru at that point, which also meant that Naruto wasn't around either.

"Where did you learn these spells, Ms Tendo?" McGonagall asks her as they settle down under a shaded spot. They're both drinking a fruity drink as they do so as well.

"Naruto found them in a book back at Hogwarts and when Yachiru made known that she wanted to visit Africa, Naruto began searching both muggle and magical books on it. By the time we managed to raise enough money, he had use learn the most helpful local spells that he read from a book." She left out the fact that the book didn't come from Hogwarts library or the fact that most of the money came from Naruto winning at a game of poker with goblins and other beings while at Hog's Head during a Hogsmeade Weekend.

_I wonder if I'll hear more about Naruto's life during this trip since they had promised that we'll exchange stories during Christmas break..._ She thinks to herself while trying to ignore the question of why those beings would allow a third year student to join in a hand or two.

By the time they're about to move on do Naruto and Yachiru arrive. "So, what did you two find, Omi?" Yachiru asks and she just sighs in defeat, knowing that nothing she says would alter Yachiru's chosen nickname for her.

"Just a few necklaces and bracelets." She tells Yachiru as she holds up her wrist to show off her new bracelets. "Cool! Whisker bought a bronze statue of a local canine god and I bought eight jugs filled with juice that the merchant swore were very sweet tasting. Whisker shrank our purchases so we can put them in our pockets."

"I'm not sure if I should be disappoint by this blatant use of underage magic or not but seeing as nobody came to arrest you, I guess the laws might be a tad different here then at home." McGonagall says and Naruto nods.

"It also helps that we're in a large magical crowd, Professor. It's hard to track who's casting what with so many witches and wizards about. The same principle works during summer and holidays for those 'Pure-Bloods' and 'Half-Bloods' since they can't tell if it's their parents who are casting those spell or not." Naruto muses and McGonagall looks startled at the thought but a few seconds later, realization seems to dawn on her that Naruto's likely right on those accounts.

"Yes, well, let's be off then. It's been quite the draining day." Professor McGonagall says and they then make their way to the inn that they're staying at, only stopping to buy something for dinner.

And so day one of their trip comes to an end.

**December 19, 1983**

"So... that's what a Nundu looks like up close..." Yachiru says with a sigh as they watch as the huge leopard seems to be staring intently at Naruto and nobody else, particularly as the squad of wizards move to surround the disease spawning feline.

Naruto seems to be holding the cat's gaze with a slight frown fixated on his face. Then, with the swiftness that only a feline can pull off, the Nundu comes charging towards them. McGonagall manages to pull Yachiru and her a few feet a way with a pop, but Naruto remains grounded.

The leopard like beast halts just five feet from Naruto and lowers its head. The two seem to continue their staring contest for a few more minutes before the leopard seems to de-flat and looks away, which puzzles her since she's pretty sure that the leopard is more then capable of killing the blond. She chews her lip as Naruto slowly raises his hand and softly touches the Nundu's whiskers.

The Nundu once more turns to look at Naruto before sighing and butting its head to Naruto's chest. The feline then begins to shrink as Naruto begins to give the leopard beast chin scratches. From the looks of things, nobody's ever seen the like of it before.

"My word..." She hears McGonagall whisper breathlessly and she couldn't help but nod in agreement, especially as she recalls everything their guide had told them about the leopard beast.

Finally the Nundu draws away from Naruto and with a flick of its tail, the feline walks off in a manner that's typical of felines. None of the squad of wizards did anything but watch the beast walk away, likely going in any direction that tickles its fancy.

Then the preserve wizards charge towards Naruto, all of them talking rapidly in their native tongue while Naruto just seems to get this bewildered look on his face. "I would never believe it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes..." McGonagall says and she had to agree.

Naruto

"So... how did you keep the Nundu from killing you?" Kasumi asks as they stare up at the starry sky. He sighs, but had been expecting the question for some time now.

"It really wasn't anything to do with me, Chi, but with my furry renter." He admits, he's pretty sure that if he hadn't been a demon container that the Nundu wouldn't have singled him out. To challenge him to see who's the greater predator viva a contest of wills.

"Oh? OH! So it's because of that Kyuubi being that caused it to act like that? I was hoping it was a charm or something that I can learn how to do." Yachiru says and a glance in Kasumi's direction reveals that she couldn't help but be confused as to why a nine-tail being was involved with any of this.

"Well, I might as well start at the being..." He begins as he decides now is as good a time as any to tell his tale. Of course he also set up any and all privacy spells he knew before he even began to say anything.

**Christmas Day**  
Bill

"Ah, Bill... I think you should wake up now." He hears Percy say to him while his younger brother shakes him.

"Huh? Wha'?" He asks as he yawns and tries to fight through his desire to sleep to see just what it was that has Percy looking nervous and stressed out.

"You've got an unusual gift waiting for you outside!" Percy hisses and he blinks as he tries to understand why a gift of his would be outside of the house then in. Percy grips his wrist and pulls him towards the door.

With a sigh, he manages to put on something and put his feet into fuzzy slippers. "Charlie's outside with it and he's drooling over it too." Percy explains as his brother continues to drag him through the house.

He's also slowly going through the list of people who'd send him something that would cause his brother to drool over it as well as to be left outside. Suddenly he recalls a certain someone who promised to...

With a not so gentle shove, he passes Percy before they entered into the kitchen and bolts to the door leading out of the house to find Charlie examining the 'gift'. "He didn't... But how? He's in Eygpt!" He blurts out at the sight of his new pet.

"You know the idiot who'd send you something like this?" Percy asks, proving that he did indeed say that out loud. He feels his cheeks redden from something other then the cold as he nods.

"Yea, Tao came through, I guess." He admits as he then walks up to the chimera creature, who stands four foot tall at the shoulder, who seems to have a great deal in common with a canine if he's to judge from the shape of the beast's head and general body shape. Although he's a bit concerned about the fact that the chimera had two sets of antlers on its... his head.

"There's a card, though it won't let me open it." Charlie says and he chuckles dryly as he takes the card from his brother.

_'Merry Xmas Bill!(Or should I say 'Crimson'?) Hope you like him, he came all the way from India; the breeder had been arrested for illegal experimentation on humans, apparently the man thought he should be allowed to continue his experiment on human targets. Talk about a god complex huh? If you turn the page you'll find not just the license of ownership but also this beastie's file which contains such things as dietary requirements and what kind of training he's gone through. Hope you're enjoying your holidays, from Naruto 'Tao' Uzumaki and the rest of us from Kirin House!'_

He flips the page over and sure enough, a file drops out and lands on the ground. Picking it up and with a sigh, he finds that there is a license for the chimera and that that is his name next to next to ownership part of it. He whistles as he reads the very detailed history of his new pet.

With a sigh, he closes the file folder and glances up at the chimera. "Well, I'm not sure what to call you but we might as well get you inside." He muses and then does the hand signal for the chimera to follow him, which the beast does.

"How did you do that? I tried everything I can think of to get him to move!" Charlie says and he answers once they've moved the table and chairs away, "He's been trained to obey certain hand signals instead of vocal commands, which is good since I wouldn't know how to pronounce any of the Indian dialects or words."

"Sweet!" Charlie says and he smiles slightly at his younger brother as he fills up a large bowl with water so that the chimera can have a drink. "Mom's not going to be happy about this... Nor will dad..." Percy says and he snorts.

"Well, I do legally own him since Tao did include a copy of his license here and my name is down as his owner." He says to Percy while Charlie does go through the file folder and holds up the license.

"I hope you'll introduce me to your friend Tao, Bill! He sounds like my kind of guy." Charlie declares while Percy studies the license. He smiles faintly as he recalls the other beasts that the Kirin house have lodged at Hogwarts.

"He's hard to miss, Charlie, very hard to miss." He admits as he finishes putting the bowl of water down on the ground.

**Farewell Feast**  
Kasumi

"That never gets old." Naruto muses while silently chuckling at the prank that causes the teachers to take on traditional traits that define devils or demons.

"Makes you wonder if they're cursed or something." Bill adds, the red head had decided to sit with them for this feast to get away from the Gryffindors, the whole house seems kind of put off by the number of points Bill 'lost' them trying to wrestle potion ingredients from Snape so the Weasley could make a potion to clear up a minor burn he received during potions class.

"The muggleborns always look so horrified when this happens." Yachiru muses and she turns to look at the other tables and sure enough, various muggleborns seem very pale and nervous at the sight of their professors transforming into something reminiscent of devils and demons.

"Just means they're church goers." Naruto adds and she sighs in a disapproving manner but that's all since she rather not get anybody in trouble.

"What does going to a church have to do with them getting horrified by the prank that transforms them into, well, that?" Bill asks curiously and she couldn't help but be a bit stunned at the thought that Bill didn't know such a simple thing.

"It's a religious thing. The church is like an Egyptian temple only without it being a massive building or being filled with animal statues." Naruto admits.

"I prefer Shinto to Christianity, less preaching and lecturing." Yachiru admits. She blinks and looks between the two other members of Kirin, not sure what to make of either of their responses, particularity Yachiru's seeing as she had been a Shinigami.

"I'm kind of confused but I'll have to take your guys' words for it." Bill admits as the feast comes to an end, allowing students to head back to their dorms while the teachers head to the medical wing to get transformed back to normal.

**So Ends Year Two of the Kirin House**


	23. House Kirin Year 3

**Hogwarts Express**  
**September 1, 1984**  
**Narrator: Yachiru Kusajishi, Shuichi 'Kurama' Minamino, and Naruto 'Tao' Uzumaki**

Kurama

"Kurama? Where are we?" Yukina asks him as come to terms with their sudden surroundings.

"I'm not sure... But I'm thinking somewhere in the UK." He answers as he studies the going ons of the train station through their window. He notes the mix dress code of the various humans, particularly those who have floating trunk trailing after them or in front of them.

"How are they doing that?" Hiei's sister wonders, likely catching sight of the floating trunks. As they remain silent for a time, the silence breaks with a knock on the compartment door.

"Come in." Yukina calls out and he gives Yukina a quick look before turning to see who's at the door. "..." The blond with whisker marks on his cheek glances from him and then to Yukina, clearly surprised to see either of them.

"Err... I didn't expect there to be two of you." The blond muses and he catches the faint scent of a fox but a slightly stronger scent of raven coming from the blond. _A crossbreed maybe?_ He wonders before he realizes what the blond had said.

"You were expecting us?" He asks but before the blond can answer, somebody manages to push the blond to the side and a younger looking teen with pink hair says, "Hi! I'm Yachiru!!"

"I'm Yukina and this is Kurama." Yukina says with a smile. Yachiru plops down next to Yukina and begins to chat with Yukina about what kind of candies she likes. He couldn't help but give the blond a questioning look and the blond just sighs.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki by the way, though most of the other students prefer to call me Tao. Though Yachiru does like to call me Whisker." Naruto states with a slight grin.

"Why Tao?" He asks as he motions for the newly dubbed Naruto to enter. He notices the floating luggage entering behind the blond.

"Well, I got fed up with the lot maiming my name and listed Tao among a small list of alternate names to call me. Ever since then, the vast majority have been calling me Tao, although by now I believe they're more then capable of saying my actual name." Naruto admits with a sigh and then he watches as Naruto takes out a stick and with a flick, sends the floating trunks up onto the racks.

"How did you do that?" He asks and Naruto snorts softly. "Magic, well, that's what they call it. You'll learn to do it too, considering the fact that we're about to be on our way to this country's only magic school." The blond says and he just blinks before he realizes the presence of something in a pocket of his.

"For what purpose?" He asks the blond and Naruto sighs. "Not sure but apparently we're early for whatever the event is. So we've mostly just been pursuing whatever projects take our fancy."

He didn't say anything nor did Naruto, leaving Yukina and Yachiru to continue their conversation, which now seems to be about hot chocolate and what adds to its flavor. Just as the train is about to leave, there's a knock at the door and Naruto calls out, "It's open Kasumi!"

Sure enough the door opens to reveal a much younger girl with brunet hair. "I'm sorry I'm late, Bill wanted to introduce me to his younger brother Charlie." Kasumi says before bow and introducing herself, "I am Kasumi Tendo."

"I am Kurama and this is Yukina." He says as he nods in Kasumi's direction. Kasumi smiles and within seconds Yachiru says, "Guess what, Omi! Snow here has this idea of adding chocolate covered marshmallows to hot chocolate!"

_Omi?_ He wonders and mouths at Naruto, Naruto just looks bemused. And so as the train gives off its final whistle, the whole compartment jerks for a second before it finally gets going.

He watches as Naruto takes out a large mouth pouch and begins to rummage around until the blond takes out a notebook and then a pencil. After noticing the various frowns and thoughtful looks, he couldn't help but ask, "What are you working on?"

Naruto blinks, clearly forgetting that he's sitting there and replies, "I'm trying to how to create this portable warded base with a slot for a ward stone. I'm thinking about marking it as a home security device that I can sell to parents of the so called muggleborns witches and wizards."

He raises an eyebrow at the terms of traditional western mages. Naruto notices and with pressed lips begins to dig around once more in the pouch and brings out a leather bounded book entitled History You Won't be Told While Attending Hogwarts or at All. "It's thicker then it looks. The woman who wrote it fled England within three years into this V-something's reign of terror. It's self updating so when she adds to the master copy all of the editions get the addition without having to buy the latest edition."

He takes the book from Naruto and opens it to find a bunch of reviews, most of them originating from the America and parts of Asia. It even warns that if any of the European countries find this book on them during a search, that they can find themselves facing a prison term as well as a huge fine. "It's a forbidden book here?" He asks and Naruto nods.

"Yea but from my own research the book is a much truer account then any of the more 'modern' books written after 1820s. About that time most of European government began to create a censor council about keeping books 'pure'. The council is still going on and now controls at least one newspaper too." Naruto replies and then the blond returns to his notebook while the girls continue to chat about cloths surprisingly enough.

He studies Yachiru for a few minutes, he couldn't quite place the scent that seems to cling around her but he's fairly sure there's more to her then meets the eye. He knows that Kasumi is human through and through though. _Their mysteries will be waiting for me to solve later, for now, I might as well learn what I can of what kind of situation that Yukina and I have found ourselves in._

**Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony**

The stern woman who's scent has a feline touch to it, a touch stronger then Naruto's at any rate, begins to read off of a list of names. The student who's name is called usually walks up to the stool and once the hat is on their head, the hat then proceeds to call out one of the five house names.

As he waits for his name to be called, he glances around the hall, making note of each member sitting at the staff table. True, he studies the man dressed in black who seems to be sneering down at the kids, but he ultimately dismisses the man as being too obvious to be anything more then a minor annoyance.

_So, that's Albus Dumbledore, huh? I have to agree with that history book on his lack of fashion sense. I have to agree with the author, either this man has his own agenda in allowing Voldemort to spread terror or he's just a lucky old man who happened to be at the right place at the right time to defeat that previous so-called Dark Lord._ He muses as he studies the brightly colored man who had seemingly dressed up like his name sack, only with various shades of yellow and thinner black bars.

Then he hears his human name being call, something that kind of disturbs him as he walks up to be sorted in turn. He pauses slightly in the process of putting the hat on his head, he takes a few seconds to study it. _I'm going to regret this, won't I?_

With that, he places the ancient looking hat onto his head and just sighs as he feels a slight sensation within his mind. _"Well, who'd have thought I'd be meeting another Yoko so soon, hmm?"_ The hat muses and his gaze turns to Naruto.

_"You're semi right about young Mr Uzumaki having Yoko blood. The truth is that within him lies a nine-tail Yoko. I'm not sure what the Yoko's story is but I do know that by making a bargain with a specter of death to seal the demon away within Naruto, the boy's father managed to save his village at the cost of damning his only son and offering his soul up to the being."_ The hat explains and he blinks as he begins to digest this bit of news.

_"Has the boy made contact with his... renter?"_ He asks and the hat replies, _"Yes he has and quiet the bastard he is from the memories the boy has of said meetings."_

_"It might be that they got off on the wrong foot."_ He muses and the hat seems to snort in reply. _"Good luck then."_

"Kirin!" The hat declares and there were a few claps as he takes off the hat and then sets it down on the stool. He ponders the situation concerning Naruto and his 'passenger'.

By the time he arrives a chair seems to appear out of nowhere for him to sit down in. "Does the hat usually have a conversation with its wearer?" He inquires and the three look bemused while Yachiru hums thoughtfully.

"Not really, I asked Crimson about it once and he claimed that nothing went on between them." The pink haired teen muses. "I see." He states and Naruto raises an eyebrow but returns to watching the stool while two girls seem to go into deep thought, their whole being seems to be turned inward.

"Yukina." Professor McGonagall states and the hall begins to whisper at the fact that Yukina doesn't have a last name. Yukina walks calmly up to the stool and once she's seated puts on the hat.

Two minutes later the hat declares, "Kirin!" A lot of students murmur about this decision as Yukina walks towards the table. Yachiru snaps out to wave in encouragement for Yukina to hurry up while Kasumi and Naruto clap.

**September 2, 1984**  
Naruto

"Where did Grin and Sin get those sticks of dynamite?" Kasumi asks him as they pause in their tour of Hogwarts' grounds at the sight of the two magically altered otters marching purposely into the Forbidden Forest with sticks of dynamite in their mouths and in a small sling on their bodies.

"I was wondering where my gun powder went..." Yachiru muses as Grin and Sin vanish from sight. "What were you doing with gun powder?" He asks Yachiru as they stood there, waiting to see the two otters to appear.

"I planned to make fire-works." Yachiru admits calmly and he sighs. "Shouldn't you be more concern about what they're using it for? Or why they took it in the first place?" Yukina asks.

"Well..." He trails off for a few seconds. "If they had wanted to escape they would have had plenty of opportunities to do so without needing to use gun powder." Yachiru supplies and he nods.

"Where did they learn to use tools?" Kurama asks them and he states, "Likely from the witch who altered their parents."

"Did you actually met her?" Kurama asks and he shakes his head. "I didn't nor did I met with the man who bred War or the people who bred Score, Su Xia, or Bill's Spike. I bought them all through the same agent, a wizard named Gill Zimeson."

Everyone just stared at him, clearly not believing that Gill Zimeson could be the guy's actual name. "If it helps, he's an Australian wizard who's also a lawyer." He admits after a few minutes of silence.

As Kurama opens his mouth to say something, a large boom happens and smoke begins to drift upwards from the Forbidden Forest. As they jog towards the forest's edge, they soon spot Grin and Sin carrying their respective offspring, both of whom are currently sporting sheepish looks as they hang from their parent's jaws.

Grin nods a greeting at them before the two six foot long magically alter otters continue pass with empty slings hanging around their frames. "Just how smart are they?" Kasumi asks and he shrugs.

"Heck even if they do suddenly develop the right vocal cords to speak a human language nobody in the Ministry will be giving them the status of Being." He says as they begin to walk back to Hogwarts. "Or willing to look beyond one's appearance." Kurama adds.

"Makes me glad that I'm not native to this world." Kasumi admits. "That I'm only visiting."

He had to agree with Kasumi on that one, he highly doubts that anyone would ever look at him the same way if they knew about the Kyuubi sealed within him. _Just look at how they treat werewolves..._ He added mentally before he checks the time that appears on his Portable Positioning Device of Hogwarts, an item Yachiru finished just in time for April first. (Which caused many to believe that it was all just a prank they concocted.)

"You guys want to head to the Great Hall of lunch or back to the dorm?" He asks, after all, they've still got to set up enchant an empty classroom so they can create a private movie theater, after all, the latest StarWars movie came out last year and the House Elves had managed to get their hands on said film and duplicated it so that House Kirin can have a copy in their possession.

"They don't serve Asian food in the Great Hall, do they?" Yukina asks and he nods. He feels Yukina turning to stare at Kurama, especially considering that other then Yachiru, the rest of the group is walking behind him. "The dorms it is!" Yachiru declares after she glances backwards.

Yachiru

"So, what movies do you think we should show today?" She asks Kasumi and Yukina since Kurama decided to follow Naruto to help set up the make shift theater where they'll charge students and teachers for movie showings. Yukina pulls out one of the film tins and reads, "Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain."

"Oh! Ghostbusters." Kasumi says as she picks out off of the shelf. Yukina giggles suddenly as she puts the film tin back onto the shelf.

"What's the joke?" She asks the first year. "It's... well, it's a long story is all." Yukina answers.

"If it's a life story we don't go telling those until Christmas." She says and Yukina looks a bit surprised before she nods. "It is, though I suspect that Kurama would be better at telling it then I." Yukina explains.

With a shrug, they continue to go through the film collection with Kasumi picking out Battle Beyond the Stars, Yukina picking out two Disney classics, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Fantasia, and finally with her picking Godzilla, The King of Monsters and Gigantis, the Fire Monster.

Carrying their respective picks, they exit out of the room and within seconds, they know where the two male members of the house were in no thanks for a special upgrade reserved for members of House Kirin that allows them to bring up a person tracking function.

"So all they need to do is pay once and they can watch all six of these movies?" Yukina asks and they nod. "How does it keep track of who's paid and who hasn't?" Yukina asks after a few minute pause.

"Whisker is the one who's enchanted the tin." She answers, she's beginning to grow bore of giving people nicknames, as if the older she gets the more it begins to appear as a chore then anything else. _Not that I'm giving up on all of them, maybe two of them at least._

"I wouldn't mind having him explain how he managed to pull that one off." Kasumi admits with a sigh. They walk down the corridor that now sports a few more statues beyond the pair of Fu Dog statues.

Su Xia joins them after they exit out of the dorms. She smiles at the magical dog and scratches behind Su Xia's ear before she steps in behind Yukina while Kasumi takes point. Su Xia stays by her side as they head to where Kurama and Naruto were.

**October 20, 1984**  
Kurama

"Aren't you being a tad predictable with Halloween pranks?" He asks Naruto as the blond begins to set up various cauldrons to hang over different areas about the potion lab. A few of Naruto's clones nods in agreement while the rest just glance at the original briefly.

He still trying to wrap his head around this particular ability that the teenage blond has. _A very useful ability to have._ He adds privately while the original lowers the book he has onto a side table.

"Which is why I've decided to go in a different direction this year." Naruto says before adding, "No, these potions that are to be made are for Kasumi and for Yukina. I'm not sure why Yukina would want me to brew Skeleton Grow but, who am I to argue with such a sweet girl?"

He smiles slightly while Naruto continues, "I'm a bit worried about the selection Kasumi wants me to brew but I'm sure that my clones will manage just fine without my supervision. Well, most of them do at least."

"I see." He states since it seems that Naruto doesn't want to touch on what prank he has in store for Halloween. He returns to his brewing his potion that he has modified in hopes of creating a potion that will repel harmful insects when poured on plants.

**October 31, 1984**  
Naruto

"Ok, what's with the dragon plushies?" Bill asks while holding his golden stuff 'dragon'. "I find them to be very cute!" Yachiru says as she hugs her green colored one to her chest.

He's privately concerned as to why Bill got a gold one more then anything else but just shrugs, after all, the plushies were suppose to be from a store who had overstocked one stuff dragons. Well, that's the story he put in the letters when those summoning boxes were sent out to all of the students.

_Which means that some girl has a..._ He muses as he touches his bronze colored one while keeping a frown off of his face, which was kind of hard even though he's had tons of practice keeping a smile on his face to cover up his real emotions.

"They did good workmanship on them." Charlie adds while his blue colored one is held up at eye level so that Charlie can try and find a fault with it. "The eyes are differently enchanted though. Just look how they change color from green and blue."

"Ginny will like them." Bill admits and he just shrugs as they continue down the hall towards the dorms. It seems that Bill and Charlie want to try something different for lunch and Yachiru invited them to eat at their side bar dinning hall located in their dorms and common room.

It'll be Charlie's first time seeing the inside of the dorms, though Bill has visited plenty of times to use their potion lab, library, and to watch private screenings of films when they're in the mood of having a private showing. They've grown a custom to having Bill visit their inner sanctum of their common room.

"Kasumi and Yukina both have golds and Kurama has a brown." Yachiru muses and he nods, he had seen the others pull out their respective plushies after breakfast. Although Kurama and Kasumi had left theirs in their rooms before attending classes.

_Pretty much everyone has taken them to their classes today. Even the teachers are tense and edgy; just waiting for the prank to spring into action._ He adds privately to himself as he presses the door open and then hold it open for the pair of redheads and for Yachiru.

"Wow..." Charlie says as the first year stops at the end of the corridor, staring in flat out amazement at the sight of the kirin statue that's the center piece and focus of the common room. "It always takes my breath away when I see it too." Bill adds in agreement while Yachiru and himself head to the minor dinning hall with the pair of red heads following after once Charlie recovers from his awe.

"Hey you guys!" Yachiru calls out as she enters into the room, a room that's a heck of a lot different then it had been when he had been the single member of the house. Not that he's surprised since the decorations of the dinning hall seems to alter every year as well as grow to accommodate either a single large table or various smaller ones.

"Good to see you Bill, Charlie." Kasumi says as she nods at the two Gryffindors before she returns to eating her meal. He notices that Kasumi's new plushie is now resting on her shoulders.

He picks a table that's by one of the three windows, ones that weren't there before, while Yachiru decides to sit with Kasumi, leaving the two brothers to take one of the tables closest to the door. A menu appears before him and within seconds, he already decide on what dishes he wants to have today, he makes sure that his own plushie is secure on his shoulder before focusing on which of the dishes he'll eat first.

"Err... what's the difference between Wonton and War Wonton?" Charlie asks and then says, "Oh, never mind."

After a few minutes the two brothers have finish going through the menu and picked the dishes they want to try. "You know, they should have these menus in the Great Hall." Bill muses after trying some ginger beef.

"Or at least serve some of this stuff." Charlie adds while gently blowing on the wonton that's on his spoon. "I don't think the meal menu has changed much since the school opened." He adds while enjoying his bowl of sea food Ramen.

"Then they should think to do so, after all, a lot of what they serve is very fatty and poor in nutrients." Kasumi says and Kurama adds, "They should also add a fitness class. None of them are getting any real exercise. Most of the students who are thin are eating so little that they're practically starving themselves."

"Ok, you guys lost us." Bill adds after exchanging looks with each other. He sighs but stays out of it as Kasumi and Kurama begins to explain about how a balance diet and plenty of exercise helps people live a much healthier and richer life.

Kurama

It takes him a few minutes to realize that he's in his room and that either the size of the room has alter or his size has altered. He hums as he begins to move each limb in turn, only to find that he's got an extra set of limbs, discounting a tail.

Looking over his shoulder, he lets out a startled cry at the sight of brown wings on his back. It takes him a few seconds to realize that somehow, his mind has been put into the plushie that Naruto had sent to him. As he moves, he realizes that it's more then that too.

_How did he manage to make this body into a fleshy one? It didn't have a powerful enchantment when I examined it..._ He adds silently as he finally manages to fold his wings onto his back.

He crawls over to where his mirror is and isn't all that surprised at the sight of his body, although the whirling colors of his eyes did concern him. He tries to swear out loud only to find that himself either chirping or making a hissing sound. The colors of his eyes continue to spiral between red and yellow with them picking up speed.

_Ok, calm down, Kurama. Relax, getting angry isn't going to help anyone._ He tells himself as he closes his eyes and tries to focus on taking deep calming breaths.

_Now then, Naruto wouldn't do this if he thought it could be harmful, which means that given enough time, it'll reverse itself._ He tells himself once his tail stops thudding on the desk. _Even if you believe he should have given warnings to his house-mates about this prank._ He adds sourly.

Finally deciding to give his wing a test flight, he opens his eyes and finds himself staring once more at his current reflection. _How strange..._ He muses at the sight of two new colors being reflected by his eyes.

With a sigh, he returns to his self-appointed task and with his wings open, he launches himself off of the desk. Suddenly he gets the feeling of taking a back seat within his mind as something takes over. It takes him a few minutes to realize that Naruto had somehow installed a set of instruction on how to fly and for that, he's grateful since he wasn't born with a set of wings.

Slowly the strangeness of having something take over his motor functions fades as he realizes that all he has to do is think of which direction to go to and his body would go there. _I wish I was with Naruto so I can **talk** to him about what else to expect from this..._ He thinks and suddenly blackness erupts around him for a few seconds before he finds himself flying around the Great Hall.

His body adjusts the course as to not collide with the various other tiny dragons that were fluttering about. _"Hey! How did you do that? Appear out of thin air I mean!"_ A girl's voice asks within his mind.

_"Which house do you belong to? Who are you?"_ It wasn't long before a crowd filled with Golds, Greens, Bronzes, Blues, and other Browns appears and seems to hound him.

He couldn't help but find himself wishing he was back in his room... He blinks as the blackness and numbness returns before he arrives back in his room, far from that mob. As he lands on his desk, not trusting himself with flying as he needs to ponder this, he almost jumped with a Bronze appears in his room.

_"I was hoping that ability would be there."_ Naruto's voice muses within his mind and he just sends a weak glare at the Bronze's direction. _"A little warning would have been nice."_ He says and Naruto seems to drip slightly in his flight path.

_"Sorry but I thought it best to keep it a surprise."_ Naruto admits as the Bronze moves to land on his bed. He studies the other but can clearly feel that Naruto truly is sorry about this.

_"Just how did you manage to pull this off? And why are these bodies flesh and blood now?"_ He asks after finally forgiving the other since he couldn't really blame him for being a good secret keeper.

_"Huh, well, you see..."_ Naruto the Bronze begins but they're interrupted by a Green appearing out of thin air. _"Weeee! I did it! I did it!"_ Yachiru's voice declares and Naruto sighs.

_"Yachiru? Yachiru? Chi!"_ Naruto calls out and by the time Naruto says Chi, the Green finally acknowledges their presence.

_"Yes?"_ Yachiru asks in a drawn out way, which is echoed with a questioning chirp. _"Could you go find Kasumi and Yukina? If you focus on either, you're sure to be teleported to where ever they are. Meet us in the main common room, ok?"_ Naruto asks and with an acknowledging chirp, the Green seems to vanish into thin air just as Naruto tenses up to take to the air.

_"Just focus and wish to be in the main common room and you'll be teleported there, ok?"_ Naruto the Bronze asks and then vanishes before completing a circle. He blinks owlishly for a few seconds before launching himself into the air and focuses on wanting to go to the main room of the common room.

Once more the darkness erupts and he finds himself being numb once more before it fades and he's able to breath easily as he finds himself just over the kirin's head. He circles for a bit and before he can stop himself, chirps out a greeting to an incoming Gold.

_"Yukina?"_ He inquires and Kasumi replies, _"It's just me, Kasumi."_

Seconds later Yachiru the Green and Yukina the Gold appear by the broom closet and come flying towards the chairs that were by a fire place. They all chirp out greetings before they land on the backs of the chairs. _"Huh... Yukina's the one with the broader wings and Kasumi's the one with the deeper chest."_ Naruto muses as the Bronze studies the two Golds and he blinks before noticing that the two also had slightly different undertones too.

The two Golds glance at each other, even going so far as to stretch out their wings before they fold them up and they glance away from each other. _"Anyway, why don't you start by answering my two questions?"_ He says and Naruto nods his head before laying down on the back of the chair.

_"Let's see, I guess I should start with where I got the idea of our current bodies..."_ Naruto muses while he sighs. _"Well, you see, these bodies are based off of the Fire-Lizards from Dragonriders of Pern book series. There are only two colors that were female and three colors that were male."_ Naruto says and he glances between Yachiru the Green and the two Golds.

_"In the books, Fire-Lizards were cousins to the much larger and more intelligent Dragons but has all of their abilities, which are teleportation, mental communication, and a few other qualities that don't really matter at this point in time."_ The Bronze says.

_"Wicked!"_ The Green declares with a hum. He just waits for Naruto to continue.

_"It didn't take much to create the plushies, the House Elves took the original five I created and set about not just making them, but mimicking the enchantment I set in the eyes that causes them to alter color to mimic their owner's mood."_ Naruto says.

_"The real enchantments lay with the boxes. You see, I didn't pick out which one you'll get, the magic on the boxes summon a plushie of the right color gender and then the moment you touch it, you complete a minor ritual. This ritual's effects take place once the sun goes down and is over once the sun raises."_ Naruto explains and he felt like hitting his head. _The boxes... Of course, it had to be the boxes._

_"And just what are the effects of this ritual?"_ Yukina asks and Naruto blinks while blue and green swirl in a lazy fashion. _"Kasumi should have an idea of what the ritual does, after all, she did leave that book lying about on the kitchen table."_ Naruto the Bronze says in a bemuse tone and as they all turn to look at Kasumi, she holds her head down and has her wings open slightly.

_"Well, I had encountered something similar at home and well..."_ Kasumi says, trailing off. _"It's nothing harmful though and if he set the time then it'll end when it ends."_ Kasumi adds quickly and Naruto nods in agreement.

_"Ok then... That doesn't explain why the plushie bodies are flesh and blood."_ Yukina says and Naruto chuckles softly.

_"Let's just say that along with our minds, something of our bodies tagged along and made an exchanged a body made of stuffing and cloth for one made out of flesh and what not."_ The Bronze says and it takes him a few seconds to realize...

_"Our human bodies are now large dolls, aren't they?"_ He asks and both Kasumi and Naruto nod. He touches his head with his 'hand' as he feels slightly exasperated about this.

_"This magic is so freaky..."_ He murmurs and the others all hum in agreement. _"Just where did this ritual originate from?"_ He asks.

_"Some place in Africa I believe."_ Kasumi answers before Naruto does.

**December 25, 1984**

"How beautiful." Yukina says at the sight of the unicorns below as they rest on an enchanted mat. Said mat had not only been enchanted to stiffen at a tap of a wand but also to cause the air within an area of seven feet to become warmer and to divert any snow that comes. The brooms remain hovering at either side of the mat.

"I can't believe we didn't do this last year instead of going to Egypt." Kasumi says with a sigh as she rests on her own mat, one that sports a pattern of butterflies on it. "We did this during Yachiru's first Christmas at Hogwarts." Naruto remarks from the navy blue mat; one that he's sharing with Yachiru.

Currently, only Kasumi is the only one who's not sharing a mat with anyone, although she's also the one who has the enchanted baskets of food and drink. He sighs as he glances about the snow covered trees before focusing on the snow covered ground. "Is the forest dangerous during the winter?" He asks.

"Not really, especially when you consider that during the warmer months you have to worry about Centaurs and the huge ass spiders. Or to be specifically, the spider webs that you can stumble upon on the forest floor. Those spiders kill anything they can get their fangs into, not sure if they eat Unicorns though." Naruto says.

"And the Centaurs?" Yukina asks and Naruto takes his time before he answers, "Well... they got bones to pick with certain types of people, particularly those with wands."

"They also think they own the forest too!" Yachiru says and Naruto sighs as he replies, "They live here, so I think they've got a more valid claim to it then most."

"Wizards and witches truly do make a mess of enemies without even trying." He muses. "And let's not forget their belief of superiority too." Kasumi adds, likely beating Naruto to said it.

Silence hangs between them as the Unicorns continue to plow through the snow to get to the rich grasses below. He wouldn't mind seeing what the forest was like during the spring, he's fairly confident at his ability to kill anything that tries to eat him or destroy the whatever traps there might be laying around.

"So, who wants to go first?" Kasumi asks as she begins to hand out containers filled with warm drink, after all, Kasumi's mat is seated between Naruto and Yachiru's mat and Yukina and his mat.

"I believe I would like to, though I'm sure Kurama will be willing to help me with parts I might have left out." Yukina says and he nods in agreement.

**Farewell Feast**

"And there it goes." Naruto muses softly as the 'adults' at the staff table grow ratty looking black feathered wings as well as gaining more youthful looks. Their cloths had already being altered before their physical features gave hint to what's to happen.

"Well, I guess this is better then gaining a more monstrous appearance." Professor Sprout muses as she examines her new body figure while the students begin to talk excitedly about the divergence of the 'traditional' year end prank.

"More tasteful then that time Albus developed that other heads." Professor McGonagall muses in agreement.

**So Ends Year Three of the Kirin House**


	24. House Kirin Year 4

**Hogwarts Express**  
**September 1, 1985**  
**Narrator: Kagome Higurashi, Kasumi Tendo, and Yukina**

Kagome

"Shippo? Is that really you?" She asks and the young fox blinks at her before countering, "Kagome?"

It takes her a few seconds to glance at the window and finds that her face has changed, making her look pretty young. A second later she realizes that she wasn't wearing a... She just sides and allows herself to sink into the seat, she couldn't help but be dazed by her new appearance.

"Hey! I don't have a tail!" Shippo exclaims and with a blink, she turns to study the young Kitsune and had to admit that other then the pointed ears, she wouldn't have guessed that Shippo's a demon.

Then Shippo begins to search through his pockets and only pulls out a stick. With a sniff, Shippo gets a confuse look on his face. "It's wood is yew but its like there's something added to it." Shippo muses before asking after a few minutes, "Hey, where do you think Inu-Yasha or the others are?"

She bolts up as she recalls that Inu-Yasha had been standing next to her when they were given the offer. "Come one, you go left and I'll go right! If you find him, bring him back to this compartment!" She says as she slams the door open and bolts down the hallway of the train in search of the half dog demon known as Inu-Yasha.

Kasumi

"What's that?" Gin the dog golem she spent a good year creating from using actual silver. She even went so far as to etched runes diagrams on every surface of Gin, which includes within and without. Their very function were not just help empower the metal golem but to help the golem grow from the basics she installed in hopes of Gin will develop intelligence similar to the Sorting Hat.

She freezes as something races pass her, a something heading towards the final car of the train. "Inu-Yasha! You better not be getting into trouble!" A girl's voice declares in a manner that brings forth a slew of memories of her past.

_Well, at least she doesn't expect him to be hitting on another girl._ She decides as she turns to address the mid-size silver golem. "That was one very determined girl on a mission to find her boyfriend." She answers and Gin cocks his head to the side as the onxy eyes flash a few seconds before the golem nods, likely filing that bit of information away under the general label of Human Courtships.

"I wonder if Kurama and Yukina have managed to keep Yachiru from trailing after Naruto..." She muses out loud as she leads Gin to a very familiar compartment, a glance up at the rack reveals that at least new people had been within the compartment. She recalls the girl from not too long ago and realizes that she might be one of the owners.

"Gin, my trunk please." She says to the artificial canine. Within seconds, Gin manages to 'cough' up the tiny trunk that belongs to her. A simple tap of her wand and the trunk becomes normal size.

"Thank you Gin." She says to the golem. As Gin's tail wags at the thanks she gave him, she then enchants the space within the compartment to enlarge it since the others will likely be showing up in a few minutes, with a likely struggling Yachiru.

_You'd think that Naruto and Yachiru were connected at the hip from the way they hang around each other._ She muses as she places the trunk up onto the rack and pockets her wand. Gin waits for her to sit down before moving to sit by her legs as she takes out a novel, one called Chanur's Venture, which is written by C. J. Cherryh.

She glances up as the compartment door slams opens by a girl with black hair with a hint of blue in it. "Have you seen a guy with silver hair and a pair of ears on the top of his head?" The first year asks her and she blinks before she begins to think about some.

"Was he here when you and your friend arrived in this compartment?" She asks slowly and after a few seconds, the girl shakes her head. With a sigh, she decides to explain, "It probably means that he'll arrive a few years down the road. That you and your friend were sent ahead of him and your other friends."

The girl just stands there with a bewilder look on her face for a few minutes before she sighs. "I'm Kagome Higurashi." Kagome says as she introduces herself.

"And I am Kasumi Tendo. And this is Gin." She says as she waves her hand at the still metal canine siting next to her. "Hello!" Gin says in a chipper voice.

Kagome blinks as she glances from her to Gin to her and then to Gin. "I do believe I've got to sit down now." Kagome decides before she does just that.

Taking pity on the new arrival and latest member of Kirin, she says, "Don't be overly surprise to see odd things happen. We are soon going to be on our way to a boarding school that teaches people how to preform magic. They even have a potions class, although you'll likely learn all the wrong ways of teaching a class from Snape."

With a sigh she adds, "He doesn't even make reading up on potion safety to be recommended reading for any of his classes. Luckily, we not only have the books on safety but our own potions lab in our house dorms. You can practice in it without that man breathing down your neck."

"Do we have lab coats and safety goggles at least? I mean, isn't potions kind of the magical equivalent of chemistry?" Kagome asks after a few seconds of silence between them.

She blinks at the comparison before answering, "You know, I don't think anyone thought about it that way. I know why neither Naruto or Yachiru or Yukina would know what chemistry class is, considering their back grounds, but I'm amazed that neither Kurama or I thought of that."

"Glad to be of help." Kagome admits in a slightly dry tone, one of which she couldn't help but smile slightly in response to. "Who's the other one who came with you?" She asks after a few minutes of silence.

"Oh! I forgot all about Shippo!" Kagome cries out as she bolts to stand up but before she could take a step towards the door, Kurama appears with Yachiru wrapped up in vines. "I take it you're Kagome?" Kurama muses and Kagome nods as Kurama enters while dragging the older Yachiru in as well, allowing a slightly nervous looking sandy haired kid who's ears are pointed like an elf's.

"So... Where's this candy you promised me?" Yachiru asks as the vines finally release her. "You ate it, remember?" Shippo says in a flat tone and Yachiru blinks in a cute manner before replying, "Really? I did?"

"Yes, Yachiru, you did." Yukina says after Shippo moves to take up a seat next to Kagome. Yukina closes the door as soon as three floating trunks enter into the compartment. With wand flicks, the trunks go to rest on the racks above the seats.

"Hi! I'm Yachiru Kusajishi." The pink haired teenager says to Kagome. "I'm Kagome Higurashi, nice to meet you." Kagome says, clearly unsure of how to react to Yachiru.

"So..." Shippo says after a few minutes and once everyone turns to look at him, Shippo clams up and begins to glance around the compartment. "How come this compartment is bigger then it should be?" Shippo asks.

"I casted a spell to cause the space to enlarge itself for when it gets to be crowded within the compartment." She answers before returning to reading her book.

"What's this school like? The one that we're heading to?" Kagome asks and out of the corner of her eye, she finds that Kurama, Yachiru, and Yukina share a look before Yachiru says, "Well..."

**Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony**  
Kagome

On entering into the Great Hall with the gang of first years, she couldn't help but be impressed at the sight above their heads. "Cool." Shippo whispers to her right and she nods her head in agreement.

Soon the crowd of fellow first year students stop just a few feet behind Professor McGonagall. Glancing beyond the professor, she spots a stool with a ratty hat on it. Before her very eyes the hat seems to shake itself and a song bursts forth.

_Maybe I shouldn't have scuffed at the idea of a talking hat..._ She muses softly to herself as the hat finishes its... his song and a few of the seated students clap politely. The hat bows slightly while a kid cries out, "Hey! How come you didn't say anything about Kirin House?"

You could almost hear a pin drop in the dinning hall as the silence of the hall seems to suffocate all sound. "He has a point..." The man wearing very colorful robes muses from his position at the staff table.

"Fine, but don't come complaining to me if you don't understand a single word of it." The hat states and then the hat rhythms out something in Japanese, leaving few to know what the hat had said in the quick minute rendering of the 'qualities' of House Kirin.

"Wasn't that exciting." Shippo remarks in a dry tone and she stifles a giggle. Professor McGonagall recovers and takes out a scroll out of her pocket and begins to read a name on it, which causes one of the kids to walk up to the stool and put the hat on his head.

Seconds later the hat declares, "Ravenclaw!" The girl heads to one of the four large tables that had students sitting at, it took her a few seconds to pick out the table where Shippo and her's compartment-mates were sitting. She had only a few glimpses of the older blond, Naruto, while disembarking from the train. The only reason she even had those few glimpses was because the pink haired teen had made a beeline to that particular blond.

After about four names, her name comes up and she snaps her head to look at the stool and the hat resting on it. With a smile to Shippo, she walks through the slightly parted mob of first year students to take her turn to put the hat on her head.

_"Well, well, well... I get to sort an actual priestess."_ The hat's voice muses within her mind. _"Could you inform young Mr Uzumaki that I wish to speak with him later tonight? It seems that we have a bit of a situation that needs to be discussed."_ The hat says and she blinks but before she can ask, the hat declares out loud for everyone to hear, "Kirin!"

With a sigh, she takes the hat off her head and walks towards the smallest table of the Great Hall. "Now we just have to wait for Shippo and we'll be allowed to eat." Yachiru says.

"Oh, and this is Naruto 'Tao' Uzumaki. He's also the only Perfect of our House." Kasumi says and the blond smiles at her as he says, "Yo!"

_He's got... are those real?_ She wonders as she studies the bewhiskered cheeks of the blue eyed blond teen, the one she's to deliver a message too. "The hat says he wants to talk with you about a situation." She tells him and the blond blinks as his gaze turns to look at said hat.

"I wonder what's up..." Kurama muses and Naruto just shrugs. "Hopefully nothing too big." Naruto says with a frown, it wasn't long before the eldest student at the table gets this thoughtful look on his face as his gaze turns inwards.

"You know... I don't know who's our house head." Kasumi muses and that seems to snap most of the others out of their thoughts. "I always figured that its the sorting hat." Naruto admits with a sly grin on his face.

"How did you come to that?" Yachiru asks curiously and Naruto replies, "Well, during the first Christmas break I was here, he visited me while I was lounging in the pool. He's the one who told me about the porn cashes about Hogwarts. Hinted there were collectors out there who'd pay a pretty penny for a lot of it."

She's not the only one staring at the bewhiskered blond as she tries to wrap her head around _that_ bit on information. "Isn't that how you discovered that chamber with that huge ass snake?" Yachiru asks and Naruto nods, but corrects her, "Don't you mean you and my clones?"

"Snake?" Kasumi asks and Naruto blinks while Yachiru explains, "I'll tell you the full story later but the summary is, I had been conjuring a snake, snake hissed something, a hole gets revealed, and a few hours later, we find this huge stone face with a movable jaw in which a huge black snake is sleeping in."

"It's how we now have the pipe system to the map that the PPD shows when you pick Show All Paths opinion." Naruto adds. "I wouldn't mind getting a look at this snake..." Kurama says with a slight frown.

"Shippo." Professor McGonagall calls out and she turns to watch the young Yoko walk up to the stool to put on the hat. Two seconds later, the hat cries out, "Kirin!"

**September 2, 1985**  
Yukina

"Yukina... Do you know where the others are?" Naruto asks as she arrive down the staircase. The blond must have arrived down before she had finished changing out of her uniform.

"I think Yachiru got talk into showing them that entrance to that chamber." She answers and Naruto sighs before taking a few seconds to study her. "How good are you on a broom?" Naruto asks her out of the blue.

"Huh?" She asks, not sure what brought this on and Naruto sighs. "Well, apparently since we now have seven member to our house, we're expected to field a Quidditch team. Dumbledore is more then willing to bend the No First Year rule for our House this one year so that we can have a team." Naruto says with a scowl.

She blinks in surprise before she recalls what Quidditch was. "But none of us knows how to play!" She says and Naruto smiles slightly and nods. "It's like submitting our house for the House Cup; its not about _our_ morale, but for the other houses. After all, even in my first year, Kirin was been in last place and I was the only student of the house!"

She blinks, she hadn't know that tidbit of information. "Which is why I have the beginnings of a diabolical plan in which we will win this years House Cup!" Naruto says and within seconds, the room fills with clones of the ninja and without another word, the clones all head off to the library while the original heads out of the dorms.

"Which reminds me, if you see the others, tell them I want to hold a house meeting in the Dinning Hall around ten pm but before one am!" Naruto calls out as the blond disappears down the corridor leading out of the main common room of House Kirin.

She didn't know what to think and did wonder if she shouldn't mention it to Kurama. A slight chirp reminds her that Marble the grey kestrel was waiting for her by the fireplace. She smiles at the little falcon as she walks towards the perch where Jet is resting.

After stroking Marble's dark grey chest feathers, she sits down on the chair closest to the perch and takes out a novel. Once she's comfortable, she begins reading out loud for Jet's benefit, the novel is titled The House of the Wolf which is written by Basil Copper.

**Chamber of Secrets**  
Kasumi

"That's a Basilisk alright. I just don't know how long it is though." Kurama states in a calm manner after they climbed into the stone mouth.

"How would you control something so huge?" Shippo wonders as the boy moves to touch the black scales. "So... do we kill it?" Kagome wonders and a glance in Kurama's direction shows that the red haired Yoko seems to be considering it.

"I know a charm that will make its eyes harmless. After all, wizards of all people had not just developed this breed but breed them..." Yachiru admits and she couldn't help but say, "But that doesn't keep its venom from killing us if it decides to bite us."

"How does Naruto direct War without using any reins or a halter?" Kurama asks Yachiru and Yachiru shrugs.

"I know he use to use a halter when he first had War. Then sometime during the summer he stopped and it seemed that he didn't need it either. Heck, it's about that time did he create that harness that allows him to float a few center meters over War's back and keeps his legs from touching War's body too." The pink haired teen muses.

"But then, Naruto had mentioned how the thick back scales seem to shred any saddle he puts on War." Yachiru adds and she blinks, it seems that Naruto's fairly brilliant when it comes to enchanting items.

"Have you seen him wear anything special when he rides War or uses his flying skate board?" Kurama asks and Yachiru hums as she considers it. "Well, he did create that safety harness to help cushion his fall from the skate board..." Yachiru muses and frowns as she wracks her brain for the other bit of information.

"I don't know, I think he was wearing a bracelet or something like a brace on his right arm." Yachiru finally says after a few minutes. Kurama hums thoughtfully while she wonders just what kind of lair or rather, bunker, this chamber could make.

**Kirin Dinning Hall**

"Why are we holding a house meeting?" Yachiru asks as Naruto stands on a slightly raised platform that's been charmed to hover a few inches in the air. Naruto glances at Yukina before answering slowly, "It seem that we now number seven members."

"So?" Shippo asks and Naruto gives Shippo a brief look before addressing them once more. "Seven is the number that a Quidditch team sports." Naruto states in a ironic way.

"What's Quidditch?" Kagome asks and she says, "We've never followed it, so what does it have to do with us?"

"The headmaster seems to think it's time for us to field our own team." Naruto says in a flat tone. "Oh..." The room declares.

"But Kagome and Shippo haven't even had a flying lesson yet!" Yachiru says in an objecting manner and Naruto nods in agreement. "Think of it this way, if the headmaster think a house with one member could win the House Cup, then he can expect a house with seven member to try and win the Quidditch Cup." Naruto says in a bitter tone, she couldn't help but wince.

"So we've got time on the Quidditch pitch then?" Kurama asks and Naruto snorts as he says, "The Quidditch Pitch is all booked up, even during our respective History classes."

"Is he going to send somebody over to teach us how to play it?" Yukina asks and Naruto shakes his head in a negative manner. "Then how can he expect us to play?!" Kagome demands and Naruto is beaten to the punch by Kurama, "He doesn't."

"If the sorting hat hadn't requested a meeting, we wouldn't even have been _**told**_." Naruto snarls and his eyes flash crimson as well as a presence seems to try and strangle her but it vanishes as Naruto calms down, though it seems to have left both Kagome and Shippo a bit dazed.

She felt kind of betrayed in a way by this action but since she never really formed much of an opinion about the man, it didn't really feel anything about it. "So then, I believe our opinions are these, we either make sure that the other teams keep forfeiting their matches with us or we can try to teach ourselves to play and find another spot to practice at." Naruto says.

"All those in favor of trying to learn this game, raise their hand." Yachiru says and only Yukina did so. Naruto smirks in a predatory fashion as he nods his head.

"Good, then I declare that other then Bill or Charlie, all Quidditch players among the other houses are FREE GAME for whatever you have in mind. I'll have the House Elves keep me informed of any reserves or sudden plans to substitute players. Although I do believe we'll need to at minimum choice who's to play which position and begin giving Kagome and Shippo private flying lessons using a safety harnesses styled off of the one I use when I'm out on my flying skate board." Naruto says.

"I'll be the one who flies around those rings!" Yachiru says after a few seconds. "I'll be one of those with that weld bats." Kurama says with Yukina adding, "I'll be the other one with the bat welders."

"Which leaves, if I recall correctly one Seeker and three Chasers." The blond teen says and she says, "Naruto should be the one who goes after the little golden ball since he's the one with the most flight experience."

"Makes sense since you are a raven animagus." Kurama muses in agreement and Naruto nods. "Then that leaves Kagome, Kasumi, and Shippo to be the Chasers."

**Quidditch Pitch**  
Kagome

"Any moment now..." The announcer says for the fourth time as they wait for the Hufflepuff team to appear. "Now would be a very good time to come out of the lockers." The Ravenclaw says but still, the other team doesn't show.

"And Hufflepuff forfeits their first match of the season." The girl says as a buzzer sounds out, marking the end of the thirty minute wait. She sighs in relief and although she's not happy with the fact that they're technically cheating when... well, she's not sure who decided to take care of the Hufflepuff team but seeing as they weren't here she's sure that somebody had done something.

_Or many someones._ She muses as they walk to their own lockers. _I wonder what prank Naruto plans to do next week..._ She thinks as she turns her mind to other matter that were coming up.

"I know why Baker and Kimbry weren't here, I had been hoping to get Fiberscythe..." Shippo says softly and Kurama looks very smug. "He had an accident with an young mandrake while he was trying to earn bonus points by doing some weeding in that Green House."

"Nothing I did, they just had a really bad potions accident. Got nervous." Naruto says with a shrug, explaining why the last four hadn't shown up. "Snape or you?" Yachiru asks.

"Everthor." Naruto states. "Had hoped to get Wynth's position as their Keeper I take it." Kurama says and Naruto grins slightly in reply.

"Well that explains why I couldn't find anyone to practice that directional curse on." Kasumi says lightly.

"Shouldn't we worry that Dumbledore has spell here to record this?" She asks and Naruto moves a crate he had brought with him and within seconds, he takes the lid off to reveal a tower like device that seems to have a hovering orb at the top.

"Remember that portable warding device I was working on last year? I finished it by Christmas, though I've been pretty rough on the last thirty-five models, this one has a nice layering feature that allows me to install updated ward types in the form of gemstones. I put one with a certain charm on Dumbledore's Lemon drops earlier this month. Its still in his office and its still working!" Naruto says smugly.

"I know that charm!" Yachiru says and Naruto just hums as he puts the lid back over the warding tower. "Do you plan to install a larger version at the manor?" Yukina asks and Naruto nods.

"Yea and I get the feeling it'll be fairly hard to tune down the magic in the wards then anything else. Heck, I've managed to use a Warding Stone that's 6 cm by 6 cm." Naruto answers and Kasumi muses, "So you've got around to creating your own, huh?"

"I had to have an idea of how they're created to 'tune' a device to that stone." Naruto admits and then they finish changing out of the safety harnesses that Naruto had supplied to the team.

"I'm just glad we didn't have to do any flying." She admits just before they left the locker room. "Here, here!" Kasumi agrees.

**October 31, 1985**  
Yachiru

"Looks like Onyx is happy to eat those spiders." She remarks as a huge swarm of spiders ranging from various sizes try and killing the Basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets. "Well, spiders must fear them for more then the simple fact that they have eight eyes." Naruto states calmly.

"You know what would help? Having some kind of translator for Snake tongue." Yukina remarks from a few feet above her head.

"You think that Onyx here is _sane_?" Naruto asks in disbelief up at Yukina. "What make you think she isn't?" Yukina asks and Naruto replies, "Oh, I don't know, the fact that spent centuries in solitary confinement? That she's yet to eat anything since we woke her up?"

"And by eat I mean something wholesome and filling." Naruto adds as an after thought as he moves as some young spider tries to leap at him. "I guess I can see why you wouldn't think that eating a couple of rabbits would be filling for a creature her size." Yukina admits and she nods in agreement.

"Maybe Kasumi couldn't mind cooking up some outer coat that can be filled with the right kind of potions that Onyx needs to become healthy." She muses and Yukina nods.

"I guess... but I'd have to create either various sections within the 'treat' so that the potions don't mix in one go or make various 'treats' filled with different potions to feed her over a course of a month." Naruto muses as she ducks down as a pair of spiders try and attack her.

"So, what's this year's Halloween prank?" She asks as Onyx finally swallows one of the larger spiders, likely only done because the spider swarm have decided to retreat and regroup. It didn't take long before Onyx to begin smelling out other dead spiders to eat while they hover in the air, keeping an eye out for any lunging spiders.

"I've created a series of illusion generators and area fields. Then just this morning you recall getting that ball?" Naruto asks and she nods.

"Well, those are actually recorders that will activate when the bottom most level area fields and illusion generators go online. The balls will turn invisible and produce at least three smaller balls to record from different angles. The main one will then rest on their person's shoulder so that the first recorder can record their thoughts and the sights from their own eyes." Naruto says. "Of course I also gave special recorders to the House Elves so they can participate in this. After all, I had promised those two years back to get them to add those potion cocktails for those two Halloween pranks."

"Including the teachers' point of view?" Yukina asks and Naruto nods his head in confirmation. "I hope to use this coming summer to edit the raw stuff and then set it on film." Naruto admits with a grin. "I haven't yet got a title for it but I've decided to call the company The Green Beast Productions."

"Did you did you include the Chamber of Secrets?" Yukina asks and Naruto replies, "No, I rather not aggravate Onyx any more then I have to."

"When it this suppose to start?" She asks and Naruto looks to his PPD. "In about... two hours, at seven actually." The blond answers and she grins since that means she can still witness the show.

"How long will it last?" Yukina asks and Naruto replies, "Which ever comes first, for the 'horde' to either conquer the school or for three days to have passed."

"So this will be your longest prank yet then?" She asks and Naruto nods. "Though the illusions will leave the House Elves alone since they will be following them around to record their progress in conquering Hogwarts."

Then Naruto continues to explain, "Also, those 'killed' will be put into a slumber while an illusion of what kind of injuries they got from the invading horde will remain wrap around them to show what 'killed' them."

She has to admit, he really thought this one out, but then, she knew that Naruto is currently bitter about Fruity's attempt at using their house to boost the other houses' morale. Not that she's trilled about it either but then, Naruto had to put up with a full year alone at Hogwarts before she arrived. _More then likely Fruity had been trying to force Naruto to ask for a resort._

_Fat chance of that ever working._ She thinks with a smirk, after all, being stubborn wasn't a bad trait to have in a fighter. Something she knew from experience among the 11th division at Kenny's side.

It helps that being around Naruto helps whenever she feels homesick, after all, she truly misses living in the Scout Society. More so then the misadventures she'd get into.

**November 2, 1985**  
Kagome

"So... it took an imaginary horde less then forty-eight hours to conquer Hogwarts? That's kind of... sad all things considered." She admits as a bunch of Narutos continue to sort through the various recorders and putting them into the right named boxes.

"And all I did with the field generator was give the illusions a way to react to the surroundings in a physical way as well as to be affected by physical magical forces in a believable way. Which includes the wards." The original Naruto says as he conquers more boxes with the correct names on them.

"So what you're saying is that if the staff and students had gotten organized, they could have fended off the attacks made by the illusion beings?" Shippo asks and Naruto nods.

"You have to admit that the heads were the weak parts of their constructions. All they needed to do was have good aim and use a force spell to 'kill' the illusion being." Naruto says answers before adding, "More often quality can win out over quantity."

She smiles as she nods in agreement with that sentiment, after all, it only took one swing of Inu-Yasha's sword to kill off over a hundred demons. And at the thought of the half-demon, she sighs as she feels a pang of home sickness as she thinks about Inu-Yasha, her friends, and then her family.

"Kagome?" Shippo asks softly with a hand resting gently on her shoulder. She smiles at Shippo as she says, "I just was overwhelmed for a few seconds there. I'm better now, thank you."

She blinks rapidly as she resists the urge to tear up and Shippo gives her a concerned look before drawing her in for a hug. "Thanks Shippo." She whispers softly as she returns the hug.

"I think I'll turn in early today since there isn't any classes going on." She says after the hug ends and Naruto nods. "Kasumi is a good listener... I mean, sometimes it's easier to talk to a stranger who's unaware of said problems then a close friend." Naruto says after she takes a few steps away.

"You've...?" She trails off and Naruto winces. "I kind of rant more then cry." The blond admits and Shippo says in surprise, "Really? I would never have guessed, after all, you seem so... calm."

Suddenly the memory of Naruto's eyes going red and that intense aura during that meeting plays out within her mind. She swallows, not quite sure if she ever wanted to see him angry for real.

Looking away, she marches up to her room and after a while, she finds it hard to stay in control so she allows herself to cry into her pillow. Although she's not sure what she's crying about, only that she just needed a good cry.

**December 20, 1985**  
Yukina

"This was one of the best ideas you ever had, Tao!" Yachiru says as she stares out onto the beach below. "I figured with emotions running as high as they were that Hawaii was as good a spot to vacation during Christmas break." The blond explains and she glances around house.

"It's a beautiful..." Kasumi says while Gin seems to have set off to check out the house that Naruto had somehow rented. She moves to stand next to the rest of the girls, leaving the guys with the luggage.

"You set up a portable ward?" She hears Kurama asks and Naruto replies, "Complete with a space enhancer charm added to the matrix of the device. After all, this is only a three story house, not counting the underground parking lot."

"Just how much did this cost you?" She asks as she turns to regard the blond. "Oddly enough, the owner seems to think this place is haunted. Turned out that the house only suffered from a bad case of a Murphy's Law curse. The owner's a muggle so... you get the picture." Naruto says and she blinks.

"Muggle baiting." She says and Naruto just sighs. "Seems to be, must have annoyed the wrong woman." Naruto states.

"The curse is...?" Shippo asks and Naruto huffs as he crosses his arms over his chest as he says, "Of course it's gone, heck I even had it transferred onto a stone and given to our 'beloved' potion teacher as an early Christmas gift."

She couldn't suppress her satisfied smile on hearing that, after all, she is forced to attend potion class made up of Gryffindors and Slytherins. _He is a very petty man and I hope he suffers greatly because of it._ She declares before finally noticing something odd.

"Wasn't it evening when we left?" She asks as she glances up to judge the position of the sun. Kagome takes a slightly deep breath before she begins to inform her of how they're currently in a different time zone then England, one that's behind the UK by quite a bit of hours too boot.

While she didn't understand a lot of that, she did get the impression that they now have more then a few hours to kill before it's evening once more. She concludes that this was why Naruto had slipped them something to cause them to sleep in an extra few hours since they weren't tried in the least.

_I hope Marble will be fine at Hogwarts._ She thinks as Yachiru and Kasumi begin to go on a tour of the house. She decides to trail along as does Kagome. "We could have a Girl's Night too!" Yachiru declares a bit loudly while she's talking with Kasumi.

**Quidditch Pitch**  
Kagome

They mount their respective brooms and once the whistle is blown, Naruto is the very first player to raise quickly into the air. As the red ball gets grabbed by Shippo from one of the Slytherin Chasers a few kilometers by their hoops, some kind of blur attracts her attention and within seconds, Naruto is hovering in the air holding the Golden Snitch in his right hand.

"I do believe we just witness a new record for the shortest game of Quidditch in the history of Hogwarts." The game announce says after a few minutes of stunned silence. "So... I guess Kirin wins this match and ultimately this season."

She isn't the only one to sigh in relief and with that, they descend out of the sky and dismount from their brooms while the Slytherin team look ready to commit murder and spit on their corpses.

"So... that's what you had planned? Caught the snitch as soon as possible?" Shippo demands and the oldest Kirin student just nods.

"It was my only plan if we ever were forced to play." Naruto replies as they begin to get their outer layers off, though they do hand the safety harnesses to Naruto.

She snaps her head to the entrance of their locker room because she hear something fleshy hit something unmoving. A string of unimaginative curses get growled and seconds later a scream is heard. "Must have been the Slytherins." Kurama muses.

"I wonder what spell they tried to get through the wards? I hope nobody got too hurt." Kasumi states while Gin comes out from under the bench.

"Nothing that they didn't deserve since its only a typical spell reflector ward scheme." Naruto states calmly.

"It would be nice to win the House Cup too... Get a matching set." She muses as they remember to pick up their brooms, although Naruto did pick up the box containing his warding device.

"You never know... Miracles do happen after all." Naruto states calmly. She decides she didn't want to know how he plans to pull that off.

**Farewell Feast**

"And the winner of the House Cup is..." Dumbledore says but trails off. "Oh! Right, I forgot to lift..." Naruto whispers softly and within seconds, Dumbledore states in a shocked tone, "Kirin House with... I never thought a house could earn that many points..."

The decoration of the various houses transforms into brown and orange, the colors of their house with a stylized image of a Kirin between the two fields of color. None of the other houses knew what to make of this but Naruto looks very smug about these turn of events.

"Good job... Kirin." Dumbledore says with a slight miffed look flashing on his face before its replaced by his usual look. Although the glare that Snape is sending them pretty much says it all.

As Dumbledore sits down, it triggers something and before their eyes, Dumbledore gains not just horns, but his skull seems to be like clay that's being shaped by unseen hands. She glances at the other teachers but they weren't being affected as much as Dumbledore is.

Once the new features stop growing in, something fall right on the man, panic erupts as the man's skin peels away to reveal red muscle and blood veils. Screams and yells of horror increase as those begin to vanish until all that remains of the headmaster is his altered skeleton.

Then the teachers jump away as that skeleton moves... Blue flame begins to erupt out of the eye sockets while a mist begins to ooze out of the bones. Within seconds, a light covering of ice cover the skeleton but most of all, the ice seems to pool around the new horns or spikes about the skeleton, likely adding to the thickness of them as well as to the length.

The skeleton's jaws part and then move but no sound comes out. The teachers have their wands pointed at the icy skeleton while the students were all standing and slowly moving to the wall.

"You really hate him this year, don't you?" Kurama asks softly to Naruto as they converge at a spot at the wall that is slightly behind the staff table.

"It shows doesn't it?" Naruto asks wearing an ironic grin as the skeleton tries to calm the teachers down by getting up off the chair. Over all, the Muggle Studies teacher is the first to fire off a spell, one that is stopped as a small cup comes flying off the table to meet it.

"Oh good, it does work." Naruto muses and Yachiru asks, "Based it off of Gaara, huh?"

"Yea, I plan to make it so that it'll activate when ever somebody begins to fling the Unforgivables around. Nothing stops the death one like a large chunk of stone wall or something durable." The demon container explains as they watch as the more panic ridden teachers begin to fling spells at Dumbledore the skeleton.

"I wonder how long it'll take before one of the Perfects or seventh years race off to contact somebody beyond Hogwarts?" Kurama muses.

"Going to take a while, that's for sure." Yukina says as she waves to the fainted bodies resting between the tables.

_Well, all things concerned, I don't think anyone's going to be thinking about how we managed to get the House Cup this year..._ She decides privately as more and more plates, cups, and what not continues to fly about to deflect the spells being cast at the icy skeleton who is also their headmaster.

**So Ends Year Four of the Kirin House**


	25. House Kirin Year 5

**Hogwarts Express**  
**September 1, 1986**  
**Narrator: Shippo, Iruka Umino, and Naruto 'Tao' Uzumaki**

Iruka

"Where are we?" He wonders as he looks from Anko and then to Shizune. Anko snorts by moves to look out the window.

"Since when do trunks not only float in the air but follow people?" Anko asks and he moves to take a peek out of said window. "Are those dresses?" He wonders as he notes at the fashion statement being made by of those with flying trunks.

"I don't believe we have our ninja tools or headbands." Shizune says and within seconds, he's patting himself down. They each find a stick, each made from different kinds of wood, each in their pockets but nothing beyond that.

"This thing doesn't even have a valid point to it!" Anko says in disgust as she tosses it to the seat across from her. "I won't toss it way, it might be something important to our mission." He says as he tosses it back to the purple haired girl.

The sound of something moving causes them to tense up and to reach for a weapon as the door opens and standing before them is a very familiar face. "Iruka? Is that you?" Naruto asks with wide eyes and clearly not believing what's before him.

"Tao, you know them?" A pink haired teen asks as she suddenly appears at his shoulder, looking into their compartment. "Well, yea, only they're grown ups back home." The bewhiskered youth answers before moving more into the compartment.

"This is Yachiru by the way." Naruto introduces the other teen. "Yachiru, this was my academe instructor Iruka. The one with the tench coat is Anko and finally, Shizune."

"I wonder if Kenny's going to be this small when he arrives." Yachiru wonders as a pair of floating trunks arrive behind the two. He watches as Naruto and Yachiru both take out two sticks and with a flick, the trunks fly onto the overhanging racks.

"Anyway, Yachiru and I will show up later, right now we've got Perfect duties to attend to." Naruto says and then pauses at the door, "If a red head shows up, that's Kurama, he's just another who's been assigned to this assignment too."

"I say Kasumi will show up first. After all, she is the one with the movie equipment." Yachiru says as she follows after Naruto. The door shuts, leaving them very much alone and even more confused.

He turns to gaze down at the stick in his hand and then begins to turn it over a few times, trying to figure out how to activate it after seeing those two's demonstration. "Where's the one switch for this thing?" Anko demands.

Then with a particularly hard flick of the stick, something slices into the cloth of the seat across from her. "All you had to do was focus chakra into it?" Shizune asks as he bends down to examine the thing scratch on the seat.

Just before they can give that a try, the door is open by a younger looking teen with bright red hair. "Kurama?" Shizune asks after a few seconds. The red head's eyes flicker up at the racks before nodding.

"Naruto and Yachiru been here then?" Kurama asks and they nod as the boy comes more into the compartment. "I'm Yukina." The girl standing behind Kurama says with a smile, one that oddly enough, put him at ease.

"I'm Iruka and these two are Anko and Shizune." He says, introducing the two girls and himself. "Oh! You were Naruto's academe teacher! It's a pleasure to met someone who Naruto holds in high regards." Yukina says and he couldn't help but flush.

Once more the two are trailed by two flying trunks and they were sent flying up onto the racks with minor flicks of their owner's wands. Once the door is shut, Kurama keeps his stick out and mutters softly under his breath as different kinds of energy are sent flying about the room, by the time the red head finishes, the space seems to have grown.

"How did you do that?" Shizune asks and Kurama smiles in an ironic sort of way. "By magic. You'll get a chance to learn these spells and others at Hogwarts, after all, you're just been enrolled simply by being on this train."

"Just how many others are there on this 'assignment' so far?" He asks after glancing at the other two.

"Let's see, Naruto arrived first, next came Yachiru, Kasumi, then Yukina and myself. Finally Kagome and Shippo arrive just last year. Seven last year, ten this year." Kurama states and then the door opens to reveal a sandy haired kid with noticeable pointed ears and a girl with black hair with a tint of blue to it.

"My ears were burning, you weren't just talking about us now were you?" The sandy haired kid asks with a mischievous grin. "This is Shippo and Kagome." Yukina pipes in as the pair enters into the room.

"Kasumi got dragged away by Bill and Charlie to met their family. But I expect she'll be here soon enough with those two in toe." Kagome says as she brushes her bangs to the side of her face before they walk into the room.

It came as no surprise to him when another pair of flying trunks enter behind those two and were sent up on the overhanging racks. The two take seats across from each other.

"These are Anko, Iruka, and Shizune." Kurama tells the two arrivals. "Really?" The two say and they turn to regard them. _Just what has Naruto been telling these people?_

"Do you really summon snakes?" Shippo asks Anko and Anko smirks. "Yea, yea I do."

"Just how big do these snakes get?" Kagome asks and from the others, he gets the feeling that there's an underlying reason why they're asking. "Large enough to attack a town." Anko says before narrowing her eyes, "Why do you want to know?"

"Well, we've hear that you're snakes talk, like in a language you can understand..." Yukina says and Kagome seems to pick it up, "You see, we've got this ancient basilisk who we want to talk with. And you see, in this world there are people who are capable to speaking to snakes."

"They call it tongue Parseltongue and those that are born being capable of speaking it, Parselmouths." Shippo adds. He's not sure why this is important but decides to remain silent as Anko asks, "And why are you interested in this ability?"

The older student all share looks before Kurama explains, "Naruto think that Onyx is a touch insane because of living in solitary confinement and we're not sure if we agree with that assessment, which is why we'd like for you to summon a serpent and see if your snakes can speak Parseltongue and finally communicate with her."

"We also want to try and get more then a few potions into her to get her healthy." Yukina adds. "All this for a snake?" Anko asks and they all look bemused.

"Well, we've wouldn't mind getting her permission to gather up blood samples, milk her for her venom, and maybe get a few scrapings from around her eyes. All without having to worry about such things containing a taint of being forcibly taken from her." Kurama explains.

"Just what's so special about this snake?" Shizune asks and Shippo replies, "Well, for one thing, just a quick look into her eyes alone can kill you instantly. Of course we've rediscovered an ancient charm used to neglect that ability of hers."

He couldn't help but stare, not sure if they're kidding or not about this so call Gaze of Instant Death. "We're not kidding about that, less then fifty years ago we know that somebody awoke her and that during that year, Onyx killed this one girl; who to this day, haunts the main entrance to the very place where this snake is resting." Kurama states.

As they thought about this, the door opens and a much older teen, not as old as Naruto or Yachiru, is revealed. "Sorry I'm late but Ginny tried to keep Gin." Kasumi, he believes, admits as a silver canine with odd tattoos peers from behind the girl.

"Gin, if you please." Kasumi asks once the door is closed and the others begin to get up off their seats. He mimics this action, though he's a bit confused as to why. "Thank you Gin."

"Welcome!" A voice chirps in reply while his view is block but it wasn't long before the room seems to adjust to so many people standing that he finally manages to see a trunk. Kurama takes out his stick and within seconds the who room expands so much that he can barely see the side seats.

Next Kagome takes out her stick and the far part of the room behind him suddenly sports a white sheet, one that you find in a movie theater. Shippo then takes out his stick and he soon finds that he's standing not too far from the edge of a step.

Yukina takes out her stick and within seconds a set of miniature furniture, comfortable looking chairs and couches moves by the closest step and then with another flicker, the furniture not only enlarges but duplicates itself all over the larger steps, leaving the smaller steps alone.

His attention is turned to find Anko and Shizune on either sides of Kasumi as she slowly brings out a collection of tins. "We're going to watch a movie?" He asks curiously, trying to grab onto something before he faints from this bizarre scene he just experienced.

"Or three." Kasumi muses while Anko picks up one of the tins while Kasumi enlarges a projector. "Death Wish 3?" Anko muses while Shizune counters, "Ewoks: The Battle for Endor? The Last Dragon?"

"Might want to put aside the Ewok one." Kagome says. "How does Logan's Run sound to you guys?" Kasumi asks once she's finished with the projector.

"Sounds perfect." Kurama says and Shippo adds, "Then we can show that Ewok one to help them wine down."

He shouldn't help but shake his head as Kagome takes a small tin and heads for the door, leaving Kasumi to close her trunk after enlarging the two film tins and handing them to Yukina to thread them into the projector.

"Just how many films does this work make in a year?" Anko asks and the group just seems to pause to look bemused at the question. "Let's just say that there's live action films like Logan's Run and then there are animated films like the Ewok one. They both take different amounts of time to produce." Kasumi says.

"That reminds me, are we going to be showing Naruto's film this year? I know it's scheduled to be released this October." Kagome asks.

"Naruto made a movie?" Anko asks with a hint of disbelief. "It's more that he pulled a prank but made sure to record it. The 'real' acting and filming came during the first two weeks of summer, using miniatures to develop a story line to what he recorded." Kasumi explains as they head to the first large step to take up seat on that bunch of furniture.

He couldn't help but sigh at the mention of the word 'rank'. "I thought he grew out of that phase..." He murmurs to himself.

"Don't be too hard on Naruto for it. It's gotten to be a kind of tradition for a prank to happen during Halloween. Though the end of the year prank is the one who's theme hasn't really altered." Shippo says to him.

"And a lot of these people are just asking for it too." Yukina admits. "Last year's prank had poked at one of the weakness of the school's defenses too. A poke that's hard to ignore at that." Kurama adds as the door opens to admit a group of students ranging in ages.

"Hey Charlie!" Shippo calls out and a red head holds up a hand as the group walks pass their step to take a spot more up front. And so with that, more and more student begin to appear as a whistle sounds out.

By the time the flow of people dies off, the movie finally begins and the lights seem to dim. He's a bit surprise at the fact that the movie is in color but gets over it as time marches on.

"Good movie, eh?" Naruto's voice whispers next to his ear, causing him to jerks but manages to keep from crying out as a chuckle and a giggle sound from a familiar young woman and a much older young man with red hair. "Shhh!" Most of the others hush at them and he just settles for leveling a glare at the blond.

It didn't take long before Naruto and Yachiru to sit down at the far right while the red head only moves down a row.

**Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony**  
Naruto

"Looks like Meanie's had a hard summer." Yachiru muses softly as they wait for their three latest members to be sent to their table. "Bumblebee too, but then, that might be because he didn't get the right treatment after the prank." He adds.

"It's like he doesn't have any hair on his body..." Shippo admits and sure enough, Dumbledore lacks his usual beard and even mane of white hair. "Anything other after effects that weren't given the right treatment?" Kurama asks.

"Dairy produces likely causes him to... well, he'll spend a lot of time on the toilet depending on how much he either drinks or eats." He answers and a few snickers erupt from a few of the others. "His current diet should be a hefty amount of fruit and vegetables, with little meat if he wants to remain healthy. He's body temperature is likely a few degrees colder then normal, so he has to be careful of overheating since at this moment, that is his normal body temperature."

"I also wouldn't be surprise of those spikes try and grow during this coming winter. He should also try not to drink any cool liquids during that season too or else he might get slush for blood." He finishes after he finishes recalling the rest.

"Pretty harsh after effects." Kagome admits and he sighs. "Oddly enough, if he takes a general poison potion every four hours for three weeks, the after effects will vanish and he'll be fine." He tells her and Kagome looks kind of startled.

"That's it? That's the right treatment?" Yukina asks and he shrugs. "That treatment works because its been a month since that prank occurred. If feed a three certain potions within twenty-four hours of said prank, those effects wouldn't have had a chance to kick in. And those potions were a Pepperup potion, that general poison potion, and a powerful bowel potion, and they didn't need to be taken within that order either."

"Why would he need the laxative potion?" Shippo asks. "It gets rid of the last traces of the portion of the prank potion that's still in his body. That's what causes the after effects really." He answers.

"And the general poison potion helps neutralize what's already circulating in his body..." Kagome says, clearly impressed. "And the Pepperup potion to help get rid of the aftereffects of the coldness." Kasumi muses.

Iruka

"Mitarashi, Anko." Professor McGonagall states calmly and Anko moves toward the stool with a slight swagger to her walk. "She does know we're only eleven, right?" He asks Shizune, who shrugs in reply.

About two minutes after Anko has the hat on her head, it finally states, "Kirin!" Anko takes off the hat and stalks off towards the smallest student table of the hall, the same one where Naruto and the others are sitting at.

"The house name is Kirin? Really, Kirin?" He wonders out loud as the next student walks up to the stool after the old lady calls out their name.

Finally the crowd is thinned, leaving Shizune and himself. "Umino, Iruka." With a blink, he walks up to the stool, not sure what to expect from the strange enchanted item.

_"Such a sharp mind. A very fine teacher you are, too bad that none of the staff have your ability. And don't beat yourself up too much when it comes to Naruto, you just arrived too late to fix the damage done by his previous instructors at that academe of yours."_ The hat informs him and he sighs in a defeated sort of way.

_"I almost wish you hadn't confirmed that."_ He admits privately to the hat. _"He's been more then able to confound the headmaster more then once. His last prank was quite brilliant. Albus was very much alive despite the fact that he was only a icy, moving skeleton."_

"Kirin!" The hat says before he can ask for more details. Try as he might, the hat doesn't reply for the next few seconds, so he's finally forced to take it off before he gets up to walk to table he's expected to sit at.

A chair appears as he arrives and he sits down in it. "Shizune." The professor calls out and he turns to watch Shizune walk up to the stool and put the hat on.

"What kind of prank causes a person to become an icy, moving skeleton?" He asks after the hat calls out, "Kirin!"

"Could we talk about that when we're at the dorms?" Kurama asks as the red head teen glances at the old bald man wearing some colorful robes. "Sounds like a interesting story." Anko muses while he glances at Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"A few final announcements before we tucker into our feeding trenches..." The bald man says while Professor McGonagall moves to put the stool and hat away.

**Kirin Common Room**  
Shippo

"How did you not manage to kill him?!" Shizune demands after hearing about the Farewell Feast prank. He feel like shrinking away from her and she's just four feet away from where he's sitting.

"I managed to put a soul stabilizer rune scheme on his chair seat and a soul binder scheme on the back of his chair." Naruto answers with only a slight wince. "Well, that explains why he didn't die..." Kurama muses thoughtfully.

"Anyway, Naruto, I need your help with my Animagus training. I don't suppose you have another series of steps I can go through then the three the UK has?" Kasumi asks while Shizune seems to be trying to figure out what exactly a rune scheme is.

"I think know the one, it's the same one I used since the others kept trying to pin a fox form on me." Naruto admits and he couldn't help but perk up at that. "How many tails?" He asks and Naruto gives gives him a bemused look.

"None, and I really do mean that they kept appearing tailless, no matter what kind of fox showed up." The blond says and he snickers while his fellow Yoko has a slight smile.

"What animal did you end up with, brat?" Anko asks and Naruto answers, "If you must know, I'm a raven Animagus. As in the one of the largest corvids which is also known as Corvus Corax."

"Well, you are a natural wind user." Shizune says though she seems to be frowning. "You think you'll take a fox as your second form, Tao?" Yachiru asks before adding, "Hey! Maybe I should join you when you help Kasumi! I wonder what I'll transform into?"

"I'm betting into some kind of weasel." He says with a sly grin while Yachiru huffs at him with her arms are crossed over her chest. He feels Kagome give him a slight push in the shoulder, though she is sporting a warm smile.

"Maybe some members of this house should attend this training." Yukina muses and he's not the only one giving the ice maiden a look. "I agree, it might come in handy considering that we need really can't afford to be caught doing, well, in anything." Kurama says.

"Not all of us can be demons, Kurama." Kasumi agrees and that causes the three newest members of the house to freeze. "I'm a Yoko, so is Kurama, and Yukina is an ice maiden." He says, breaking the thick tension, which causes the three to stare between them.

"Naruto can technically be a half-breed." Kagome points out. "I guess we should add that I'm a Shinigami and Kagome is a priestess." Yachiru states in a matter of fact way.

The three just stared at Yachiru with wide eyes and their mouths moving but not saying anything. "I think we overloaded them. We should have waited until Christmas to tell them that." Kasumi admits with a sigh.

"Maybe we should come up with profiles for each member of our house?" He muses and the rest hum before Naruto stretches.

"Well, I say we move this discussion to the pool." Naruto says as he gets up. "I second that." Yukina says as she follows suit.

Being closer to the three, Kurama and Kasumi nudge the three and get them to follow them. He's more then a bit eager to relax in the artificial hot spring that the House Elves created because Naruto requested it.

**September 6, 1986**  
Iruka

"Thanks for inviting my brother and I for this, Yachiru." Bill says as they wait for Naruto to finish walking and double back by this section of the wall. "More the merrier, Crimson!" Yachiru says.

"We'll keep it a secret, after all, a lot of people have access to the Animagus registration as it is." Bill says. "Especially since most of the Death Eaters got away." Charlie adds.

"I'll never know why your government never questioned them under that truth potion. Sure, torturing people for information has its thrills but you can get conditioning for it too." Anko says and he nudges her in the ribs while Shizune hisses at her.

Both Bill and Charlie look startled and Charlie asks, "And you'd know this... how?" Anko is saved from answering from Naruto whistling for them to come. Naruto holds the door open as they enter into the room often called the Come and Go room.

"Why aren't Kurama, Shippo, and Yukina here?" Bill asks as Naruto moves put a large, heavy wooden beam onto the back of the door. Yachiru moves forward to this table to open this box, without the lip covering it, he finds something that looks like a toy tower with a glowing sphere hovering at the top.

"What's this?" Bill asks as the older Gryffindor bends down to get a closer look. "A portable warding device that Tao is thinking about selling to parents of muggleborns." Yachiru says proudly and he glances over at Naruto, finding it hard to connect the lonely prankster student with this young man who seems to be the leader of this odd group.

"Really? How did you manage to make it without a ward stone?" Bill asks as soon as Naruto moves to the table.

"Well, first off, I've gotten around to making my own warding stones. But for now, let's turn to the task we're here for. And yes, we are missing three of our number but they're currently managing our film club for today. I already arranged with Pocky to get lunch sent up here as well as our supper so that when we're done for the day, we can go directly to the theater." Naruto says as the teen picks up an incense burner off the table.

Naruto walks towards a circle and puts the incense burner at the center of the circle. Without a word or the use of a wand, the burner begins to smoke as they move to stand just outside of the circle. It's then that he spots out lines of skulls resting on the other walls of the room.

"Those weren't there before..." Kagome says and as he turns to look at Naruto, he jerks slightly at the image of a raven resting on Naruto's head. The bird looks more solid then the skulls but it also seem to have the same white outline that the skulls have.

"You have a..." Charlie trails off while Naruto just smiles slightly. "Be glad its not wrapped around me or else I would look like a humanoid raven." The blond says in a dry tone.

"Huh?" Charlie says and Naruto waves that away. "If one of is lucky today, you'll see it for yourself before lunch or supper." The blond says before motioning for them to take seats around the circle.

They spread out, though both Bill and Charlie look a bit unnerved by the strange skulls. _Not that you can blame them._ He admits as he tries to ignore the fact that the hairs on the back of his neck were perking up.

"Where did those skulls come from?" Yachiru asks curiously. "The best way to explain them are that they're the makings of this Animagus training. As you meditate or find yourself dozing off, some of those skulls will find their way into your mind and what happens after that is that which ever skull you 'feed' will become your Animagus form."

"That's kind of creepy..." Kagome admits while Naruto just sighs. "This is a very primitive way to get a form but it also allows you to pick in a way. How else would I end up with a bird through this instead of a fox?" Naruto admits as he moves to the only chair and picks up a drum.

With a sigh, he sits cross legged and as Naruto begins to gently beat the thin drum, he began the steps that he had been taught to enter into his mediation state on him.

Naruto

_It's so much different to witness this then to experience it._ He muses to himself as he watches as various skull seem to flirt between the various people resting in the circle. He wasn't all that surprise to see that Yachiru had fallen asleep, as had the two Weasley brothers.

Most of the others seem to have entered into their meditative states as he continues to beat the drum at a smoothing rhythm. There were times went instead of a human hand clutching the drum and drumstick, there were scale like forearms with talon 'fingers'. Slowly some of the skulls finally vanish from the collection as well as a few of them stop flirting about the various people within the circle.

Those skulls look more like shaped mists then ghostly outlines floating in the air. It's too soon to really made head or tails of which skull belongs to which animal, although he did take note of the few bird and lizard shapes that remain, though the mammalian types were the most popular.

It didn't surprise him much to see that the collection of skulls around Kasumi were thinning out faster while a select few were growing more 'solid'. _She has tried other methods to become an Animagus. So she does have a species she hoped to become._ He notices as many of the skulls did look very similar to each other, although they vary in different sizes.

Out of the group only two people still had misty skulls by the time lunch arrives. With a sigh, he stops drumming and the various skulls back away to rest beyond the circle before the others stir.

"Huh? What?" Charlie wonders before a stomach growls. Kasumi looks embarrassed but she wouldn't be the only one as everyone else's stomachs growl.

"Lunch is served." He says as he waves at the huge pot of stew with his right hand. They didn't need any more encouragement as they descend of the pile of empty bowls to fill them, they grab their spoons in as if as an afterthought.

He waits until they've had their second helpings to grab a bowl himself. He's not at all surprise by their ravenous appetite since he, too, had gone through this train and had needed at least four meals, two breakfasts and two lunches, before he had 'feed' his animal enough that it became solid.

By the time they were on their fourth helpings, they had slowed and with their fifth helping, they were full. "I never though that this training could be such hungry work!" Bill says as he pats his mid-section.

"I can't believe I ate so much!" Anko states and he hums softly. "The number of skulls seem to have shrank and some look like they're made of ice." Kagome notes.

"Or mist." Bill agrees before he gets up to put the dirty bowl on the table. It wasn't long before the rest follow his example before they return to sitting within the circle.

He knocks on the table and the dirty dishes and empty pot vanish before he begins to beat that steady rhythm on the drum once more. It takes a few minutes before they've return to their previous states, which is signaled by when the skulls move from their positions by the walls of the room to circle around their chosen.

_And by tomorrow night, they'll be done feeding their inner beasts. Then they'll just need to learn how to transform into that beast._ He muses as he continues to beat the drum.

**October 30, 1986**  
Iruka

"Just what are these suppose to do?" He asks as he watches as a pair of Naruto's shadow clones sticking to the wall as they place something high up on the walls in the hallway. The clones glance at each other before puffing away just as a group of fifth year Slytherins rounds the corner.

They sneer at him and a few glance around before drawing their spells, likely to attack him. He just sighs as he prepares to counter attack them. "Fifteen points from Slytherin each for bullying a first year." Naruto says calmly as he comes out of a classroom.

"You can't do that!" The larger brute proclaims. "A hundred points from Slytherin for fighting with a Perfect. And ten points from Slytherin for every minute each of you remains in this hallway." Naruto says as he leans on the doorway of the classroom with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You won't get away with this! Just wait until our head of house hears about this." Another shouts and Naruto smirks as he says, "Five hundred points from Slytherin for threatening a Prefect and let me explain why I can take these points. It's because your own head of house uses the same excuses when taking points away from other houses, see?"

Naruto takes out a scroll and with a slight flick of his wrist, the scroll unrolls. "This is the calculation of points and reasons why Snape took them from other houses last year. Oh yea, eight points each from Slytherin for poking your noses into another house's business. And another four points from Slytherin for not being shining examples of your house."

The gang glare at Naruto and it wasn't long before one of them fire off a spell. "Five thousand points from Slytherin per spell you fire at me and at my fellow Kirin and decreed that your house is allowed to grain negative points too because of your idiotic bravery. Then you'll each be serving detention by being living targets for any first year and second year student for the next five months and that you can't even cast spells to defend yourselves or to counter attack them." Naruto states as the spells seem to get absorbed by something before they even reach Naruto.

With a roar the group charges towards Naruto only for Professor McGonagall to storm into this part of the hall and demand, "What in blazes is going on here?" But the group doesn't stop because she showed but because they rammed into something.

"These students challenged my authority as a Prefect, Deputy Headmistress, particularly my right to use the same reasons their househead used last year. Then when they fired off spells, I not only took points away but gave them detention and, well, you saw what happened." Naruto says as he calmly rolls up the scroll and Professor McGonagall looks at him and asks, "Is this true?"

"It is, Professor." He says and now the group has finally realized that they were offically screwed. "To your common room and I double the detention young Mr Uzumaki has given you." Professor McGonagall states in a stormy tone and they pale even more before they turn away and walk off.

"And just what kind of detention are they to serve?" Professor McGonagall asks after she calms down. "Well, seeing as they're about to rough up a weak and unlearned first year, I thought they should know what it's like on the end of the victim."

"Oh?" Professor McGonagall asks and Naruto nods in a solemn fashion. "Yes, I had assigned them to serve as living, moving spell practice targets for first and second years for the next five months without being allowed to cast spells to defend themselves or to counter attack. And all things considered, they should be glad that I didn't include any other year in their detention since I'm sure they'd suffer more so at the end points of a third or fourth year then a first or second year."

Professor McGonagall just blinks before she nods slightly. "While I don't approve of this particular punishment, I can't exactly think of any other punishment to replace it, so I believe it stands." Professor McGonagall says.

"For the next ten months?" He asks dumbly and the professor looks started to see him there before she realizes what he meant. "I did double it, didn't I?" She muses and Naruto nods. "That you did, professor, that you did."

"Now if you excuse me, I believe I shall have to have a word with Professor Snape about this group's behavior in regards for Prefect's authority." The professor says and she heads off in the direction the group took.

"Too bad I won't be there when Snape not only learns that his house has gathered negative points, but the punishment they're to serve. His look will be priceless." Naruto says as he pockets the scroll.

"One would think you have something against authority figures." He remarks as Naruto comes to stand by him.

"Of course I do! It's just that I now have a much more legal way to get back at those bullies with legal authority. Just wait when your a fifth year and you're given this position, after all, you're the only boy in your year so you're bound to be a Perfect." Naruto tells him.

"And its not as if the man isn't a bully..." He admits as Naruto directs them into the room. "Err... why are we going into here?" He asks.

"Well, Kurama's been working on this teleportation platform to speed our way about the castle. The main problem is that they get destroyed within a week's time." Naruto says as he closes the door behind him.

He notices the platform and couldn't help but compare it to a tube or can. "By the way, what are those things your clones are installing?" He asks and Naruto answers, "Well, starting tomorrow morning there's going to be a masquerade. Not only will you not be able to say your own name but nor can you say the names of your house-mates. Also, it forces you to take a descriptive name like 'Archer' or 'MoonSong'."

"So do we have to dress up?" He asks after he arrives in the study hall of the dorms and once Naruto appears. "No, a stylized masked costume will wrap itself around you as you exit out of the common room entrance doors. It's not harmful and I've already got a few teacher to sign permission slips for a dance after supper. The illusion will fade around nine tomorrow night."

"That doesn't sound too bad..." He admits and Naruto smiles slightly. "Well, Kasumi and Yukina wanted a romantic atmosphere this year and the fact that people are expecting horrific only adds to the surprise." Naruto tells him.

"And next year?" He asks and Naruto sighs, "Well, I think I'm going to pass the pranking duty onto someone else next year. I think Shippo's interest as is Kurama."

"Kurama, really?" He asks and Naruto gives him a slight smile. "He doesn't need much of an excuse to snoop around but I'm leaning more on Shippo since he'll be here longer to pursue them." Naruto admits as they exit into the library.

He shakes his head but doesn't really have much of an opinion on the topic. "I don't know why you trust them so much." He admits and Naruto snorts softly.

"Most are more worry that I seem so normal then anything else." Naruto states softly, causing him to pause as Naruto heads out of the library. He couldn't help but blink as he tries to absorb that statement before just shaking his head.

_Something which I'm beginning to wonder about as well..._ He admits, not really use to Naruto being so mature or so willing to 'stick it to the man' in the most brutal way as possible. _Or maybe without having to worry about somebody reporting this to the council, he's finally revealing a suppressed and forgotten part of himself..._

**October 31, 1986**  
Naruto

He takes a few seconds to study his costume before touching his mask. _Must be one of those unicorn templates..._ He muses as he studies the golden cloths he has on.

He shakes his head and feels his new hair length whip about his back. "I believe I'll call myself Trail." He muses softly as he begins to move away from the entrance, making sure to move out of Su Xia's path as Yachiru comes out into the hallway.

"Hey Su Xia, hey --- wait up! ---?" Yachiru calls out and he turns to find Yachiru dressed up in a fox costume. "You can't say my real name, remember? Just call me Trail!" He calls back and Yachiru nods as she scratches Su Xia behind the ear.

"Well, I guess for now I'm Yoko." Yachiru says with an ironic tone after feeling her mask and then notices the bushy tail. He smiles but the mask hides it as he nods in acknowledgment of her 'name'.

As he waits for Yachiru and Su Xia to catch up, most of the others exit out of the entrance and have their costumes wrapped around them, also keeping them from using their names and those of their house-mates. "Oh my." Kasumi says as she begins to study herself.

_Kasumi's a dragon, Kurama's a satyr, Yukina's a swan, and Shizune's a falcon._ He muses as the group takes time to glance at their cloth costume before feeling their masks. "I guess ----- was right with this years prank." Kurama says and he could just hear the frown when the Yoko finds himself unable to say Iruka.

"I'm Trail and this is Yoko." He says and Shizune just shakes her head while Kasumi declares, "Well then, I'm Tiamat."

"Call me Snow White." Yukina says while Kurama sighs, "I'm a...?" "Satyr." He says and Kurama says, "Pan I believe."

"GoldenWind." Shizune decides and with a parting way, Yachiru, Su Xia, and himself pick up the pace as they head off to their first classes, leaving those four to deal with the rest of the house.

Shippo

He watches as SwiftRunner, AKA Kagome, dance with a student dressed as a stage, ironically making them appear to be a matching set since Kagome is dressed up as a doe. "Concerned?" GoldenWind, AKA Shizune, asks and he sighs.

"I'm not sure I know how to dance like that." He admits and Shizune sighs. "Neither do we actually, although Trail seems to be managing fairly well." Shizune say and sure enough, Naruto is doing very well as he dances with somebody dressed up as a masked priestess of a 'agan' god or goddess.

"It's not that hard, its all about matching and mirroring your partner's movements." Pan, AKA Kurama, says as he motions to where Sparkle, AKA Anko, is dancing with another fairy.

"I guess we could try it out together, if you don't mind my inexperience?" He says to Shizune as he offers a hand to her. Shizune takes his offering hand and pulls him up off his seat.

Glancing over to a few couples, he tries to mimic their timed movements as well as trying not stepping on Shizune's feet. But slowly he gets the rhythm as well as manages to stop looking either at the other dancers and at his feet. "This is kind of fun, once you get the hang of it." He muses and Shizune nods in agreement.

"The steps are easy to learn once you relax." Shizune agrees. "It's a different pace then what was expected." Shizune muses and he smiles, though the mask hides it.

"Yea, a few of my age group wish that there was a repeat of last year then having this dance and this masquerade." He adds and he feels more then sees Shizune raising an eyebrow at that. "Really? They rather face a group of demons then a dance?"

"Well, they are a bunch of second year boys, you know. They're not into girls yet." He answers and Shizune chuckles at that. "Seems to be very different then where I'm from, Brave."

"But then, a lot of these guys can live to see ninety years of age instead of forty." He points out. "True, but then, these people have a multipurpose tool in their wands, not only can it be use to clean a house and cook, but it can be used to conquer things too." Shizune agrees.

"Which might be why those 'ure-bloods' and some 'half-bloods' don't have any real commonsense, they just expect to solve all of their problems using magic." He remarks.

Shizune doesn't say anything but he could tell that she agrees with his observation. "So... where do you think Trail learnt to play those instruments?" Shizune says after a while as the song changes and they're forced to change their dance pattern to match the song and how the others were dancing.

"I'll wager he had his clones take lessons during the summer months and once they go the basics, began practicing while here at Hogwarts." He muses and Shizune sighs, "He's truly made that technique his own, taking it beyond what anyone expected to use them as. But then, he does have a huge reserve."

"So, how are you coming along with your training?" He asks after a while and Shizune answers, "Doing well, I'm just having some trouble getting the fur to become the right color but that's about it."

"Must have come as a surprise to have a bat as your form." He muses and Shizune sighs.

As a new song is about to begin, a pair of people cut in and soon he's dancing with a fellow shaman, only with what appears to be a rabbit skin hiding her hair then his bear skin. "I'm Singing Bird." She says and it didn't take long before he places voice with face.

"I'm Brave." He says. "So, what do you think of this year's Halloween prank so far, Brave?" Singing Bird asks him.

**December 14, 1986**  
Iruka

"You know, I finally found that girl who received a male color 'Fire-Lizard'. Her preferred name is Tonks and she got a brown one." Naruto says as they all relax in the pool.

"How'd you find that out?" Yukina asks and Naruto smiles lazily as he says, "It seems she came to me in hopes that I can redo the enchantment on it because she wants to experience it again."

"What's a 'Fire-Lizard'?" Anko asks and Kasumi decides to explain, "Well, you've seen that golden plushie I have? Well, for Kurama and Yukina's first year here, Naruto's Halloween prank revolved around similar plushies being sent to all of the students. The thing what that at a certain time, this spell got activated that made the plushies exchange their cloth and stuffing for, well, organic material as well as our minds going into these newly organic plushies."

"It ended at dawn and there wasn't any real harm done." Yukina adds and he blinks as that sounds kind of familiar with the exception of a few things. "The plushies weren't enchanted beyond having those eyes light up in that array of colors." Kurama says.

"Then what caused the exchange to take place?" Anko asks and Kurama grins in an ironic way, "By opening the boxes and taking the plushies, we completed a ritual that was placed on the boxes."

"Last I heard, everyone still has their respected 'dragon' plushies and a few of them are looking for ways to re-experience that night, like Tonks." Naruto admits.

"Did you help her?" Yachiru asks and Naruto chuckles as he sports a bemused smile on his face, "Well, it was either give her a copy of the ritual or have her give her evidence to our 'beloved' headmaster, what do you think? I made sure to impress upon her why not to try and alter anything in the ritual I gave her. Heck, I even had her swear an Unbreakable Vow to that effect after I explain the dangers of messing with it."

"What deadline did you put down for it?" Kasumi asks. "Dawn." Naruto replies and nobody felt like continuing that conversation.

"So... what do we have planned for this Christmas break?" Yachiru asks after a while. "I think we should leave Hogwarts again this year. Snape is on the war path, just waiting for any of us to step out of line while Dumbledore is trying to single us out." Kagome says.

To which Kurama adds, "Although I doubt he has any real evidence to bring forth to expel us or to attempt to blackmail us so that he can control us. I rather no stay in a place without a lot of witnesses to make Dumbledore cautious. We know he has that Elder Wand of legend in his possession and he might want to try and 'defeat' us just on the off chance that one of our number is its new 'master'."

Kurama looks pointly at Naruto who sighs as he looks down into the hot pool then up at them. "He never did really started sniffing around until that end of the year prank." Kasumi admits and Naruto just seems to flush slightly.

"Not that any of us tried to talk you out of it." Yukina admits and Naruto glances at Yukina with a slight tilt to his head. "We were all fairly angry and bitter by that man's actions last year..." Kagome states.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure how he allows Snape such free reign goes to show how double face he is. He's done nothing about him despite the stream of complains that are coming from students, their parents, and even from professor Sprout, although she stopped submitting them the year before." Naruto says with a sigh.

"How would you know?" He asks and Naruto smirks slightly. "It isn't that hard to enter into his office once Clicky gave me this Invisibility cloak Dumbledore has in his possession. And since the cloak doesn't rightfully belong to the man, the House Elves are never force to reported that its gone missing, although they did leave a convincing fake in its place."

"Who does it rightfully belong to?" Yachiru asks and it takes Naruto a few seconds to reply, "To James Potter, which if I recall correctly, means that since his father is dead, that the famous Harry Potter owns it."

"And Harry hasn't given Fruity permission to have it." Yachiru says with a wide grin. Naruto nods in agreement.

"Anyway, back to our previous topic. Where should we go for the upcoming holidays?" Kurama says and he really couldn't say since he didn't particularly care where they go.

"Mexico?" Kasumi offers and Kagome muses, "How about Japan?"

"Jamaica or some place in and around that island?" Naruto states. "I don't really care, just some place tropical will do." Yachiru admits with a wave of her hand and Anko nods in agreement.

"Egypt?" Shippo muses and the older three members of the house smile at that. "Nice place, although Naruto did get an odd reputation there after an encounter with a Nundu." Kasumi tells them and he's not the only one to give Naruto a startled look.

"It was just a staring contest really." The blond protests with a slight flush. "How you manage to remain alive is truly beyond belief, Naruto." Kurama admits as he shakes his head, clearly in disbelief at Naruto's dumb luck.

"They were giving Tao job offers with great perks as well as free stuff in hopes of getting him on board once he graduates from Hogwarts." Yachiru remarks thoughtfully while Naruto just sighs. "I sent it all back with a time delay to keep them from sending it back to me." Naruto adds quickly.

"You're one lucky bastard, brat." Anko states with a snort. "So is there any other reason why Egypt can't be listed?" Yukina asks and Naruto shakes his head.

"How about Disneyland or Disney World?" Yachiru says with her eyes lighting up. "I was kind of hoping we can go either next year." Naruto admits before adding, "I already made the reservation for next year too."

"You don't even now how many of us there will be next year." Shippo points out and Naruto answers, "We're renting a house a few minutes away from Disneyland in Anaheim, California for the first week and another house in Orange Country for the last week of the break."

"That's... very well thought of, but how did you manage to pull it off?" Kasumi asks and Naruto looks bemuses before explaining, "Well, there are people who make a profit renting out houses for the signal purpose of renting them out to people for a weeks time. The renters get a house to sleep in, a bit of security with their stuff, and of course, they don't have to pay per night."

"That sounds like a good deal." He admits even though he hasn't a clue why these places were so popular, especially since Disney is primarily a film company...

Silence descends as they keep company with their own thoughts, for now at least.

**Australia**  
Shippo

"What is that thing?" He asks as he points at this strange rodent that stands about four feet in the air while resting on its long legs. "That's a kangaroo." Kagome tells her before she takes raises her camera to take a picture of it.

The kangaroo then turns to look at them as it scratches its belly with both of its 'hands'. Then it bends down and 'walks' a few feet before beginning to graze on the taller stalks at the new patch. Finally they move onto another spot, though he does glance back to see where Anko, Iruka, and Shizune were since they decided to tag along with them instead of going with Naruto to some artificer.

"So... how goes your practice with your Animagus form?" He asks Kagome and she blinks before glancing at him before answering, "Well, I finally did manage to perfect it four days ago. I'm just not sure how Inu-Yasha and the others will take the fact that I can transform into a magpie, to be specific, an Azure-winged Magpie.

"That's pretty good, Kagome." He tells her and means it since there were still members of their house who's having trouble 'giving up' their human form for that of an animal. Anko and Iruka fell in that classification while Shizune and the rest had perfect it during November.

Bill and Charlie were having trouble finding places to practice and in the end, have been given one of Naruto's warding devices so they can secure a classroom for said purpose. It doesn't help that both of their animals were larger then three feet in size, Bill's inner beast being a stag of the Red Deer variety and, finally, Charlie's being a Red Panda of all things.

_Although I think the big surprise was when Yachiru's turn out to be a Przewalski's Horse._ He privately adds as they continue to walk down the mark path.

In about an hour's time, they'll be heading into the magical reserve, at least according to his modified watch; a watch that now can act as a radio or a 'hone' at a touch of a rune around the rim of the face plate.

"I wonder what's captured their attention?" Kagome wonders and it takes him a few seconds to turn his hand to see where she's looking. "A wombat?" He wonders, it was a name he got off of the guide book.

"You don't know what that is, do you?" Kagome asks him and he flushes. "I got it from that guide book you gave to me to read." He admits and Kagome just smiles at him as she tsks him.

"Maybe you should have made sure there were pictures in it of the critters before handing it to me?" He suggests and Kagome smiles as she promises, "I'll remember that for next time then."

He glances away form his 'mother' figure with his cheeks feeling a tad heated. He reaches for his water container and takes a sip out of it. He really does enjoy spending all this time with Kagome without any of the others around, not that he doesn't miss them, it's just that...

_Having some alone time with your mother figure is rather enjoyable, despite her current set of looks._ He tells himself. It's not as if he's always going to have Kagome to himself either, he knew that the others will show up in time and then Kagome will be having a heck of a time concerning Inu-Yasha.

**Farewell Feast**  
Iruka

"I can't believe she recited the negative number for Slytherin house." Kasumi admits as they listen with half an ear as Professor McGonagall continues on through the list before revealing who won this year.

"I'm more surprised that Bumblebee even entrusted her with the job, but then, he didn't have much say in the matter did he, beyond making her his deputy I mean?" Naruto muses softly.

"You swore you didn't do anything to him last week." He points out and Naruto sighs before whispering hotly in reply, "Of course I didn't! It's not my fault that the fool of a man has yet to try any of the potions I asked the House Elves to leave out on his desk in hopes of him drinking any of them! He's a stubborn old mule who refuses to look for help beyond this school's nurse!"

"Well, he doesn't really have much say in the matter now, does he?" Shizune points out dryly and he's not the only one to sigh. "I'm surprise he hasn't tried drinking his phoenix's tears." Yukina muses softly.

They all stop as their stand in headmaster finally gets to declaring their house the winner of House Cup. This, of course, causes the Slytherins to boo and for Snape to try and murder the lot of them with his gaze alone. The decorations transform into orange and brown banners with a kirin place between the two fields.

"I hadn't thought of using phoenix tears to see if that cure the effects." Naruto admits with a thoughtful look. "Why should you? The headmaster likely keeps any of those collected years under lock and key. I doubt even any of the castle's House Elves could give you a drop let alone a bottle full to mess around with." Kurama says in a calming manner.

"Well, I did use some of Yukina's tears when I made that potion..." Naruto admits and he glances at the ice maiden with a slightly startled look, he hadn't thought that anyone would use something from a demon in a potion.

"Aren't phoenixes beings of fire?" Kagome asks slowly as the food appears and they began to help themselves without giving the food so much as a glance since Naruto had already arranged for the more tolerant of English food samples to only appear at their table.

"So?" Anko asks as she pauses from sipping from a cup of butter beer. "Well, if a fire being's tears try and match an ice being's tears, which element would trumpet?" Kagome wonders and hears someone almost choke on something, it wasn't long before somebody is coughing with somebody patting their back.

"Well damn... that is a good one." Anko admits with a smirk. "I doubt it would help to remind people that her _twin_ brother is a fire being." He points out.

Kurama waves his hand in a dismissive gesture as he points out, "Hiei wouldn't be Hiei if he wasn't _male_. Which pretty much ensured that he _wouldn't_ weld ice like his own sister. I've never heard of a ice lord after all."

"Haku did bare a strong resemblance to a girl. Though it didn't help that he wore girl preferred colors or kept to a more neutral tone when speaking." Naruto admits with a frown, which reminds him that Haku had a ice based bloodline limit.

"He might have had leanings towards bi." Yachiru adds her two cents. "Well, he was with a man who welded a huge sword, if that doesn't scream masculine I don't know what does." Anko states.

"Anyway, I guess I would have to say that as long as water is in the picture, I'd have to say that the one with ice leanings would continually fend off the attacks without much difficulty." Kagome says, bringing them back to the original question.

"The teachers look edgy." Shizune muses after a bit of silence and he glances at the staff table to find that she's right. "Well, they don't know if something will happen without Bumblebee here, it has become something of a ritual after all." Kasumi points out, even using Naruto's nickname for said man.

"And before anybody asks, no, I didn't try to arrange anything with him in the hospital. I did how ever managed to locate this bowl filled with his memories. I manage to duplicated the lot before putting it back in its spot, although it wasn't hard to find since it was resting pretty much out in the open." Naruto admits and he's not he only one to stare at the blond.

"He must have been about to use it or finish with it when he fainted." Kurama says and Naruto nods.

"I did see one memory after I touched the surface of it and you know recall about that Potter kid? Well, I do believe I know what even we're early for. I think we're here to protect the whelp from Bumblebee's 'mercies'." His old student says.

"Why? What did you see?" Yachiru asks in a sharp tone. "That Bumblebee let an innocent man go to prison because it would 'ruin' his long term plans for Harry to be raised by anyone other then his 'caring' muggle relatives. So, I believe we need to get this Black guy out of this prison and start helping the man get healthy so he's ready to take care of his soon to be eleven year old _**Godson**_."

And with that, the prank the students and teachers were waiting for happened and he glances to stare in dumbfoundment at the sight before him. _I don't think I'll ever forget this, not at all._ He decides at the sight of McGonagall sporting long elf-like ears, three sets of ram horns, and then he studies her altered facial features which includes bleached hair with the tips being crimson in color, purple slitted eyes, and both sets of her canine teeth jetting out between her lips.

Professor Sprout looks quite at home with the spring green skin, black eyes, with leaves and flowers seemingly growing out of her head and her skin. "Is Sprout sporting grass for hair?" He wonders.

"I'm more curious about if that's really is acid or sludge coming off of Meanie." Yachiru counters and has to agree with Yachiru that it really does look like those two materials erupting from the man's head. It doesn't help that the man's pasty complexion has become tinted with yellow and what appears to be decaying flesh beginning to appear on the man's skin while the white of his eyes were now green and his eyes were an almost glowing green color.

"Those kind of remind me of Inu-Yasha's eyes those few times when his demon blood took over." Shippo admits softly. "I wouldn't mind having my whites dyed a different color, especially one that complements my eye color." Yachiru admits and Naruto sighs.

"I can see how that would be a sudden fashion statement among wizards actually. Particularly rebellious teens." Kurama says.

By the time a ten minute mark passes, their appearance reverts to their normal ones and dessert is then served. "Well, at least we won't be troubling Poppy this year." Professor Flitwich muses as they begin to dig into their dessert portions.

**So Ends Year Five of the Kirin House**


	26. House Kirin Year 6

**Hogwarts Express**  
**September 1, 1987**  
**Narrator: Duo Maxwell, Shuichi 'Kurama' Minamino, and Naruto 'Tao' Uzumaki**

Duo

A knock at the compartment door signals that someone is outside of the compartment. Before anyone could really say much the door opens and standing there is a blond, who sighs and within seconds a stick appears in the guy's hand, with a wave, the compartment expands once the blond shuts the door.

The door opens once more and again the blond is there. He comes into the compartment and he tries to find some kind of weapon just encase he attacks them, only he wraps his hand around a stick from the feel of things. Before he could say anything, he finally registers the presence of a floating trunk of all things as the blond steps into the compartment.

The blond studies them each in turn before sighing. "I'm sure by now that you've noticed your lack of weapons and likely found a 'stick'." The blond says and he narrows his eyes. "You don't seem all that surprise to see us...?" Quatre asks.

"It's only polite to give your own name before asking for someone else's." The blond admits with an ironic grin and he feels Heero stiffen, as if he recognized that saying. "I may not look it, but I am Japanese, well, that's the closest comparison I believe."

"Well then, I'm Duo Maxwell, I may run, I may hide, but I never tell a lie." He says with a grin and the blond chuckles before introducing himself, "Naruto 'Tao' Uzumaki, seventh year student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Currently the only seventh year Prefect for House Kirin."

"What's the difference?" Heero asks with a frown and Naruto shrugs as he replies, "Hell if I know. Although the most popular theory I believe is just for gender distinction then anything else."

"I take it we're to attend this... institution?" Wufie asks and Naruto grins. "Institution... nice word for it, I guess, and yes, you are. There's four original houses and they are Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. Then there's Kirin which is a created house that the sorting hat started up to sort our sort into it. You'll find that we're all team members of that certain 'assignment' to carry out, though I do believe I won't start until the year 1991, which is about four years from now."

"Now, if you excuse me, I've got to head to the Perfect's car and I do believe that you'll be meeting other members of our house soon enough." Naruto says and with a flick of the wand, the trunk moves to rest on the overhanging rack before exiting out of the compartment.

"I like him." He states a few seconds after Naruto left, though he's still sorting out the information the guy gave them. "You would, wouldn't you?" Wufie states.

"Quatre?" Trowa asks and Quatre says slowly, "I can't get a good reading on him but he seems sincere about what he told us. He didn't really have anything to gain by lying to us."

Voices from outside of the compartment approach their door and with a second worth of quiet, the door opens to reveal first a pink haired hottie and a brunet beauty. "Huh, I guess none of us won that bet about how many will arrive in this group, huh?" The brunet muses and the pink hair teen beams at them in turn.

"I guess Tao's been and gone, huh? I'm Yachiru Kusajishi and this is Kasumi Tendo." The pink haired hottie says. "I'm Quartre Winner, this is Trowa Barton, Chang Wufie, Duo Maxwell, and Heero Yuy." Quartre says and there's a surprised look on Kasumi's face.

"Gundam Wing... You're Gundam pilots..." Kasumi says and her gaze wasn't really with them, although he's not the only one to be surprised by this. "Huh? You know them?" Yachiru asks.

"Well, its just that... There was this Anime called Gundam Wing where the pilots had those very same names... There was even a OVA called Gundam Wing Endless Waltz too." Kasumi says before she flushes in embarrassment, not that it helped with their confusion, although he did have to admit that its good to know they did have their own show, somewhere out there at least.

"Do you know a Ranma Saotome?" Heero asks suddenly and Kasumi blinks but nods slowly. "Heero?" He asks as he gives the other pilot a questioning look.

"I do believe there's a series that's both a Manga and an Anime called Ranma 1/2." Heero admits slowly and he blinks before glancing between the two. "So... you're watched it?" He asks.

"No, I just found listings for it on the internet is all, it didn't seem like something I'd watch." Heero states and silence prevailed until a voice calls out, "Kasumi! Yachiru, aren't you suppose to be heading to the Perfect's car?"

"Hey Kurama! Guess what! Kasumi knows the latest batch of first years! And here's the kicker, she knows them from an Anime!" Yachiru tells whoever this Kurama is.

"Really?" A different voice says, one that's likely a girl's voice. "Yep! And guess what, one of them says there's this Anime and Manga called Ranma 1/2 that stars a Ranma Saotome!" Yachiru adds as she looks off at persons unknown and unseen.

"That is odd." The first voice says and he notices that the voice sounds closer to the door. The teenage girls move to allow the new comer to take a look, the red head looks fairly startled and his eyes light up. "Well, it seems I do believe I know them from an Anime as well, after all, Duo's braid is his trademark." Kurama states and Heero sighs.

"Is the series called Gundam Wing?" He asks and Kurama nods. "Well... this is awkward, isn't it?" Yachiru says cheerfully and he has to agree with her on that one. _I wonder just what parts of my life did this Anime show?_ He wonders before Kasumi says, "Oh my, Yachiru, we have to go! The meeting will be starting soon."

And there's a soft thud and he hears the young women take off, leaving them with Kurama and another teenage girl who nobody has yet to say the name of.

**Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony**  
Kurama

"How's our guest doing in our absence?" Shippo asks as they wait for the group of first years to arrive. "Well, the golems Kasumi made should make sure that he's taking his potions, the inverted ward is finally tuned into him so he can't leave the property in anyway without one of us being around to escorting him off of it, well, that's all I know since the last of my shadow clones have puffed away."

"You think he'll figure out that they're just golems?" Kagome asks and Naruto shrugs.

"I'm so going to get my magical radio and tv signal device to work so we can at least give him a tv to watch since I don't think he'll know how to set up that film projector or be willing to read any thing from the library." Yachiru tells them.

"That might not be something he'll be interested in watching... Maybe we should find and get that Moony to visit him, I mean, after getting the man to vow to at least listen to our guest's story while he's taken three drops of that truth potion." Anko muses.

"We'd also have to get the man to vow not to tell anyone about the where abouts of our guest or try and confront the Bumblebee about all of this. Honestly, these people are grown adults and yet this still can't seem to form their own opinions without speaking to the man." Shizune says with a sigh.

"Well, consider the classes that Hogwarts sports, do any of those really promote one to think about what they've learn? Or teach a law class to inform the muggleborn of the current set of laws of this society they've entered?" He asks and around the table people either shook their heads or frowned.

"You know, we could offer to tutor any muggleborns interested in learning about the laws of this Wizarding World. If that doesn't shatter their rose colored glasses then nothing will. Heck, we could also tutor them in pure-blood tradition if they want to 'fit' into this society." Kasumi muses and he blinks slowly as he nods, he could see how that would help.

"And we'll need somebody older then the 'students' of those courses to teach it." Iruka points out. "Bill and Charlie should know a bit of the laws or at least traditions of the pure-bloods. We can ask them to help." Yachiru points out.

"We can charge a few knuts per lesson and give them a percent cut, that way they'll have a way to have extra pocket change as well as make it worth their while, even if it causes them to be busier then they expected." Yukina suggests.

"I might have a way to 'speed' up time in an enclosed space. We can make a fifteen minute lesson in real time go on for fifteen hours if we need too. I believe I solved how to keep the body from physically aging, which should also help to keep them from needing food or growing tired. It also means that if they only want one lesson, they'll get more then they bargained for." Naruto says slowly.

"And if that works, we can use that for those of us who are having difficulty finding time to do research." Shippo muses. "You can't really use this ward to create any kind of potion though, especially if you're using organic bits. Although it's great for item enchanting." Naruto admits as he glances about the table.

"Just what did you use as a base for this age stopping part then?" Shizune asks and Naruto answers, "A heavily modified stasis spell that only targets organic things once the time ward is turned on. The original version was very common healing spell that helped out greatly on battlefields."

The hall quiets down as the doors open and McGonagall walks into the hall. A few minutes later she sets out the stool with the sorting hat on top of it. The deputy then heads back out of the doors before the doors open wide, permitting the group of first years to enter.

As soon as the group stops walking and stand behind McGonagall, the sorting hat gives itself a shake before going into a song about the other houses. None of them really cared that their house wasn't mentioned and most of them prefer it that way. Soon enough the first name is called out, marking the beginning of the sorting.

"Hey, is this years Halloween prank going to be a contest or something?" Anko asks as Trowa Barton is called to be sorted. "I guess I can put up a sign up list in our common room with a sign up deadline this Sunday." Naruto muses before the hat calls out their house name.

They watch as Trowa joins them and once he's seated, Shippo asks, "So, how would you judge those people who signed up?"

"Maybe give those that signed up a week to plan, another week to get the equipment." Iruka suggests and Kagome takes pity by whispering to Trowa what they're talking about.

"I do believe it might be a good idea to hold off on the pranks a week before Halloween, you know, give people a breather." Kasumi says. "Well, depending on the number who sign up, we could have people pull off a prank every second day." He suggests.

"Will our fouling the other Quidditch teams count towards a prank or not?" Yukina wonders and Shippo says with a frown, "We might want to stop doing that. We have been practicing during the last few summers, haven't we?"

"You know, we could always get the House Elves to create an indoor Quidditch pitch for our house. After all, Tao's supplied us with enough brooms, though I'm wouldn't mind having him make me a custom one..." Yachiru muses and Naruto looks bemused.

"You know what's funny? They'd be begging us for them to do just that. Really, there's just too many of them around here for all of them to get a share of the work." Naruto admits with a slight shake of his head.

"Well, you'd know best considering you're the one who interacts with them on a regular bases." Shizune remarks and Naruto says, "And that's another thing, somebody's going to have to keep up that relationship when I'm gone. Just remember this, they help out in pranks because they get to clean it up afterwards."

"Just what Duo needs, willing accomplices." Trowa states in a bland tone. He is just one of the people to glance at the group of first years to study the brunet who seems to be whistling something with his hands crossed behind his head.

"Be glad that electronics don't work within these walls because of how much magic hangs around this school and its grounds." He offers and Trowa seems to relax ever so slightly. And before Yachiru or Anko could counter that, Iruka and Kasumi manage to give the two looks, which causes the two to close their mouths.

"Maxwell, Duo." Professor McGonagall calls out.

Duo

"Maxwell, Duo." The graying old professor says and he walks over to the stool, he continued to whistle his tone. He glances at the table were the Kirin house is located out of the corner of his eye.

They seemed to have stopped their conversation to watch him get sorted. Once at the stool, he grins mischievously and tosses the hat up into the air before getting onto the stool. It didn't take long before he catches the hat and places it on his head.

_"The infamous Duo Maxwell I take it? Yes, yes, you don't need to go through your trade mark saying for my benefit."_ The hat says within his mind.

_"Interesting life you've lead and although the setting is quite unique, I've witnessed worst, but I'll leave them to speak of their pasts."_ The sorting hat informs him before stating out loud, "Kirin!"

With a shrug, he takes off the hat and sets it down on the stool before walking towards the table. Most of the occupancies nod their greeting before they restart up their conversation. A chair appears out of nowhere for him to sit on as Iruka asks, "What kind of limits will there be? Rules?"

"Might as well stop before the twenty-sixth to give the winner of the contest to begin their arrangements." Naruto admits before adding, "As for rules, well, I guess no causing any permanent injury on the victim should be one."

"No getting catch in the act should be another." Yachiru points out and more then a few scoff at that, as if it was a given. "Might as well add a clause of harming innocent critters like mail owls or people pets." Shippo remarks.

"Just what are you guys planning?" He asks as a few people started talking at the same time. "Just a contest to see who'll fulfill Naruto's pranking duties once he graduates from school." Anko explains and he couldn't help but grin.

"By way of a pranking contest?" He asks and most of them nod. "There will be a sign up sheet in the dorms." Naruto says calmly.

He couldn't wait, after all, it shouldn't be a too difficult to win this contest.

**September 7, 1987**  
Naruto

"Something's riled Onyx up tonight." Yachiru says with a slight frown. "I think it's got something to do with whatever was howling off in the distance." He says as they fly a few feet away from Onyx's head.

"Aren't there suppose to be werewolves in this forest?" He asks suddenly as he glances up at the full moon shining down. "Wasn't that just a rumor that was spread during this summer?" Yachiru counters as she adds, "After all, we've been here plenty of times and seen no werewolf village or anything."

Onyx pauses and raises her head slightly, her thick tongue tasting the air. With a hiss, Onyx seems to change direction and heads. "For all we know, Bumblebee started one." He says as they follow after the great snake as she weaves through the mighty trunks of some of the oldest trees of the Forbidden Forest.

"Should we reapply the veil spell?" Yachiru asks as they match Onyx's speed. "No, we'll leave her eyes as they are, if it is werewolves then they had to be invited onto the land and since these lands belong to Hogwarts..." He trails off.

"Fruity either invited them or is just flat out ignoring them." Yachiru finishes and he just nods as they continue through the forest. He can already hear Onyx beginning to murmur to herself as her blood-lust raises up at this challenge to her 'domain'.

He rubs the thin leather band around his head and it wasn't long before he sees, smells, and feels what Onyx feels for at least twenty seconds. "It's something canine she's smelling." He admits with a sigh.

They stay silent as they finally spot a huge pack of the strange beings that look like somebody had put a head of a wolf, tail, and paws onto a man. _How can they run with such long legs? True, they've got that two bend design but that really should help them travel so fast without tripping on their own paws or each other._

It's clear that the werewolves could smell their scent from up in the air as well as from Onyx, although he also realizes that for some reason, Onyx must have her eyes shut for up coming battle since none of the werewolves were falling over dead. _:They're all yours, Onyx. Enjoy!:_ He tells her in Parceltongue.

_:Like I need you to tell me that, bird-fox.:_ Onyx hisses at him before she rams into the front lines of the pack. Those werewolves from the outer rim of the pack leap into the air in order to attack Onyx's face.

There were a few that came to circle below them but they couldn't leap up to reach them and neither Yachiru and him felt like trying to tease the victims of a magical disease. _I wonder what would happen if a Centaur or a Goblin survived a bit from a werewolf?_

It wasn't long before the pack of werewolves soon found themselves conflicted with the desire to flee from this giant predator to their hunger for spilling human blood for the sake of it. It didn't take long before that indecision causes Onyx to finally bring her eyes into play and thus end the fight.

"Well, that solves that." Yachiru says with a sigh and he nods. "Yea, it does, doesn't it? Well, hopefully she'll be content enough with this 'meal', even if it isn't spider-meat."

**October 31, 1987**  
Duo

"So... has Kurama hinted what what his prank is going to be?" He asks Shippo and the sandy haired teen glances up from his book, Dragons of Winter Night, to stare at him for a few seconds. Shippo studies him intently for a few seconds before sighing as he shakes his head.

They were pretty much alone at their four man table as he picks up the menu and glances through today's dish opinions. "No, he didn't. Although, it's likely be more clever then his Stud Riding booth he set up as a 'kiddie' ride." Shippo says while continuing to eat his meal while reading his novel.

"That was a good one." He admits, although he's a bit embarrassed to be counted among the 'studs' that girls paid to ride. _I'm glad they opted for a rubber bit._

"Even though you were a 'stud'?" Shippo asks, looking over the top of his book to look at him. "Well, I did make it onto the list." He admits and Shippo just chuckles.

"Just how was it that Kurama managed to get away with that one though? I mean, he was standing right there without a disguise!" He says and Shippo sighs as the elven eared teen answers, "The illusion was targeted for everyone beyond members of the Kirin house. I bet you even had trouble saying his name while he was operating the booth even before and after you got transformed."

"I guess magic really is multipurpose tool isn't it?" He says with a slight frown he finally picks out a few dishes. "Well, spell damage can be heal with spells and with certain types of potion. Potion damages effects usually take another potion to reverse it, although there are spells that allow the halt of said damage." Shippo explains.

"Personally, I rather be affected by a spell then by a potion since it could take months to brew the correct potion when it only takes a wave or flick of a wand to heal the damage of the spell." Shippo adds.

"Maybe I should make use of that time ward in the study." He muses as he realizes that he had a lot of subjects to study if he wants to be proficient with all branches of magic. "Yea, we can't all create shadow clones to aid in that effort can we?" Kagome says as she comes to sit down at the table, she manages to stifle a yawn as she picks up a menu.

"Is there a reason why the second years often call Tao a show off?" He asks after a few minutes. "Well, for one, they're suppose to be Naruto's superiors since Naruto never did gain Chunin yet. Anko's considered a Special Jonin, I believe Shizune is a Jonin, and finally, Iruka was Naruto's academe instructors in his last few years at the school. He ranks Chunin." Shippo says while Kagome chews what's in her mouth.

"Really? That's why Anko likes to call him a brat?" He asks and the two nod. "Well, you learn something new every day, don't you?" He remarks as he focuses on his breakfast then on chatting the two up.

If he finishes, he can likely use the study for about five minutes real time, five hours with the time ward up, before he heads off to his first class.

Kurama

"I believe your field and illusion generators are up and running." Naruto says as the blond seventh year leans on a wall as he's coming down from the room. "You sent out some clones?" He asks as he turns to study the demon container.

"Nay, I just used a magic detection spell on the door and then an array of analyzer spells to check on the source of the magic." Naruto answers and he blinks before making a note to study up on those spells. "I'm a bit surprised by the time ward you set up, though. Nice work on it considering it's tricky to set up on such a large scale."

"Are there going to be classes today?" Naruto asks after a few seconds of silence and he blinks before shaking his head. Naruto seems to be relieved and he asks, "Why did you want to know?"

"I managed to find Moony and I've got a few ideas on how to cancel out his condition, but I've found it near impossible to sneak out of Hogwarts to confront the man. So... I was hoping you wouldn't be too disappointed if I sneak out today to visit the man and maybe if things go right, take him to visit our guest." The blond says and he blinks but in the end, couldn't see any reason to deny Naruto his chance.

"You can go, but could you try to make it back before noon though?" He asks since that's when things are to get interesting. "Sure! No problem." Naruto says with a smile as the blond bends down to pick up his bag.

"Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to use that teleporter of yours to head to back to the manor before heading off to the meeting I set up with the man." Naruto says and then holds up his hand as the blond says, "Later!"

He watches as the blond vanishes into a the library room as the door closes. _Hopefully that will keep Black from 'whining' about being bored._

Naruto

_Well, hopefully Remus will recover from that pendant tuning before the next full moon..._ He thinks to himself as he walks out into the main common room. He glances at the clock and sighs in relief. _Well, I'm early so I might as well take a bath and relax a bit before heading out into the corridors._

He smiles as he drops the bag by the entrance to the bathroom. "I might eat a meal too, after all, I've got about an hour and a bit before it's noon." He muses out loud as he begins to undress as soon as he makes it to the male side of the bathroom.

After spending a half an hour in the hot pool, he did note that the pool's side has increased in size, but figured it was only natural since their numbers had grown a great deal since his first year of school. He notes that a House Elf has picked up after him as he enters into the male side of the bathroom.

He heads up to his room with a towel wrapped about him, he picks up his bag before he does so. About ten minutes later he heads down to the dinning hall to grab a bite to eat. Once that's done, he heads to the exit of the common room and before he opens the door, he sighs and stretches his shoulders.

He grips the handle and with a twist, the door clicks open and with a pull, the door swings inward. As he enters into the hallway with the door closing behind him with a click, he blinks at the sight about him even as he feels his whole body going numb for a second.

With a frown, he finds that his cloths have changed and that around his waist is a fur skinned belt that looks like it was made of leopard skin. He finds a pouch filled with what appears to be thieving tools and a pair of goggles resting around his neck. He stiffens as he feels thuds on the wooden floor and without thinking about it, he finds himself scaling up the wall and squeezing into a space between the ceiling and the wall.

He watches as a huge, purple towering monstrosity walk pass. In its wake are what appears to be ghouls who range from one wall to the other. He couldn't help but shudder as a few hang about the spot where he entered into the hall, sniffing at the spot but as the towering monstrosity turns the corner, the ghouls picks up their pace to catch up with it.

He couldn't help but remain in the gap between the ceiling and the wall for a few more minutes. Then, he finally recovers and instead of crawling down the wall to the ground, he decides to try for this door that's resting in the ceiling. It takes him a few minutes to get it open and then to climb through it.

He makes sure to close the trap door before he begins to check and recheck what items he has in his possession. Beyond the thieving kit and goggles, he has some bandages and this black stone bit that looks like its a key or half of a complete stone. _That's it?_ He thinks to himself before just sighing as he puts the bandages back as well as the stone.

With a sigh, he moves the goggles up to cover his eyes. He freezes as he gazes through them and he takes them off before putting them back on. _Ok, I'm keeping these on, since it'll at least help me see through this darkness around me._ He thinks as he begins to head off in the direction where that purple monstrosity had come from, although in this space.

Duo

_This is so empowering!_ He decides as he feels as if his whole body is aflame and a glance at the others show that they, the other pilots were undergoing the same experience as well. With a snarl, his cloths and everything he has on him drop to the ground as his transformation surges until its done, leaving him just one of the many werewolves in the room.

**"Too late, the day has ended and night has begun."** A man's voice rasp. **"Now you're furry and full of fury. Anything that moves shall feel your wrath! You no longer fear the monster for you are one! Werewolves work best in packs, so stick with your team-mate or you'll find yourself overwhelmed by those seeking an opportunity to pick you off before you find the stuffed body of the viking Urk the Wolfkin."**

The feel of the room seems to alter as the voice fades and he gives himself a shake. _"I wonder who else are looking for Urk?"_ He wonders but the door leading out of the room bursts open as the barricaded they erected to keep the horde of horned goblinoids who sport blue skin.

The goblinoids take one look at them before they flee out of the room, but without even knowing what's come over them, they give chase as the tables have turned and the three foot tall beings were now their prey instead of them being theirs.

Kurama

**"The day has ended and now true terror stalk the night. New dangers awaken in the form of werewolves and others who's true nature surges forth this night."** The programed raspy male voice says. **"Whether you decide to chance the dangers in hopes of finding Roger's Journal or finding a bunk to wait out the night is your choice."**

He sighs and glances over at Yukina and Shippo, he couldn't help but find it ironic that they've been chosen to play ordinary teens. Although that does have its upside in the fact that they won't be controlled by the nature of their inner monster. "We're not safe even if we try and find a bunker, are we?" Shippo asks him and he sighs as he shakes his head.

"There are plenty of monsters who need to feed off of ordinary people, be it from their feelings or their bodies." He admits to Shippo as he grips his spear. "I guess we could try finding those hidden pathways you mentioned." Yukina admits and he smiles slightly.

"And hope we don't encounter anything that's found them in turn." He says as they began to glance around the kitchen for any hint of that something is in there with them as well.

_I wonder who got to be the Leopard man of all of this..._ He wonders, he's not sure if he should congratulate himself on this haunted house or not. Although he's pretty sure that Naruto would enjoy viewing the recordings of it even if the blond never made it in time before the prank went into lock down mode, which was just after one in the afternoon in real time.

Naruto

He blinks as the voice fades away, leaving him feeling very confused but with a goal he needs to accomplish. Although finding out that he can transform into a humanoid leopard was good to know, especially as he had come across various skeletons, some clearly inhuman, along the 'highway' he's traveling in.

_To complete the relic of my tribe... I wonder just what I missed out on..._ He wonders as he gives himself a shake before continuing forward, glad that his goggles gave him a very good view of his surroundings since he didn't have anything on hand to defend himself with if he ran into any of those monsters he's witness patrolling below him.

With a thought, the skin around his mid-section expands and transforms him into a humanoid leopard, although his cloths and goggles seem to vanish once activated. He decides it has something to do with the fact that he can activate and de-active the transformation. _It wouldn't do to lose the other half of the stone, would it?_

He pauses and shivers slightly as he hears a chorus of howls. The sound dislodges some dust and it now hangs in the air for a few seconds before it slowly drops to the stone ground that he's treading on. Flexing his 'hands' he flickers his tail before stalking forward on all fours, after all, he rather not find himself tangled up in an old spider's web again...

Kurama

The enraged vampire seems to freeze up as does the ghouls that were under the vampire's sway. **"The house rattles as one's goal is reached."** The raspy voice says and all around him, the setting begins to fade which includes the monsters as well.

**"The magic keeping the mansion in this world causes all those living within its walls to vanish as the mansion retreats into another dimension to await a decade passage, leaving all those visitors still alive on the side of a forested mountain."** The recorded voice says. **"Without the mansion's magical aura, all of the magical visitors take human form just hours before dawn."**

**"And so ends the our tale."** The voice declares and he sighs as he feels his usual strength and abilities return to him. "Those that 'died' are just sleeping, right?" Shippo asks and he nods as he adds, "In the medical wing at least."

"I wonder who won..." Yukina muses as they begin to head out of the classroom. "I do believe I don't want to be part of the sequel, even if you were willing to pay me." Shippo decides calmly and he sighs, but had to agree on that one.

Naruto

"Ok... where am I?" He wonders as he glances around the room, one he's sure he's never been in, which also includes his clones. He scratches the side of his head as he glances around for a hint or a window, anything that would tell him his location.

It doesn't help that he didn't have his PPD on him either...

**December 20, 1987**  
Duo

"This is going to be the greatest Christmas ever!" He crows as he glances around the living room. Naruto had sent one of his warding devices to the house yesterday, so the house's living room is more then large enough to hold their current number without causing them to elbow each other in the ribs.

"What's so great about this Disneyland and Disney World?" Iruka wonders as Shizune adds, "After all, it's just a film company, like Naruto's The Green Beast productions."

"You have your own production company?" Heero asks Naruto and the blond sighs. "We could always watch my only film later, although if Kurama would allows me to use what he recorded to create another or three film..." Naruto says as the blond glances sideways at Kurama.

"We'll see, Naruto, we'll see." The red head says and Naruto smiles as he says, "I just want you to know that I wouldn't keep your name from the credits as the director, writer, and, maybe, lead actor."

They all chuckle as Kurama smiles every so slightly at that but in the end, they decide to put their stuff away in their respected rooms so they can head off to the local amusement park.

_I wonder if Yachiru will try and sneak her stuff into Naruto's room so they can be room-mates..._

**Farewell Feast**  
Naruto

_I find it hard to believe that I won't be returning next year..._ He muses as he finishes off his dessert. He pays half a mind to the whispering conversations going on around the table, although Yachiru seems content to eat as much of the sweets resting on the table as she can stomach.

He glances up at the staff table and studies the headmaster for a few seconds as he recalls how sickly the man looked most of last year. Snape is the next one to grab his attention and he couldn't really find it within himself to really feel any kind of pity for the man. _He truly desires his masters, that's for sure._

He then begins to think about the number of jobs he'll be working in the coming year before he settles on any one job. _Can't forget that I've got War and that otter family to look after too._ He thinks to himself and smiles as he recalls how healthy Fire and Sapphira were the last time he saw the pair.

_They're not pups any more, are they?_ He thinks to himself as the two were now five feet in length and it's clear that Grin and Sin's attention were going more and more to each other then to their two independent, teenage daughters. _I'm going to have to increase the size of their quarters at the manor._

"So... what job are you going to make your 'official' one?" Kasumi asks as the untouched desserts and their plate finally vanish, the conversations at the table have finally stopped, all of them were waiting for the prank to happen to those members of the staff table.

"Well, I can't really become publicly known for selling wards to muggles, so that job is going to have to remain out of public eye." He answers and before he could say anything more, Kurama's prank finally occurs.

Their cloths seem to vanish, although the female portion of the staff already had altered bodies that didn't include the certain things that scream woman on their chests. As their skin colors began to either darken or brighten into shades of black, gray, red, or green, their hair falls off and vanish in tiny flames as they grow in height and their frames began to take a more bulky look.

The staff table vanishes as does the chairs they were resting on as the faculty stand up on their newly altered lower half of their bodies. He snorts softly at the sight of Dumbledore's lower body becoming that of a snake's slender body and chuckles at the sight of Snape's legs splitting apart into three sets of insectoid legs without the lower part becoming like a centaur body.

Their skin slowly thickens becoming thick hide or scales or chitin armor. Professor Sprout manages to sprout an extra pair of arms while a pair of insect wings grow out of her back. Professor Flitwick now sprouts a number of tentacle eyes while his mouth seems to be sealed up by dark gray hide and he now sports at least four sets of nostrils about his face instead of a single nose.

The transformation complete, the teacher glances at each other, each pointing at their fellows but their attempt at speech seems to be mauled by their altered mouths or they remain silent because they lack a mouth. The tallest of the demonic looking faculty is Snape as he stands at least a eighteen feet and the shortest is Dumbledore at ten, but then, he couldn't rear up too high in the air because he's lower half is all tail, leaving him without any legs to stand on at all.

Cameras flash at this sight and he could only begin to imagine which paper these pictures will be featured in and how much they sold for.

**So Ends Year Six of the Kirin House**


	27. House Kirin Year 7

**Hogwarts Express**  
**September 1, 1988**  
**Narrator: Hiei, Inu-Yasha, and Kasumi Tendo**

Hiei

He couldn't help but stare at the preteen with silver hair and odd triangular things on the head. He senses more then saw that Yusuke, Keiko, Kuwabara, and Botan. He did wonder where the fox was although he's slightly relieved that Yukina wasn't with them.

"Where's Kagome?" The girl sitting across from Botan wonders and the triangle things on the guy's head twitch before the silver haired preteen begins to glance about. "And Shippo's gone missing too!" The black haired preteen declares as well.

"So has Yukina!" Kuwabara says in alarm and he felt a strong urge to ask why Yukina was doing in his company. "Kurama is missing also." Botan points out and they began eyeing each other.

The door opens and they all turn to find the fox standing there with Yukina just behind him. "Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise?" The much older Yukina admits as she stares at him for a few seconds before looking at the others.

"Unusual too since there's two group instead of just the one." Kurama agrees. "It's a good thing we put permanent expansion charms in this compartment."

Yukina raises her wrist and a chiming sound rings through the air. A minute later Yukina lowers her arm and says looking at the others across from, "Kagome and Shippo are on their way."

"Just what's going on here?!" Yusuke finally demands as the preteen stands up. "And how come you didn't appear when we appeared?" Kazuma adds.

Kurama sighs while Yukina seems to be glancing down the hall, likely waiting for those two who are familiar with the other group. "Makes you miss Naruto, doesn't it?" Yukina whispers to Kurama, though he heard it perfectly as the red haired smiles slightly in response to that statement.

Kurama and Yukina then enter into the compartment and the room seems to grow a few feet, which only causes him to realize that this might be that expansion charm Kurama mentioned acts. Though he's not the only one startled at the sight of floating luggage, he's just the only one who managed to keep his startlement off of his face.

"What the hell?!" The silver haired preteen exclaims at the sight. "Get use to it, you'll not only be witnessing such things but expected to duplicate them." Kurama says as he waves his hand, causing the trunks to fly up onto the overhanging racks.

"Those are ours, I take it?" He says calmly as he takes time to study the various trunks. "Yes they are." The fox says and the silver haired preteen sniffs the air. "Kagome!"

With surprising nimbleness, the stranger makes it to the door just as a teen with blue tinted hair appears. "Inu-Yasha!" The newly dubbed Kagome says with a smile. "So that's what you looked like as an elven year old!" Another voice says as a bemused teenage boy stands just at Kagome's back.

"Shippo?" The three preteen mutter out in surprise and Shippo hums with a slightly smug look on his face. Inu-Yasha just stares from Kagome to Shippo and back again.

"So... Where are we?" Keiko asks and the older four people glance at each other, clearly they really didn't know how to begin. "Maybe we should have radioed Yachiru here to help break the ice..." Shippo says after a few seconds of silence.

**Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony**  
Inu-Yasha

"Inu-Yasha." The old cat lady calls out and with a sigh, he walks up to the foul smelling cloth hat. True, the smell of it wasn't as foul as the smell of ink and blood but it was up there.

"Let's just get this over with." He growls as as soon as the hat is on his head. He still finds it hard to put out the fact that Kagome has a scent of some kind of bird hanging about her.

_"She's likely an bird Animagus. In fact, I do believe that the human members are getting in the habit of going through Animagus training to gain an animal form."_ The hat tells him and he couldn't help but blink.

_So that's why so many of them have that extra faint scent clinging to them..._ He muses as he recalls his meeting with the older members of Kirin. _"I might not know who's what but that can be cleared up by asking them."_

"Kirin!" The hat says and he lets out a sigh as he begins to breath through his mouth once more. He manages to find a seat by Kagome.

"So... what kind of bird do you become, Kagome?" He asks as the old lady calls off the next name from the scroll. "I'm a magpie Animagus." Kagome says after she glances up at the table where all of the so called adults were sitting.

"And Quatre's a sparrow." The one called Duo says as he pats the blond Quatre on the shoulder. "I find it very appropriate that you ended up with a ferret." Wufei remarks dryly.

"Wait, what are you guys saying that you can transform into those animals?" Keiko asks and most of those at the table nod with the exception of Kurama, Yukina and Shippo.

"We thought it best for those... un-special members of the house to have a second form to fall back on if they're in a tight spot." Kasumi says and he frowns as he that seems to confirm that there were something odd going on with not just Kurama, Yukina, and most of their friends.

"I transform into a very rare type of wild horse." The pink haired seventh year, Yachiru, says with pride. It wasn't long before silence falls between them as the final member arrive at the table.

Then some old goat in a dress stands up to address them, he just rolls his eyes at the sight of the clearly color-blind man.

_At least I don't have to worry about that damn wolf._

**Kirin Common Room**  
Kasumi

She studies the newest members of their house, Yachiru has already slipped away and headed to the study room to work on one of her projects. _It's hard to believe that she's the same preteen who use to call Naruto 'Whisker' and me 'Omi'. She's grown to be fairly responsible and doesn't seem to mind not being center of attention too._ She muses to herself as she starts off at the library door.

She glances back to the mix 'mob' of Kirin students in time to watch Kagome demonstrate her Animagus transformation. With a chirp, Kagome takes to the air and after circling over head a few times, drops down to the floor and returns to her usual self. It wasn't long before the first years begin asking questions about where she learnt to do that.

With a shake of her head, she heads to sit by the tv that Yachiru finally manage to enchant, although she had to put the enchanted signal receiver on top of the tallest tower. There's a ring of same runes that act as a wire between the two so that nobody could disconnect the wireless signal being sent to their tv.

Summoning the remote wandlessly, she turns on the tv itself and begins to go through the various recordings that the receiver had not just recorded but also sorted in various ways like by language, genre type, title, episode or date, the date one is usually used for tv movie recordings. As she's flipping through the recordings, she's slowly joined by Shippo, most of the Gundam pilots, and those three ninja that were suppose to be Naruto's seniors in age.

"Oh! Can't we watch Superman?" Anko asks and she sighs before telling Anko, "It's not a porno."

"Are you sure?" Anko asks her and she nods as does the Gundam pilots. "I wouldn't mind watching Werewolf." Shizune admits and she liked that show too, even if it's a tad violent.

It didn't take long before she's finds that sub-category and selects it. "It's surprising that Yachiru managed to make it so modern in allowing one to record tv shows." Quatre says and she glances at the calm blond.

_Modern? I guess it is for them at least._ She admits with a sigh. "I wonder who long it'll take Naruto to finish deciding on what kind of tv show he'll produce." Iruka muses thoughtfully as the credits of Werewolf finally end and the show finally begins.

"True, but he's going to be busy with sorting through those latest recordings from last year's Halloween prank so he can make those movies." She points out.

**September 10, 1988**

_How did I get talked into this?_ She wonders as she glances at the four first years who'll be gaining their Animagus form through the same way that Naruto helped them get theirs. She sighs as she finishes walking back and forth before the Come and Go room.

She opens the door and finds that the room looks very much like the one Naruto had created when he had been helping them. She waves the four over as she keeps the door open. She glances around slowly before she enters the room herself.

As the four glance around, she heads for the table to pick up the incense burner so she could place it at the center of the circle. "This doesn't look so tough." Kuwabara says.

"I don't see how this will take two whole days to complete." Miroku admits as the monk turned eleven year old moves to examine the room, particularly the circle on the stone floor. She doesn't say anything, after all, they had read the books that Naruto had listed as reference material.

She struggles to keep from jumping slightly as those skulls make their appearance within seconds of having the incense lit. Although she had to admit, there wasn't many of them as when she and the others went through it. She sighs as she finds all eyes on her and likely on the 'bear' skin she is now wearing.

_Hopefully it won't shift into that other mode._ She thinks to herself as she motions for the four of them to take their seats around the circle on the floor before heading to the table and chair to begin beating the drum resting on the table.

"I've never seen anything like these before..." Sango admits as the eleven year olds glance at the three walls where the outlines appear. "I take it those are our would be Animagus forms?" Keiko asks and she nods.

"Well, I'll complete this training in a day if not sooner!" Kuwabara brags from his position within the circle. She sighs as she begins to examine the drum before she slowly begins to beat a very smoothing rhythm on the drum.

It might not sound like the one Naruto used but as long as the beat was steady and she could keep it going it doesn't matter what it sounds like. _Naruto did admit to using an animation spell on the drum and stick so they would fulfill this role. Why couldn't we stick with that?_ She wonders as the sound finally seems to activate whatever magic this ritual holds.

She stiffens as the skulls begin to either slither over the floor or hop to be with the four who were within the circle. _I know the books said it would happen but it really is something to actually witness it._ She admits before realizing that this likely happened with them as it also signals that they're all in the right state to achieve this training.

She didn't even try to keep track of the time as she continues her part in this. Her attention is divided on the status of the skulls and on her drum playing. She couldn't help the goosebumps that seem to rise up as skulls began to vanish while others were gaining strength.

_Is it any wonder why few go through this training..._ She admits to herself, waiting for the stew to appear to signal that the first part of the day was over.

**October 31, 1988**  
Hiei

He could feel the tension among the students and staff as this holiday, Halloween, drew closer without even trying to read the thoughts around him. He also noticed how Kurama has been distracted lately as well, not really spending much time with them.

In short, he's gets a headache just by going to class and it only worsens as the day goes by which means that he's usual more short tempered then usual. The only time he gets any relief has to be when he's within the connecting rooms of Kirin dorms and common room.

So, as he waits for the fox to descend down the stairs, Yachiru pauses at the sight of him leaning on the wall at the bottom of the stairs. "If you're worried about the prank that Kurama is pulling, he won't talk to anyone about it." The pink haired teenager informs him.

"Prank?" He asks slowly as he turns to regard the young woman with interest. "It's gotten to be a yearly tradition actually. Much like pranking the staff at the farewell feast with a demonic theme." Yachiru says before she asks, "Didn't you hear people talk about it? It's all everyone's been speaking of over the last week with many of the older students telling stories about the other Halloween pranks they've experienced."

"And Kurama is in charge of pulling off this year's prank." He states and Yachiru snorts softly. "Not just this year's pranks but the years before he becomes a seventh year and then it's likely we'll hold a contest to see who'll take over the job like we did last year."

"And who's expected to take over the job once Kurama is gone?" He asks slowly as he suddenly feels a type of dread. "Well, Shippo is the most likely, although Duo would love the job but well, he's more into off the cuff type stuff then making over elaborate plans and following through with them." Yachiru says and he makes a mental note to keep an eye on said teen.

"Come Christmas and you'll likely learn why Shippo's a favorite candidate unless you've already figured it out." Yachiru says before her stomach growls. "Later Hiei."

He watches as she walks away as he slowly realizes that he should have investigated a bit more into his fellow students' pasts. Before he could decide whether or not to try read Yachiru's mind, Kurama appears with the sixth year student, Kasumi.

"What are you up to, fox?" He asks as soon as he meets Kurama's gaze. Much to his irritation, Kurama just smiles slightly as he replies, "Nothing that will cause permanent harm, Hiei. Mental scarring on the other hand..." The red head teen shrugs while Kasumi glances between them.

He narrows his eyes as he crosses his arms before his chest. "Oh leave off, Hiei! It's suppose to be a surprise, that's how its been done when Naruto had the post and likely how it will continue to be." Kasumi says after a few seconds, startling him as he hadn't expected her to address him, let alone so familiarity.

With that, Kurama and Kasumi walk away and after a few seconds, he follows after. He just knew that he'll have more then a headache when this was over...

Inu-Yasha

"Damn it!" He curses as he feels something take a hold of his being. He sorely wishes he had his sword with him but on the plus side, he didn't have that stupid obedience necklace around his neck either.

There's a flash of light and soon he finds himself with a group of strangers who clearly weren't human. He's tempted to say demon but considering the magical beasts that exist in this world...

"We got another new team-mate and he's got a staff on his back, wonderful, we got a shaman, finally." One of the females state in a drawl voice as she checks something off. "What are you..." He stops as he glances at his back to find that he did indeed have a staff strapped to his back.

"Here, you can use this as a mirror." A guy says and he takes the offered shield. Flipping it around, he finds himself staring at his face and finds that he's gained the same features as they got, which are pointed ears on the side of his head, red mane of hair with the tips of his bangs having yellow touch to them, and three creamy colored horns jetting out of his forehead with the center one being the largest of the three.

He hands the shield back to the guy as he tries to make sense of any of this. "Same bracelet too, only got an image of a feather where we got a fang or claw." Another muses after taking his left hand to study the bracelet that's got the stone he received at breakfast on it.

"I'm Raider Music Thrill, just call me Thrill though." Thrill says and the one who lent him the shield also introduces himself, "Grunt Voice Away, Voice for short."

"I don't recall anyone having those names..." He finally says with a frown and then says, "Shaman Love's Gift... Love's Gift... damn it, I'm Love's... call me Gift or better yet, just call me Shaman."

"Yea, we all experienced that when we tried to say our own names." Voice tells him and he just sighs. "We've decided to call ourselves the Tridents." Thrill says and within the next few seconds, another three arrived in the room and he notices that two of the three have axes like Voice's in their belts and the last one has a claymore strapped to their back.

"Oh joy, a raider and two more grunts." That girl says and it wasn't long before others with shields offer the new comers their polished shields to get a good view of their new looks.

"What is she?" He asks finally as he sits next to Voice since he has noticed that she lacks the usual weapons of the raiders and grunts. "Her? Magus Crow Doom. She's also been appointed as troop leader simply because she was the first one to arrive."

By the time a clock on the door slowly finishes its count down, they now number about fifty some with the bulk of the troop being made up of grunts and raiders. There were another two shamans who appeared, a smith, two scouts, four more magus, and then three beast-tamers.

Once the clock and door vanishes, a voice that's slightly higher pitched says, **"For the sake of Yinuma, the father of all, you have been tasked to locate and secure the archway of Beyond that will lead shall allow your people to return from your exile, leading you back to your races homeworld. Once it is under your control your magus shall set up a secure teleportation gate to allow your people to arrive at the archway safely, so remember to protect not just your magus but your shamans for they are the more then capable of resurrecting fallen comrades."**

With that, they find a huge hall beyond the room and they slowly began to exit out of the room. "Huh, it's not so different then last year's Halloween prank, only that we in larger groups and better armed." The smith known as Ice, short for Burning Ice.

"If you say so." Beast-tamer Puzzling Wall says and he had to agree with that sentiment.

Kasumi

She glances at the group of beings with navy blue skin with silver lined tattoos, feline faced, and scorpion tailed. She could only guess that they're classmates who were also catch up in this prank of Kurama's. "Should we...?" Knight Red Eye wonders.

"We'll take up defensive positions and only attack if they attack us." Monk Flashing Storm states calmly and she grips her bow before glancing at the other rangers. "Should we move to stand behind the defensive lines, Storm?" She asks.

Storm glances at her, giving her a good view of his broad, reptilian face with purple eyes. His scale color is much more flamboyant then theirs with it being primarily purple and teal. Although his claws and spines were orange in color, the same as their own. _But then, there's only one Monk in the company._

"No, we don't want to provoke them, Ranger Steel Heart." Storm says slowly and she nods in understanding. _I wonder Kurama managed to have pre-made names assigned to us..._ She wonders as their commander turns to watch the other company as she gives their own forces a sweeping gaze before staring at their usual guests.

Hiei

He frowns as he checks the time on the PPD strapped to his wrist and finds that the date was still October 31 of the year 1988 with the time being nine something pm. "Well, that was fun." Charlie Weasley says as the teen, like the other non-Kirin members of their unit, checks out the thumb size diamond.

His own diamond is resting comfortably in his pant's pocket. "I wonder how they got their hands on these!" A Slytherin fourth year wonders. "It involved using coal, a lot of pressure, and a lot of trial and error." Shippo states calmly.

"Well, we did win the quest so it's only right we get some kind of reward for running through that rat race." A Ravenclaw remarks and many of the others nod in agreement with that sentiment.

**November 1, 1988**  
Kasumi

"So let's get this straight... All you really need is coal, an air tight box, and then a spell that causes titanic pressure to create your own diamonds." Bill repeats and she nods.

"Muggles have been creating their own gems using science and those are often called synthetic gemstones. But they're still technically not imitations since all lab created gems are still composed of the same chemical content and physical characteristics as natural occurring ones. So, no, there isn't anything to mark them as being fake." She tells the two Weasley brothers.

"How would you know all of this?" Charlie asks and she smiles a bit before replying, "I'm the one who created them after all. I started doing so when I was in my fourth year."

The two couldn't help but stare at her with wide eyes before taking a look at the various equipment around her. "That reminds me... Where are we?" Bill asks.

"I guess we're technically in the Chamber of Secrets, though I do believe that Dumbledore knows the general location of one of the direct entrances leading into the very halls of Hogwarts." She says before adding, "He also knows that the beast within it is a Basilisk since the girl who was killed by her is still haunting the place where she died."

"So he kill it?" Charlie asked and she shakes her head. "No, he just didn't do any, pretty much sat on his findings and let the wrong student get all of the blame."

The pair look stunned before Charlie asks while Bill seems to be thinking about it, "And who took the fall?" She looks him calmly in the eye as she answers, "Why, Hagrid of course."

"You're kidding, right?" The two ask at the same time but she sighs as she shakes her head. "No, we even check the school records and even spoken to the ghost for the right year."

She pauses before adding with a sigh, "The sad part is, if our conclusion are to be believed, the young Voldemort is responsible for setting Onyx loose simply because Voldemort is the only known Parcelmouth who would have been around during that time."

"So Hagrid is the first victim of... Voldemort?" Bill asks and she sighs. "We don't really know, although we do have a lead in the form of a Tom M. Riddle but, well, we're have run into some trouble tracking down his past and what happened after he left Hogwarts."

"Just how is it you guys seem to know any of this?" Bill asks with a frown. "Well... let's just say that Naruto never did warm to Dumbledore and, well, the man never really tried make it up to us or even attempt to apologize for them either. I mean, would you really expect a house with only one member in it to be a heavy weight to win the House Cup?"

"I always wondered why your house was included in that race... I mean, you guys still do have a lot of members..." Bill admits and Charlie muses, "Or why your house name never seems to appear on the Quidditch pitch schedule..."

"He's been trying to use our house as a moral booster, you know, as long as we kept coming into last place the other houses can say, 'at least we're not Kirin! They're always in last place.' You remember when our number became seven? Naruto had to hear about us participating in the Quidditch Cup from the Sorting Hat and I've got it on good account that none of the teachers ever planned to tell us of our sudden admission into the Quidditch Cup." She tells them and the two sport stormy looks before it finally dawns of them about why accidents happened that year to the other Quidditch team members.

"I never knew..." Bill admits with a slight wince and she sighs. "You do have to remember that you and pretty much everyone else grew up hearing their parents praise the man as if he's the second coming of Merlin." She points out.

For a while, silence reigned as she continues to brew a few boil cure potions. After all, they do a great job of getting rid of acme.

"So... What have you guys done to the Basilisk?" Charlie asks before Bill remarks, "Onyx?"

She sighs and she taps a rune scheme on the table next to the potion cauldron to summon a golem to take over. Within seconds, she's got the lab coat and safety goggles off before leading them through various tunnels until they reached the main underground 'hall' where the stone head is resting.

Taking the small collection of leather headbands off of a hook that's hidden with a special spell, she hands one to each Weasley brother as she says, "We've made some startling progress in creating Parceltongue translators so we can speak with Onyx without resorting to a control device."

"Wicked." Charlie says and once the headbands were on their head, she hisses out, _:Open.:_

The lower mouth does as its told and it wasn't long before Onyx hisses out without coming out of the comfy room within the head, _:What do you want, bear?:_

_:I have two new people who wish to met you, oh Queen of the wood.:_ She says and Onyx hisses softly before she comes out of the statue with her eyes closed.

"That's one huge snake..." Bill admits and Charlie seems to be admiring Onyx's size. Then as Onxy comes close, she touches Onyx's nose and the Basilisk opens her eyes, causing the two teens to give an alarmed cry.

"Oh, hush, we've set the veil spell on her eyes to keep their magic from effecting us." She says, though she figures that Onyx is clearly enjoying the panic her simple action has caused.

"Veil spell?" Charlie asks and she nods. "How else do you expect your ancestors to not only create but work with her kind?" She asks and the two glance at each other before shrugging.

_:Odd smell on the other one, what beast is that?:_ Onyx asks after flickering her tongue to sniff to two. _:Red Panda.:_ She informs Onyx and then Onyx draws away to yawn.

Ti didn't take her long to summon one of the potion treats that's filled with the minerals and vitamins that the snake still needs, after all, it'll be years before Onyx's body recovers from her centuries long hibernation and starvation. _:I hope it taste better then the last one.:_ Onyx states as she eyes the cow size treat.

_:The last one was suppose to taste like goat, this one is suppose to taste like rabbit.:_ She tells Onyx politely and it didn't take long before the gel treat is swallowed by Onyx. After a few seconds, Onyx says, _:Not as good as that chicken flavored one.:_

With that, Onyx slithers back into the mouth of the statue and with a hissing command, the mouth closes, leaving them alone once more in the ever-flame torches lighting up the 'hall'.

"Is she always like that?" Charlie asks and she nods. "You have to remember that until recently, she's been in hibernation for centuries with only a short waking period about forty-fifty years ago. We're slowly fixing her under fed state by feeding her the minerals and vitamins she hasn't had during her slumber. She's even slowly beginning to trust us because of that." She tells the two.

"Is that veil spell an easy one?" Bill asks as they return to her lab. "Very easy, although it needs to be renewed every New Moon or so though." She informs the two.

"Thanks for... well... being honest with us." Charlie says and she nods. "How's Naruto doing?" Bill asks.

"He's doing well, although I think he's doing some filming to fill in the gasps of his latest movie he's putting together." She says and Bill raises his eyebrow. "Is it a sequel to Incoming Tide?" Bill asks.

"No, he's going to be using last years prank recordings to create a series of movies, likely based on the various 'groups' questing within that mansion." She says and Charlie blinks but then smiles slightly. "Do you know if there's any recordings from this year's prank?" Charlie asks.

"You'd have to ask Kurama." She says and after wards, the topics that came up weren't very serious before they use the teleporter to return to Kirin's common rooms, leaving her alone once more within her private lab.

**December 23, 1988**

"Tao!" Yachiru cries out at the sight of the blond and within seconds, Yachiru has engulfed Naruto with a huge hug. "Good to see you too, Yachiru!" Naruto says as he returns the hug.

"Black!" Duo shouts as the large dog pounces on the guy as a greeting. Black just barks in reply while not getting up from pinning the preteen to the floor, the tail just keeps wagging.

"So you're the infamous Naruto." Yusuke says as the preteen sizes the young man up. "Infamous, huh? When did I become infamous?" Naruto wonders as he glances over towards Kurama and then to her.

"Well, you were in charge of pranks." Yukina points out, a loud bark echos and she glances to find Sirius Black still in his Animagus form giving chase to Duo Maxwell in his Animagus form, that of a ferret. She smiles as Duo manages to evade Black's attempts at picking him up in his mouth.

At her feet, Gin sighs and she gives her creation a little nudge as people begin to head towards the huge living room. Gin looks up at her and she smiles at the silver golem and with a wolfy grin, Gin bounds off after the two with his own tail wagging. She watches as Gin manages to roll Black over onto his side and gives a bark of excitement.

She turns around as Black moves to try and wrestle Gin onto the ground, she could only guess whether or not Duo has managed to slip pass the two 'dogs'. She already notes that the House Elves have already put their luggage away and could only guess that the same is true for Yachiru's two pets since Marble likely found the Owlry to stay in while Kirara and Pu likely were resting in their 'partner's' room or are waiting for them in the living room.

**December 24, 1988**  
Inu-Yasha

He couldn't help but watch the blond who not only has the scent of a raven, which he had been told to expect since Naruto was a raven Animagus, but the faint odor of a Yoko, he guesses Yoko since he can only compare the scent with the two other Yoko of the group and it was a very faint scent at that.

_Maybe he's got a quarter of Yoko blood in him?_ He wonders as the ex-student speaks of the various letters addressed to the Green Beast productions for a sequel to Incoming Tide. He had seen that movie during the first weekend of October, he hadn't particularly like it considering he grew up in a world full of demons and was half-demon himself.

He isn't the only one who's been eyeing the blond, most of Kurama friends were as well. He did give the occasional looks at Sirius Black and at Remus Lupin, but that's morely because Sirius was either at the center of some prank and Remus was taking the time to lecture the other man or busy conspiring with Duo while Remus looks on.

Finally silence seems to fall among them and he takes a sip of his chilled butter beer. He finally asks, "Which grandparent was the Yoko?"

Iruka and Shizune send him a disapproving look while Kagome just shakes her head slightly as Shippo and Kurama just trade bemused looks. "Neither I believe since I do believe that the Yoko no Kyuubi preferred to kill every human that crossed his path." Naruto says before glancing at him before glancing expectedly at Yusuke and his male friends, with the exception of Kurama.

"Is he a local demon lord where you're from?" Miroku asks curiously. "Wouldn't know and I doubt I'll ever bother to ask him." Naruto admits and he frowns.

"The Kyuubi was sealed in Naruto within hour of his birth by his father." Shizune admits and he blinks as he tries to understand the concept of why anyone would want to seal a demon away within a baby human, in particular as to why Naruto's not possessed by said demon.

"Why not seal this demon in a cave or in a rock?" Miroku asks and Naruto sighs. "Well, for one, the village was currently under attack at on that particular day and monks and priest or priestess with that kind of ability are very rare as before I met Kagome, I only knew of one priestess like that." Naruto says.

"And there had been, in the past, eight other demons in other villages where they would then seal those same demons within babies to create human 'weapons'. It also doesn't help that the Kyuubi is suppose to be the strongest demon of the nine so they didn't believe an inanimate object could contain him. Hence why I was selected to house him." Naruto finishes.

"How about if we start at the beginning to fill in the unanswered questions you have. After all, tonight might as well be a good time to begin exchanging life stories." Shizune says as she holds up her hand.

"Go ahead." He says and Yusuke nods in agreement.

**Farewell Feast**  
Hiei

"Is this prank even necessary any more?" He asks Heero and the second year just shrugs. "It began in Naruto's first year so..." Kagome just shrugs slightly as they watch as those members of the staff slowly gain more inhuman looks.

"Look at their hands, just how far are those fingers going to stretch?" Sango wonders as their cloths finally vanish as skin begins to stretch from between the fingers and their sides. Pointed teeth get revealed every time the teachers open their mouths.

Fur or scales began to sprout as their newly developed muscles and newly altered bones were finish with their changes. Once their new skin covering finishes growing, some, like Dumbledore, begin to sprout some kind of element with fire being in Dumbledore's case, gas for Snape, and leaves in Sprout's case.

Cameras flash as various students take pictures of their altered staff members in the form of demonic looking bats.

**So Ends Year Seven of the Kirin House**


	28. House Kirin Year 8

**Hogwarts Express**  
**September 1, 1989**  
**Narrator: Kagome Higurashi, Ranma Saotome, and Ino Yamanaka**

Ino

_Ok... who are these weirdos?_ She wonders as she watches as this kid sporting an unfashionable pigtail looks ready to bolt at the first sign of movement while the two girls eyeing each other, another with a page hair looks highly comfortable as some guy in a white robe hugs her, and the final one looks like she's about to erupt.

"So... this is the famous Kirin compartment eh?" A red haired kid asks after opening the door. "The what now?" Neji asks and it wasn't long before she's seeing double.

"Excuse me, I need to get through." Another voice says and the twin red haired preteens move out of the way to allow some silver dog statue with strange tattoos enter. The dog glances around at them before asking, "Is there a Ryoga Hibiki presence?"

"I'm Ryoga and why do you want to know?" The kid with the tiger striped bandanna asks. "Kasumi instructed me to give you a special gift. I'm Gin by the way." Gin says as he bows his head politely at Ryoga.

"Wait, why can't Kasumi come herself?" The girl with the page hair cut asks and Gin gives her a passing glance before approaching Ryoga. "Could you please stick out the hand you don't write with?" Gin asks and Ryoga looks confused but does has he's asked.

Gin then coughs something up and within seconds of hitting Ryoga's hand, it borrows directly into it. Ryoga yelps and waves his hand about as Gin backs away. "What did you do to him?!" The angry girl roars and the silver dog gives her a disapproving look.

"He's only surprised, not in pain." Gin says and Ryoga just nods in agreement. "This feels really weird but it doesn't hurt, not one bit." Ryoga says as the metal finally stops growing out of his skin, forming a very stylish watch with small gemstones as buttons around the glass face.

"What is it for, if you don't mind my asking." Pigtail guy asks and Gin smiles at kid, clearly approving of his use of manners, she notes.

"It's a GPPD, it stands for Global Portable Positioning Device. It should counter act your directional curse and if it doesn't, well, it can act as a radio and tell you where you are in the world. If it doesn't work, we'll likely add an upgrade so we can teleport you back to Hogwarts or to the manor." Gin explains and Ryoga looks dumbfounded.

"But why did it have to grow out of his skin like that?" Sakura asks and Gin sighs before answering, "Its so it can never come off since if he does take if off, there's a good possibility that it would get stolen or left behind. It'll also adapt if he finds himself being transformed against his will into something with a very tiny wrist."

Ryoga looks alert while angry girl just frown. "Is that a problem around here?" Ryoga asks and Gin does a doggy shrug. "It depend on who's pranking you or if they're just being spiteful." Gin says.

"I remember! There was this one prank where the student would transfigure guys into horse and then charge girls for the chance to ride their choice 'stud'." One of the twins says with a broad grin. "That was one of our favorite stories." The other agrees with a smile.

"That doesn't explain why Kasumi couldn't come to deliver this herself." The girl with a page hair cut says, clearly annoyed that her previous question hasn't been answered. Gin moves to sit by the door, continuing to ignore the girl with the page hair cut.

"Kasumi... isn't she a Prefect?" One of the twins muse and the other nods. "I do believe so, George, I believe so."

"What's a Prefect, if you don't mind my asking." Tenten asks and the twin glance at each other. "Prefects are students who have been given a certain degree of power to help enforce rules and are capable of taking away house points." George says and the other twin adds, "They also patrol after hours and have their own bathroom."

The door opens and another red head arrive along with a young woman. "Hi Gin, I take it Kasumi send you here?" The girl says and Gin nods. "She did, Kurama. Nice to see you, Yukina." Gin says as he turns his head to look at the two young adults.

"Ah, I see, so you guys know Kasumi?" Kurama asks and there's a frown on his face. "She's our sister." Angry girl growls and Yukina says, "And you must be Akane then? Let's see, the one getting hug is Nabiki, the one hugging her must be Mousse."

Mousse blinks and then puts his glasses on, once they're on, the be-robed preteen backs away while Nabiki gives the preteen an icy look. "Nervous one is Ranma, the one with Kasumi's gift is Ryoga, which leaves the one with long blue hair to be Shampoo, and the final one to be Ukyo." Yukina finishes up and that group all nods while Kurama studies them for a few seconds.

"You lot all know Naruto, Iruka, Shizune, and Anko." The red head says and she finds herself nodding in agreement. "Well, its unlikely you'll see Naruto at all for the most part of the year. He doesn't go to Hogwarts." Kurama says.

"He flunked out didn't he?" Sakura asks and Kurama, Yukina, and the twins all blink at the question but before they could say anything, somebody calls for Kurama and Yukina. "Well, we've got to be heading off, we do have Prefect meeting to attend."

As they're about to go, Kurama pauses to turn to one particular person. "And Nabiki? We will know if you try to blackmail any of your fellow house-mate while we're away, particularly if you try and hold old 'debts' over certain people's heads. You've been warned." Kurama says as he stares intently at Nabiki as if she were a mouse and he a hawk.

Nabiki seems to swallow and she makes a note to keep a particularly close eye on said preteen. The door closes and Nabiki seems to find herself the center of a lot of attention. "Seems like you've been warned. Makes me wonder what happens if you ignore warning, huh?" Shampoo muses with a slight predatory smile.

"Leave my sister alone, you bimbo!" Akane growls but Shampoo clearly doesn't view said girl as a threat. Ryoga seems to glances between the two while Ranma just sighs.

"Well, that was informative, wasn't it Fred?" George says and Fred nods. "Indeed it was, George, indeed it was."

"Looks like you're usual style of operating isn't going to cut it around here, huh sugar?" Ukyo says with a very satisfied grin which only causes Akane to growl and to begin to have a red flame appear around her frame.

She raises an eyebrow at this and glances over at Lee then back at Akane. "So... who are you guys and who were those others that Kurama mentioned?" Ranma asks, likely trying to relieve the tension within the compartment.

"Ranma! Are you flirting with those girls?" Akane demands and she's not the only one to frown at Akane's reaction, let alone the fact that Ranma seems to cringe every so slightly. "Well now, looks like your sister isn't the only one we've got to look out for, huh? Particularly if you think that's flirting." Temari states and Akane just growls at Temari and then settles for glaring at Ranma.

The door opens and Anko walks in with a group of guys. "Looks like we arrived just in time, huh? She really does look ready to blow her top and there's your source of nervousness too, Q-man." Anko says as the teenage special Jonin glances from Akane to Ranma and back again with a sneer on her face at the look of Akane ready to blow.

"Hey! Q-man is my nick name, Anko." The one with the braid says before introducing himself, "I'm Duo Maxwell, I may run, I may hide but I never tell a lie!"

"You're an Anime character!" Ukyo shouts while Nabiki just stares dumbly at the group. "You're all Anime characters from Gundam Wing!" Ukyo adds after glancing at the guys with Anko, pointing to the guys.

"And you lot star in an Anime called Ranma 1/2, but you don't see us gawking at you, do you?" Duo points out which causes the others to drop their jaws in surprise.

"Gin, would you mind giving us the film equipment please?" The blond asks Gin and Gin moves from his position at the door to stand before the blond. Within seconds something drops to the ground and the one with the really long bangs closes the door.

It wasn't long before sticks were out and they find themselves standing, which includes her lazy ass team-mates. By the time it dawns on her that the size within the compartment has increased, the twins were asking Anko about what spells they use for not just expanding the size within the compartment but on creating the two types of steps.

"What are you doing?" Lee asks and Duo answers, "Why, creating a movie theater within this compartment."

It wasn't long before the door opens and in steps another group of people, only this time, Iruka and Shizune were part of this new group. "So, are we late to help pick the movie selection?" The older girl with blue tinted hair.

"No, you're just in time, Kagome." The blond says as the guy with the stony expression somehow causes tiny furniture to enlarge as soon as it touches the ground. Seconds later, she witnesses it duplicating on all of the large steps.

"I so got to learn how to do that." She decides and Gin says, "Well, you do have your own wand, so you can easily learn how to do the same."

"You mean this is a wand?" She asks Gin as she shows him the stick that was in her pocket and the silver dog nods. "That is more then likely your wand."

**Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony**  
Ranma

One by one, he watches as those others that he arrived in that compartment with got called up to be sorted by wearing the singing hat of all things. He did have to wonder if those two Hyuugas were blind or something but pushed it out of his mind as he reminds himself that as soon as she could, he just knew that Nabiki will be trying to make money using him or trying to get him in her debt so she can use him.

To say the least, he didn't enjoy that prospect but he couldn't really see anyway to avoid her since she knew him too well. He could only hope that those others will keep her in line but he didn't get his hopes up since it likely won't be long before she gets something on them to keep them from keeping her in line.

"Saotome, Ranma." He jerks slightly but with a sheepish grin, he walks up to the stool so he can be sent to Kirin house.

_"I see, so that's what you believe will happen, huh? Let me reassure you that they won't give her any kind of control and let me point out that it doesn't matter what she thinks she has on them, they won't allow her to operate like she has in the past. After all, Kasumi's already agreed that if Nabiki 'slides' as it were, they're allowed to use certain means to... correct her behavior."_ The hat informs him.

_"Like Kasumi would agree to that."_ He thinks with a snort but the hat says, _"I believe she has and even signed a contract to that extent just encase she begins to 'slide' back onto her previous behavior with such familiar people around her, particularly her sisters around."_

He blinks and couldn't help but feel... comforted by this bit of information. _"I also see you're a bit fearful of magic itself and don't try to say that you fear nothing, young one, only a fool would ignore and forget the lessons they've learnt from their experience with such things."_ The hat says and he flushes, but, again, fines himself comforted by this hat's words.

_"Magic can create wonderful things but it can cause chaos as well. It's all about intent."_ The hat tells him and then sighs as it adds, _"There is a branch of magic that you might want to begin studying as soon as possible, it's called Occlumency. It's a defensive practice of securing ones mind from the art of mind reading."_

_"And yes, there are those that practice Legilimency, the art of mind read, here at Hogwarts. I shouldn't be surprise if that Nabiki girl tries to learn it as soon as she finds out about it. She's clearly got control issues as does another two I could name."_ The hat tells him and he decides it really would be in his best interest to learn this Occlumency before Nabiki ever learns about this Legilimency.

"Kirin!" The hat tells the world at large and before he slips if off, the hat adds, "And I'll be meeting weekly with young Saotome here until I say otherwise."

Whispers erupt from the students as he hurries to the right table. As the people recover from their shock, another name is called, leaving him to sigh in relief. "Don't worry about it, we all use to get strange looks whenever we got sorted into Kirin." Yukina tells him and it takes him a few seconds to realize that he's sitting between Kasumi and Yukina.

A glance in Akane shows that she's not pleased but he's surprised to note that Shampoo, Ukyo, Mousse, and Ryoga look like they're thinking deeply about something and he decides its likely because of their own private conversation with the talking hat. He watches as Akane blinks, looks confused before shrinking into herself.

It takes him a few seconds to realize that most of the older girls' were staring disapprovingly at Akane but he just sighs as he pushes it out of his mind, for now at least. He's just happy that he's not sitting anywhere close to his usual group of people.

He hears a familiar name get called and it takes him a second to realize that the guy walking up to the stool was one of those twins who had arrived at the compartment before Gin had. "Gryffindor!" The hat says after a few seconds and the table with red and gold cheers.

"Weasley, George." The last twin walks up to the stool and puts on the hat. A minute later, the hat growls, "Kirin and yes, your twin brother did agree with my idea. Now get yourself to that house!"

George sighs but does as he's told while the whole hall just stares in a dumbstruck way as George Weasley walks to their table. Suddenly an older red head stands up and begins to clap, soon Fred joins his older brother and it didn't take long before a few more students were clapping and cheering until George sits down next to the pink haired girl named Sakura and the one named Kiba.

"Well, its only right that a Weasley finds themselves at our table." Kagome muses and Kasumi sighs. "Bill and Charlie are honorary members." Kasumi agrees, which seems to end the matter before it even begun.

**September 2, 1989**  
Kagome

_How did I get talked into this?_ She wonders as she watches as the skulls around Naruto's friends get thinned out fairly quickly while the Kasumi's sister's group took a great deal longer, although Ranma seems to have collected canine types if she's any kind of judge, particularly after glancing at the thin flip chart that's listing the names of which animal skulls are which.

_Oh look, Kiba is done already._ She thinks with a sigh as the picture next to Kiba's name displays the image of particular breed. _African Wild Dog, huh? Very interesting._ She admits as she watches as Kiba slowly wakes but before he could shout out, Kiba is transformed into his Animagus form.

Finally, Kiba comes trotting towards her and once she reaches her, he transforms back into his usual form. "What's an African Wild Dog?" Kiba asks before looking at the picture by his name.

A sheet detailing said animal appears as soon as Kiba's wand touches the picture. Kiba sits on the newly arrived chair as he reads the information provided by their research in creating other sheets like that one that Kiba's reading.

**October 31, 1989**  
Ino

"So, why did you spend the night here Fred?" She finds herself asking as she finds that most of the older members of their house have decided to go use the co-ed pool then to have breakfast first thing this morning.

Reason why she's not sitting with her team-mates or with the other girls was because she wanted somebody different to talk with today and her usual choices were currently enjoying the pool. "It's Halloween." George tells her as if that should explain everything.

"So?" She asks and the twins blink. "Today is when a castle wide prank will commence." Fred says and she frowns. "You helped Duo with another prank then?"

The two laugh as they shake their heads in denial. "Today's the day when a certain Kirin member traditionally pranks everyone in the castle, with the exceptions of the House Elves and pets." George says and she blinks slowly as she begins to realize that they're very serious about this.

"How do you know it's a member of our house?" She asks. "Well for one thing, it's become a very common occurrence at Hogwarts." Fred says and George adds, "Same with the year end prank that's pulled on the teachers."

"And if you haven't notice, Kurama has been fairly busy." Fred tells her. "Technically nobody really knows who's behind the prank." George says.

"Then how do you figure that Kurama is behind this years prank?" She asks and the two sigh. "Because the older years have been talking about who's going to be Kurama's most likely successor as Kirin traditional prank planner and executor." Fred answers.

"A position that was held by the very first and founding member of our house and was passed down to Kurama the year before the founder graduated Hogwarts." George says. "Tao." The two say in unison.

"Just what does this position entail?" She asks after a few seconds. "They are the one who's always behind the prank pulled on Halloween and at the Farewell Feast." Fred says and George nods.

"Then everybody knows it's our house behind these two pranks?" She asks and the twins shake their heads. "No or else the teachers would be hounding all of us around those two times." George says.

"Bill did suspect but he never pursued it nor has Charlie." Fred admits. "And how come nobody beyond your brothers have considered it?" She asks.

"Simple, why would a prankster allow himself to be affected by the prank that he's pulled?" The two say in perfect unison. "You mean people are really that stupid in the Wizarding world?" She asks and the two nod.

"It's why we've managed to get such a basic understanding of potions, really. Nobody monitors potion making but they do monitor muggleborn, underage wand magic." Fred explains and she snorts softly as she files that away.

"Dumbledore suspects, doesn't he?" She asks and the twins shrug. "Even if he does, he really doesn't have much in the way of evidence or he's just embarrassed that his school continues to be caught up by said, yearly traditional prank."

"Bill and Charlie both still own their miniature dragons from this one year's prank where their real bodies became cloth and stuffing and those little dragon plushies not only housed your mind but became real." Fred says and George nods.

"I know Kurama, Yukina, and Kasumi still have theirs." George says and she stopped herself from asking how he knew that. "Sounds like something Kankuro would be interested in." Gaara remarks from behind her since her back is to the door.

"He's the one who wears that makeup that finally caused the teachers to ignore his... 'self expression'?" Fred asks and Gaara and her both snort softly. "Yes, that's him." She says and Gaara moves to the side of her and sits down.

"Well, since you two are so knowledgeable about Kirin house traditions, what does Kurama have planned for this years prank?" She asks after Gaara's breakfast arrives.

"Beats us. Duo's been unsuccessful in finding out." Fred answers and Gaara frowns.

"Prank?" Gaara asks in a drawn out way before glancing at each of them in turn. She sighs and wonders if anyone of their house year even knew what's to come this day.

Ranma

"Well, it could have been worst." He muses and his 'fellow' satyrs turn to look at them as they're drifting down the river on their make shift raft while a group of humans fire arrows at them. "Oh? And what could be worst then having arrows come whistling towards us?"

"We could be going over a waterfall." He points out and the others just blink before Cone the blond satyr nods in agreement. "He's right, we could be heading over a waterfall."

"Fine, we'll give you that." Stone, AKA Ryoga, admits. He can ID Ryoga because his GPPD can be spotted on his left wrist, although it looks kind of broken since it's been reading the same time for the last few minutes now. _We might be in a time ward..._

"So, what's our goal?" Arrow asks and with a sigh, he takes out another scroll that's resting in his pouch. "Huh, this isn't another mission scroll. It seems to be list of seeds we need to gather before leaving the area before the humans make these specimens extinct." He says and he hands it over to Arrow, who then scowls.

"What's the point of all this anyway?" Arrow demands as the black haired satyr hands the list to another member of their party.

"I believe our overall task is just what that odd voice told us. We're to gather up as many magical plants, living creatures, and weapons before the invading humans begin to destroy said the first two and use the later against the 'Elder' races like us, centaurs, and etc." Flint says and the only earns Flint a look from Arrow before Arrow glances back at the distant point where the human archers waited.

_I do believe that Kurama is using this prank as a learning experience too. Showing what things are like on the other shoe sort to speak._ He adds privately to himself, kind of glad that he had managed to keep quiet about the upcoming prank, although none of the Kirin member beyond the Weasley twins really seem to be expecting this prank.

**December 22, 1989**  
Ino

"And this is where we're living during the summer months." Kasumi says and she couldn't help but be a bit impressed considering it's winter and it looks like within the wall of the manor, snow hasn't lasted long the lawn.

"How come there isn't any snow within the property?" Shampoo asks and for the first time, the older students of Kirin house glance around in slight surprise before somebody mutters a spell.

"Tao perfected the weather wards within the first week it started to snow." A pink haired woman says as she steps out from the shadows of the wall, causing a lot of them to jump slightly. "He's having some slight difficulties making the weather within here match a spring or summer day but, well, at least we're at a nice autumn day temperature."

"Hey, are you related to Sakura?" Ukyo asks and she blinks before she glances from her best friend and then to the woman with pink hair, a color both seems to share. "I'm from a different world, even if we share one characteristic. I'm Yachiru by the way."

"Where's Tao?" Kurama asks and Yachiru raises a slight eyebrow, as if slightly surprise by something. "He's out on a ride with War at this moment. I do believe that's him over there." Yachiru says before something seems to dawn on her, which causes her to grin.

"Well, come along, Black and Remus are currently playing basketball in our new multi-purpose courtyard and I believe that Su Xia is busy watching their attempts at the game." Yachiru says and then, with her hands clapped behind her, she takes the lead.

"Come along, I'm sure you all can't wait to met Tao." Yachiru says once her back is to them. She glances at the others but in the end, Gaara begins to follow the older members of their house and they all began to fall into step behind him.

She goes through the list of things they know about this 'founder' and she found it wasn't long enough or rather, in the physical description department there's nothing beyond the fact that he's not even in his early twenties and is considered handsome by most of the girls, including Anko.

Once they arrive, they find a stable door open and she concludes that Tao's within the stable. "Hey Tao! You might want to come and see the latest batch of first years!" Yachiru calls out as soon as she reaches the open doors.

"Coming!" A rich, deep voice calls out and she watches as something moves within the shadows of the door until... "Naruto-kun?" Hinata says at the very built blond standing at the doorway.

She feels her jaw drop as the man nods. "Wow, you guys look young. I can't believe I was that age not once but twice." Naruto says as he studies them.

"It seems like decades ago." Kurama agrees and Sakura just repeats a few times, "But... but... how... your... this can't be!"

"Can't be what, Sakura?" Naruto asks as he glances at his team-mate with a slightly raised eyebrow. "They never told us you..." Sakura just moves her hand up and down, clearly not believing the sight before her.

"That I graduated from Hogwarts?" Naruto guesses and she nods along with the others. "They've been referencing to me as Tao, haven't they?" Naruto asks with a roll of his eyes and a slight shaking of his head, before glancing over at the older students.

Students who were clearly enjoying their reactions. "Just how did you end up with that, as your nickname?" Kiba asks and Naruto just sighs. "Well, for one thing, a lot of people seemed to be very happy mauling my name and when I lost it, I had thrown Tao out there and within hours, that became the name most people refer to me ask." Naruto explains.

"They don't do that with us..." Tenten says and Naruto sighs. "That's because of Yachiru's actions whenever somebody mauled her first or last name. I mean, she held up Snape's class once and wouldn't let him continue until he pronounced her name right." Naruto says as he sends a slight smile at Yachiru, who looks slightly embarrassed that he recalled that.

"So... what kind of horse is War?" Mousse asks and Naruto cocks his head to the side before motioning as he says, "Well, come and take a look for yourself. And if you want something similar, well, we've long since had an arrangement with the House Elves about the stable at Hogwarts and our... 'pets'."

It seems that the second years, too, were interested and followed Mousse into the stable. "What the hell is that?!" Inu-Yasha demands at the sight of a very scaly horse who seems to be busy drinking from a trench.

"That's War, he's an experimental breed that I got during my second year along with a pair of six foot long otters, you remember those, right?" Naruto says and Inu-Yasha nods in a dumbfounded way.

"But the rules say that first years are only allowed either an owl, cat, rat, or toad!" Akane says and Naruto nods in agreement. "Yes, _first_ year are only allowed said animals, there's nothing saying that a _second_ year and up can't have something that's not any of those critters." Naruto says, stressing the words first and second.

"And yes Kuwabara, I got that kitten you wanted, although I couldn't forward her because she had gotten sick and should be more then recovered enough for travel once Christmas break is over." Naruto says, glancing at the carrot top preteen.

"Can I see her?" Kuwabara asks and Naruto says, "She's been staying in your room so she can get use to your scent."

And with that, Kuwabara seemingly vanished from their group, leaving them with Naruto and a scaly horse who seems to be glancing at them, as if blaming them for something.

"Anyway, go explore the grounds, just don't harm anything 'scary' since its more then likely something the House Elves are raising for potion ingredients." Naruto tells them as the blond moves to War's side and begins to use a rag that's resting on the saddle to polish War's scaly hide.

**January 14, 1990**  
Ranma

"Nabiki's been caught trying to blackmail Shippo and Kagome." Kasumi tells him after gently shaking him awake. It takes him a few minutes to realize what that meant and likely why Kasumi came to see him.

"Which punishment are they going to preform?" He asks her as she comes to sit on the bed next to him. He found it hard to get a hand over both of her shoulders, not that Kasumi seemed to notice his inability.

"The ring is what they decided on." Kasumi says. "And I take it that Akane 'happened' to be 'awake' at the same time as Nabiki was meeting with the two?" He asks and Kasumi nods.

"Her third strike as the Americans say." He mutters and Kasumi nods. "I really hope that they would have behaved... but I guess their habits are too well ingrained for them to break them without help." Kasumi admits.

"I guess that same could be said about me." He admits and Kasumi laughs lightly as she shakes her head. "No Ranma, you're behavior really has changed as has most of the others, although in Ryoga's case, I had added a mood modifier since he was in a downward spiral with his depression."

He blinks before glancing sideways at the young woman sitting next to him. "Ukyo and Shampoo... they don't such a large quantity of bad habits, kind of like you actual in that regard." Before Kasumi adds with a slight sigh, "I can't say that Mousse doesn't but I think the sorting hat kind of opened his eyes and he's trying very hard to keep them open. He had been stalking Shampoo for a very long time and Yukina and Kagome have been there to help him when he really needs somebody to talk too."

"And he's comfortable with them because they're not involved in the mess and have that... aura about them." He adds and Kasumi nods. "Shampoo and Ukyo seem to find girl-friends among those ninja." He muses out loud, not that he's unhappy by that either, since it gave the two something new to do other then hound him.

"Did you know that a certain rat had arrived at Hogwarts when Percy Weasley arrived?" Kasumi says after more then a couple of minutes of silence. He's kind of glad for the change in the subject as he frowns.

"What kind?" He asks in a dry way and Kasumi seems to be slightly amused but says, "The Wormtail variety. Naruto offered Percy an exchange, his rat for this spiny lizard after giving Bumblebee a chance to capture said traitor. Of course we've never told Black or Remus about us having the... guy in our custody since we're fairly sure what they'd react."

"So when will you tell them?" He asks and Kasumi tells him, "When we manage to get the two to hook up with their friend's son. We figure they'd been more willing to hear our ideas about how to proceed from there."

Silence once more descends between them and he just couldn't help but feel as if he could have prevented this from happening. And yet, he felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, particularly since it means he can finally interact with the opposite gender without having to worry about getting beaten to a pulp.

**Farewell Feast**  
Kagome

"Err... ah! Imps!" Shippo says at the sight of the sudden flock of tiny look-a-like demonoids that were also members of the teaching staff. "Dungeons and Dragons, right?" Duo asks and Kurama just smiles ever so slightly.

"Don't be so surprised, Naruto's borrowed descriptions from said books before. Heck, I still remember Yachiru mentioning how he even arranged for Bumblebee to grow a second head. It was Yachiru's first year as a student too." Anko says and she had to nod in agreement, she had been there when Yachiru described that prank.

"Bill mentioned that one too. We though he was joking when he told us Bumblebee grew a second head." George says as they all watch as the imps seem to be arguing about something but in the end, they return to normal just as the last of the students exit out of the Great Hall.

**So Ends Year Eight of the Kirin House**


	29. House Kirin Year 9

**Hogwarts Express**  
**September 1, 1990**  
**Narrator: Daisuke Niwa, Takeru 'TK' Takaishi, and Shippo**

TK

"Is that a Patamon sitting in your lap?" The guy to his right asks and with a blink, he turns to regard him. "Would you believe that he's a stuff toy?" He asks as he notices the shaggy blue tinted hair.

"Hey, TK, isn't the one to your left Ryo?" Patamon asks, causing the three sitting across from him to jump slightly as the two girls pull in close to the only guy sitting there. He turns and finds that the kid to his left really does look like a younger version of Ryo.

"Hey... TK. Long time no see?" Ryo says and the Digimon resting on the other side of Ryo leans over to greet them. "Hi, I'm Monodramon and who's that to your right?"

"I'm Koichi." The guy to his right says. "Nice to met you, Monodramon." Koichi adds and he glances to the preteens across from them.

"I'm Daisuke and these two are Risa and Riku." Daisuke says and he nods in agreement, as he glances around the compartment. "So, what are those things?" The girl to Daisuke's left asks.

"We're Digimon, its short for Digital Monsters." Patamon answers as he begins to pat himself down. He finds only his D-3 and a... stick.

"Where's my cell phone?" He wonders before he turns to look above his head. "Mine's gone too." Koichi says the others seem to nod in agreement. He moves Patamon from his lap so he can take down the trunk.

As has he brings the trunk down, the compartment door opens and he finds himself staring at an Anime character from a popular show. "Inu-Yasha?" He wonders and the teen blinks before his amber eyes narrow.

"And you are?" Inu-Yasha asks. "Sorry, it's just... Well, there's an Anime with your name as the show's title." He says and Inu-Yasha just seems surprise before he slowly begins to shake his head as he turns to study the others, particularly the two Digimon.

"And what are they?" Inu-Yasha asks and it wasn't long before he finds the other members of the compartment looking at him with looks pretty much expecting him to answer. "They're Digimon." He says and Inu-Yasha hums thoughtfully as the half-demon muses, "Usually pets are sent on ahead..."

"We're not pets!" The two Digimon say indignantly as he picks Patamon off the chair so he can sit back down. "Well, that's going to cause the old Bumblebee a few problems." The silver haired teen muses with a slight smirk on his face.

"Where are we anyway?" Ryo asks before a floating trunk finally comes into the compartment. "On the Hogwarts Express." Inu-Yasha answers as a stick appears in the supposed 'fictional' character's hand. With a wave, the trunk literally flies up onto the rack and Inu-Yasha closes the door.

"Hogwarts as in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" Koichi asks in alarm and Inu-Yasha isn't the only one to glance questioningly at the partnerless preteen. "Oh, so at least one of you have heard of it." Inu-Yasha says.

"Well, it was a book series and they're still producing the films for the books..." Koichi says with a hint of redness in his cheeks. "Really? Have you read the books?" Inu-Yasha asks, clearly curious about this as Inu-Yasha takes a seat across from Koichi.

"It was about a kid named Harry Potter and his seven years of schooling." Koichi and Inu-Yasha's eyes light up. "What year is Harry in?" Koichi asks after a few seconds and Inu-Yasha answers, "Well... He hasn't started yet, next year will be when he attends."

"Oh..." Koichi seems to shrink into his seat. Before anyone could ask another question, the door of the compartment opens and he finds himself looking at another Anime character, only this time, he's not the only one to know him. "Ranma Saotome..." One of the twins says in a faint kind of way and Ranma seems to stiffen before glancing at Inu-Yasha.

"I think we're Anime characters in their worlds." The silver teen answers the unspoken question. "Oh! Like with those Gundam pilots." Ranma says.

"Which Gundam pilots?" Ryo asks and Ranma answers, "Those from Gundam Wing."

"So, not only are we in a book universe but we're in some kind of massive crossover too?" Risa, or Riku, demands and he just shrugs. "So... which house did you two get sorted into?" Koichi asks as Ranma repeats Inu-Yasha's actions with his own floating trunk.

"Kirin House." Inu-Yasha says and Koichi just looks confused. "The what house?"

"Well, to be fair, it was founded in the autumn 1981 when Naruto Uzumaki, also known as Tao, arrived as a student." Ranma explains. The name didn't mean anything to him or the others actually.

"What colors are Kirin house?" Riku, or Risa, asks. "Orange and brown." Ranma says and after a few seconds, the door opens and he's not that surprised to see more members of either of their shows but from Ryo's jerking, the other likely knows who the young man with red hair is.

It takes him a few seconds to realize that something isn't right but when it hits him, he realizes that the compartment seems... bigger. He listens in with half an ear as the new comers talk among themselves after making introductions. "Is it just me or does the compartment seem... bigger?" He whispers to Patamon.

"There's a permanent expanding charm on this compartment." Trowa says as the non-descriptive teen sits on Monodramon's other side. "Any way, everyone needs to be standing for this part." Duo says and in the end, they get to their feet.

Within seconds, the size of the compartment increase so much that he no longer can see the original sides of the compartment. Within the next few seconds, the space is transformed into a movie theater. Another group of students, these ones don't look much older then him, arrive.

Chaos reigns as people had movie suggest they would like to watch. _This is like some kind of dream or something._ He couldn't help but think as he moves to sit down on one of the lazy boy like chairs while still holding Patamon in his arms.

**Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony**  
Daisuke

"Monodramon." The graying professor calls out and he couldn't help but turn to stare at the much larger Digimon since they kind of ran out of kids to sort. It didn't take long before Ryo gives Monodramon a nudge that has the strange creature go up to the stool and instead of trying to sit on the stool, just puts on the hat.

A few seconds pass before the hat declares, "Kirin." Silence seems to greet and and Monodramon soon puts the hat back on the stool before he returns to his previous seat.

"Patamon." The professor lady calls out after a few minutes of silence and this causes the little orange Digimon to fly from TK's head to the stool. There are cries of cuteness at his passing.

Patamon crawls under the brim of the hat and a few seconds later the hat declares, "Kirin." The hat almost falls to the ground as Patamon manages to bite the brim.

Professor McGonagall moves to help Patamon in his struggles to keep the old, leatherish hat from falling to the ground. Once that's over, Patamon comes flying back to their table to rest on TK's head once more. "Guess you two are going to be students." Temari muses.

**Kirin Common Room**  
Shippo

_Hard to believe the latest non-human members of the house could look like that._ He thinks to himself as he studies the two Digimon, but particularly the one called Monodramon. It had surprised everyone to hear Monodramon get called up but he couldn't help but find it entertaining about the whole thing.

"I think we should put the two through Animagus training right now if only in hopes that they achieve a human form." Wufie says and Kagome points out, "We've never really asked for those that weren't human to go through that training. We just have to hope they get the same schedule as their partners."

"Fat chance of that happening, we all know that the man would be more then happy to cause a problem for us. Remember, he's the one who decide to bend the rules so that a pair of first years can play Quidditch when the house finally had seven members to its name." Anko reminds Kagome.

"Are you guys talking about Albus Dumbledore?" Koichi asks finally. "We are." Kurama admits after glancing around at the much older students.

"That doesn't sound like him, I mean, in the books he's a nice guy." Koichi says and he's not the only one puzzled by that. "Oh yea, you're the one that's read about this universe." Inu-Yasha says and he blinks at that.

"He is the one who left Sirius Black imprisoned without pressing for a trail." Iruka states and Shuzine adds, "He also left Wormtail in Percy's care and the rat would still be in his care if that trade hadn't gone through."

"He allowed Hagrid to take the fall for Tom Riddle." He decides add. "He left Harry in the care of relatives that their will said were unfit to take care of a wizarding child." Yukina adds calmly.

"He expected a house with less then ten members to win the House Cup." Quatre says and Koichi holds up his hands in a sort of surrendering gesture. "Ok, ok, you guys win." Koichi says.

"I was going to point out he keeps Snape on staff but it seems that isn't needed." Yusuke says with the two Weasley brothers glancing at Koichi in a curious kind of way.

"So... what happened in these books?" Fred asks as everyone seems to be busy thinking their own thoughts. "Well, for one thing, you two were suppose to be in Gryffindor." Koichi admits.

"I'm willing to do this training." Patamon finally says as the twins walk off with Koichi between them, more then likely going to squeeze as much details out of the first year as they can. He blinks and glances at the orange Digimon who's resting on the back of the couch.

"Patamon..." TK says softly but Patamon presses on, "If it'll solve this situation you're all foreseeing, then I'm willing to give it a try."

"Monodramon?" Ryo asks his own partner softly. "I might as well go through with it too, I mean, how hard could it be?"

"Is it hard?" TK asks and the others all shake their heads. "We go through the same training to become Animagi, preferably in our first year." Kagome says.

"Then I guess we'll be going through it along with the two Digimon?" Riku asks and he answers, "Depends if you want to spend the rest of the night resting on a cold floor."

"Then why do they have to go through this training now?" Risa asks and with a glance around at the others, Iruka explains, "Classes start this coming Monday and we do need at minimum of two days set aside. So unless they want to get frustrated with their... in ability to carry their own book bags around, and trust us, Snape is very good at hounding people just to take points from their houses, then we best start them off tonight."

The preteens didn't look thrilled at the idea of losing sleep over this but in the end, Ryo and TK decided to go through this training with their partners. He watches as Kagome leads the four to the teleporter so they can make it to the Come and Go room to get started.

The meeting ends and people begin to drift off, soon nobody is paying him much mind. He heads to the dinning hall to practice a technique he finally asked Naruto for help with since he could use all the help he can get for winning this upcoming prank contest.

**September 2, 1990**  
TK

He yawns as they arrive back at the Kirin common rooms. He glances down at his exhausted partner and he couldn't help but smile slightly at him. "We'll try and finish it after lunch." Kagome says as she stretches.

He's too tired to nod so he just climbs up the steps, it didn't take long to find the door with both his name and Patamon's on it. He smiles at the sight of the second bed but decides that for now, he'll rest with Patamon sharing his bed.

He doesn't even bother to take off anything over then his runners. Thankfully, the room is nice and dark as he drifts off to sleep.

Daisuke

He watches as Wiz seems to enjoy the lettuce that has been provided for Wiz's breakfast. He stifles a yawn since he had done a minor tour of Hogwarts after hours just to test his new PPD. _Well, at least I don't have to buy it like the others first years do and I get extra features that they don't get either._

"Hey." Koichi says and he turns to look at the other preteen. "Hey, you look worn." He says and Koichi smiles slightly as he replies, "Well, not only did I stay up last night with the Weasley twins, but this morning most of the house wanted me to tell them what I know of the cannon plot line for this universe."

"Where's Ryo, TK, and the Digimon?" Koichi asks as he looks around the main common room. "I think they're sleeping, Kagome was found on the couch and Shippo took her up to her room, leaving Sango to change Kagome's cloths." He tells the other.

"So they went through with this training last night?" Koichi asks and he nods. "Yea, though it sounds like we'll be going through it next weekend during the daylight hours instead of doing it during the night." He explains.

"What animal do you think you'll become?" He asks Koichi after some silence. "Some kind of feline." Koichi admits and he smiles slightly as he says, "I'll likely get something with wings."

"Do you know if that tv works?" He asks as he glances at the tv set. "Well, electronics don't work here because of all of the magic." Koichi says and he gets up to grab the remote. "Only one way to find out, huh?" He says and with a click, the black screen changes into a menu.

"Wow." He says before he recovers. It didn't take long before he found something under the title animation to watch. A few other members of the house drift over and settle down on the arranged furniture that's set in a circle with all facing the tv set.

"Why is the tv working?" Koichi asks Yukina as she's about to walk pass to get to the library. "Yachiru did some tinkering until it and the signal receiver runs on magic." Yukina explains and she continues on her way to the library.

He relinquishes the remote to Duo once the pilot takes up the seat next to him. By the time, lunch arrives, he's more then a bit stiff but Duo studies both Koichi and himself.

"So... what do you guys got planned for this afternoon? If you don't know, I would suggest taking a few books and activating a time ward on one of the study rooms so you can start cramming away at various charms, jinxs, hexes, and curses since you never know which upper year group will try and bully you before they relearn the reason why nobody bullies Kirin first years."

"Time ward?" Koichi asks and Duo doesn't seem offended, "It's a complicated ward to set up and I'm told it's a hassle when you're asking it to engulf something say the size of this castle." Duo says and continues, "It speeds up time within the room so a minute could be a hour or maybe a day, heck, I wouldn't be surprise before a minute within it could equal a whole month at the rate Tao and Kurama have been playing around with the ward."

"Plus, let's not forget this part, it keeps anything organic from in essence from 'aging', which means you won't get hungry or tired not matter how long you spend with it activated." Duo says and he decides he might as well get a start on this studying. "And the down side?" Koichi asks.

"You can't do any potion work with it active since it involves combining organic breakdown material together to form something new, which is the potion." Duo says and he's not the only one with their mouth forming an 'oh'.

**September 3, 1990**  
TK

"It's so weird seeing you..." He couldn't help but wave his hand up and down, it helps that the House Elves already had cloths that were Patamon's size. "At least I don't like some kind of mirror twin like Monodramon." Patamon remarks and he nods, it really was disturbing to see Ryo and Monodramon as a human standing side by side.

There were very few differences between Ryo and Monodramon, the most striking is the fact that Monodramon's hair is a steel gray color with bright blue in color. _While people could mistake Patamon and myself as cousins or even brothers, we're definitely not twins._ He thinks as he studies inch shorter human that is his partner, who also sports slightly brighter, orange tinted hair and silvery blue eyes.

"And here I was thinking it was odd that there had been two extra trunks in the over hang." He says, although he hated the fact that the older student's were right to worry about Ryo and him getting different schedules then Monodramon and Patamon. "With out wands in them too." Patamon says and finally, they head off into different directions since they have different classes to attend.

"See you at lunch!" Patamon calls out and he nods in agreement before turning on his PPD so he arrives in time for his class.

**October 31, 1990**

"So, let's get this straight, today is the day a school wide prank occurs and Shippo's the one who now in charge of this 'tradition'?" Koichi asks and Ryoga nods without taking his eyes off of his unopened 'gift' box.

Pat and Mono were busy enjoying a game of wizard chess while eating their breakfast. The reason why they're able to play was because you order your pieces around and they move to that spot on their own, which, considering that the two are actually Digimon, was a good thing since they never miss a meal. Though he's not sure why Mono picked up the chess set either...

"And how can the teachers not pick up on the fact that a member of our house is behind this tradition?" Ryo asks while Koichi seems... bemused by it. "Oh, Bumblebee and Snape likely suspect but then, they either have too much on their plate or they just can't be bothered." Ryoga says.

"And that's why you're not opening your gift box to see what toy you have within it?" He finishes and Ryoga nods in agreement. "That's right. I'm not opening it until I'm good and ready." Ryoga says before draining his bowl of soup.

He sighs but glances down at his stuffed unicorn who's colors are teal with dark purple socks on his back legs and a silver horn. Koichi received a stuffed hippogriff who's colors are yellow with blue markings, Ryo received another unicorn who's colors are navy blue with white spots on its rump and a gold horn, Pat received another hippogriff who's colors are red with black markings, and finally Mono received another hippogriff with soft green with brown markings.

"Are you worried that you'll end up with one with girlie colors?" Ukyo asks as she heads out of the dinning hall. Ryoga's face flushes but he says, "At least Ranma ended up with not just a unicorn one but one who's colors are white and pink one."

"Whatever you say, sugar." Ukyo says with her yellow hippogriff with pink markings resting on her left shoulder. Mousse arrives and after dropping his un-open gift box before sitting down next to Ryoga.

"Fearing you'll get a girlie one like Saotome?" Ryoga asks and Mousse just nods. "Why couldn't Shippo stick to using Kurama's method? It didn't cause this kind of dread!" Mousse says before gulping down his drink.

He glances at Koichi and they decide to leave the two Anti-Saotome group alone. "Well, I think I'm going to head for a soak in the pool. How about you?" He asks Koichi as they head out of the hall. He pauses when Pat cries out and Mono says, "I think I'm going to find a free study."

"I think I'm going to join Yusuke and the others before the tv." Koichi says and with that, they head into different directions. He does glances at Koichi for a few seconds, he still didn't really understand how it is that Koichi knew about Digimon and yet doesn't have a partner. _He's a nice guy._

"TK, wait up!" Pat calls just as he reaches the door. He turns to watch his partner transform into his natural body and fly through the air. He's more then a bit relieved that whenever either either Digimon transform into their human forms, they appear with the cloths they previously been wearing.

"Ready?" He asks and Patamon hums in confirmation. He holds the door open for his partner to fly into before stepping in himself.

"Are you going to bath like that or as a human?" He asks as he pulls his T-Shirt off and tosses it into the wide mouth basket resting by the door. "I don't feel comfortable bathing as a human." Patamon says with a hint of crimson engulfing his body, managing to make itself known through his orange fur.

He smiles slightly at that but decides to re-frame from teasing his partner, for now, but he'll likely begin teasing Patamon after New Years since by then, Patamon should be a bit more comfortable with the idea that he's capable of turning into a human.

Shippo

_Bet nobody expected this to happen when I handed out those plushies._ He muses to himself as about the gang of elves standing wearing an image of a hippogriff on their various cloths. He could see that all over them were more then a bit stunned by all of this, which only makes him even more glad to have held off springing the prank until all classes were out for the day.

He did make sure that the appropriate teachers received a six limbed lizard, causing them to become goblins, and then the rest of the staff receiving one of the two birds plushies, one was an owl and the other a falcon, which will cause them to become a fey beings. Those staff members with those with falcons being daylight specialists and the owls being nighttime specialists.

_I've been looking for a good empire building video game, but I do believe this will not only be something better but something that everyone will remember._ He thinks to himself, more then a little glad to have had collaborated with Yachiru and Kasumi during the summer holidays to figure out how to made ten years pass for ever minute that passes in the real world.

They also helped him create a reincarnation system so that when somebody 'dies', they get to be reborn and then go through a childhood before once more becoming an adult with full memories of their 'fore-more' lives. The students themselves don't need to worry about aging, food, water, and sleep, but the characters that's engulfing them are affected by said things though, which makes this a very real Role-Playing Game.

_And all of this will end an hour before classes begin tomorrow morning, giving us all the time we need to perfect a wide variety of skills like hunting, farming, warfare, crafts, etc. Heck, I wouldn't mind seeing what kind of political system arises by the end of this prank._ He thinks to himself as he begins to 'feel' a bit hungry.

**December 21, 1990**  
Daisuke

"So this is going to be the first time you two have come along on a vacation with the house?" Risa asks the Weasley twins as they wait for Kurama, Yukina, Kagome, and Shippo to arrive with a portkey each so they're not crowded around one single portkey.

"Well, our mother didn't like the idea of us leaving Hogwarts but not to spend it with our family." Fred admits after the two glance at each other. "I think she's afraid that we'll end up buying another pet like Bill's Spike." George admits while a soft snort seems to come from Heero's direction.

"What's so special about Spike?" He asks curiously while Wiz makes an echoing sound as Dark and his familiar's head continues to remain sticking out of his winter jacket that the House Elves made for him.

"Spike was a gift from Naruto and the other two members of the house. He came from an India breeder who got arrested for something, well, that's what the documentation on Spike says at any rate." Fred says and George nods.

"Spike's what we call a chimera, a well bred one at that. He has two sets of antlers, retractable claws, grew two side blades on his tail, and he came pre-trained, which is likely is why our mom never did managed to get our dad to push Bill to sell Spike." George says and its Fred's turn to nod.

"Of course mom did send a scratching letter to Tao about sending dangerous animals as gifts. Much to Charlie's annoyance since he's been hoping to get a similar gift during his time at Hogwarts." Fred says and George did add, "Though he did receive many gifts for Christmas and his birthday that ranged from various muggle candies to animal statues, even sent this four course meal for his sixteen birthday."

"Mom was a bit tiffed about that." Fred remarks. "Yea, particularly because he proclaimed it the best birthday meal ever." George says with a wide grin.

"Didn't they send Bill gifts like that?" Riku asks and the two shake their head. "Nay, more of what they sent to Bill after Spike were along the lines of ready made potions or little souvenirs like a tacky copper necklace with semi-precious stones on each of the copper plates."

"What did you guys get last year for Christmas and for your birthday?" Risa asks and he had to admit that he's curious about this as well. "Well, for Christmas, I got my own portable potion set." Fred says and George picks up by saying, "I got enchanted Game Boy with two games which are Alleyway and Castlevania: The Adventure."

"Which is why I got my own Game Boy, with a red and gold enchantment on it, for our birthday with The Final Fantasy Legend." Fred says with a grin while George just seems to shake his head before George says, "I received a mirror that gave me a clear views of what's going on in the Slytherin common room to see who's plotting what."

"I still got the better gift." Fred says and George just snorts as he slowly shakes his head.

Finally the two seventh years and the two sixth years arrive with Kurama with a slight frown while both Kagome and Shippo's features could be chiseled out of stone. Yukina seems to had a slightly sadden looked on her face, which seems to cause Hiei to look ready to... kill somebody. Tension seems to erupt out of no where, so much so that Wiz decides to pull his head out of his jacket collar and shiver close to his mid-section.

"What did the old coot try to pull now?" Anko demands while more then a few of their number seem to be getting ready for a fight. "I don't see why we can't just arrange for him to have an 'accident' by the end of the year so we don't have to put up with his crap." Yusuke mutters next to Anko's side.

He glances over at Koichi to find that the preteen just seems to be shaking his head slightly and Iruka places a hand on Koichi's shoulder. "The man is becoming very... vexing." Quatre agrees and he has to admit that the headmaster just keeps trying to put controls on their actions.

Luckily or not, the potions teacher has given them a great deal of reasons to keep the blocks from being permanent. _Even the Ravenclaws are beginning to wonder why our house isn't mentioned in Hogwarts official history book. After all, Kirin house has existed for about nine years already with admission slowly growing from having one to two members getting sorted to the house to groups numbering over six._ He thinks.

"I can't believe that Bumblebee hasn't been removed from his post simply because of all the pranks and student unrest that exist within Hogwarts' walls." Sakura says.

"Let's not dwell on that right now. We did manage to unravel the tracking charms on them before we made it to the main floor." Kagome says and Shippo adds, "You'd think considering he knows of his wands history he would begin to wonder if all of those pranks pulled on him hadn't cause his wand to switch its loyalty by now."

Finally they all move towards one of the four and touch whatever object the portkey was. He's glad that they shrank their trunks so they can put them into their jacket pockets. Within seconds, the world around him shifts so fast that he felt as if he were on a roller coaster.

Sadly, his stomach felt worst then if he were only riding a roller coaster and he feels a bit of dinner trying to crawl up his throat. It took every ounce of will to keep his dinner from entering into his mouth. He winces when he discovers that Riku hadn't had much luck keeping her dinner inside of her.

"That's worst then it usually is!" Duo complains. _Good to know that it doesn't always feel like that._ He thinks privately to himself.

"So... this is Egypt." Pat muses at the sight of the shops below. It takes him a few seconds to realize that he's not overheating, not that it stops him from hurrying to take off his jacket, he's careful to grab Wiz before the rabbit falls to the ground.

"Glad you like the view." He turns to find a red haired young man standing there and within seconds, both of the twins are crowding around him. "Bill! What are you doing here?"

"Well, for one thing, I did get transferred here as a curse breaker." Bill says with a slight smile. "Tao told me about your guys' plan to vacation here and I was more then happy to make the booking arrangements for you guys."

"Is Tao and the others going to be here?" Fred asks and somebody enters from the front door. "No, Tao's a bit busy starting up filming for that Pern television series now that he's managed to buy the rights to produce it." The young woman with pink hair ways.

"What about Kasumi?" Akane asks and Yachiru, if he remembers correctly, sighs. "She's busy making the necessary legal arrangements for Black's custody battle with an American lawyer." Yachiru answers before adding, "Of course it helps that we have so much overwhelming evidence of Bumblebee's guilt, although it sounds like we won't be allowed to use the man's memories against him."

"It helps that we also have Wormtail on hand to prove that Black's supposed 'crime' never happened either." Botan muses. "That truly goes without saying." Yachiru says in agreement.

"Will Kasumi manage to make it for Christmas day?" Akane asks and Yachiru answers as she comes more into the room, "That will be up to her, she just might return to help Tao with his fish golems."

"Which book is he going to start the series of at?" Ino asks curiously, they had lost him at the mention of fish golems.

Duo is the first to excuse himself to go claim a room, a course of action that soon becomes popular with those not interested with this current topic. "Just what book series is this Pern?" He asks Ryo as he walks in the same direction with Mono at point.

"I've never really read the books, though I know they did create a game based off it." Ryo admits and Koichi says, "Maybe we should read one of these the series books. Must be interesting if one of us enjoyed them."

"I wonder who's going to be staring in the lead roles?" Mono wonders.

**Farewell Feast**  
TK

"This sucks, I finally get the title and next year I have to pass it on." Shippo says as the final stages of the staff's transformation into classic array of humanoid devils with features making them appear more 'beautiful' or 'handsome'.

"Well... who made it to second place?" Sango asks, clearly curious about who made runner up. "Shampoo oddly enough." Kurama admits and everyone turns to glance at the Chinese Amazon.

"Why you all look surprise? My prank did, and I quote, 'Rock'." Shampoo reminds them and Shippo nods in agreement.

"Didn't your prank have everyone racing about in go karts while wearing animal costumes?" Iruka asks and Shampoo nods. "That was pretty fun." Duo admits.

"So does this mean that Shampoo gets the job of prankster next year?" Ranma asks and Shippo shrugs as he says, "I don't see why not. She did make a good showing during this years contest."

"I hope I won't let you, my predecessors down." Shampoo says in a very sober tone.

**So Ends Year Nine of Kirin House**


	30. House Kirin Year 10

**I Don't Own Harry Potter or Naruto or Bleach or Ranma 1/2 or Yu Yu Hakusho or Inu-Yasha or Gundam Wing or DNAngel or Digimon!**

**Hogwarts Express**  
**September 1, 1991**  
**Narrator: Toshiro Hitsugaya, Harry Potter, and Gaara**

Harry

He blinks after he steps into the hallway as a sudden headache erupts and then fades, leaving only memories behind. He sighs as he rubs his temple slightly before he continues to walk down the hallway to a familiar compartment. He did get a chance to glance out of a window and he couldn't help but notice how many trunks were not just floating in the air but following various wizards and witches around.

It's such a unique sight that it causes him to stop and stare out of the window in a dumbfounded manner. It didn't take long before he spots an unfamiliar group of people without any luggage at all. With a sigh, he turns away from the window and heads to the compartment.

Once hears somebody arguing about something in another compartment and curiosity eclipses his better judgment and he opens the door to find that not only was there two preteens circling each other, but the compartment seems... bigger then it should. The two boy who were facing off stopped to stare at him along with the rest of the occupants.

"Can we help you?" A girl with purple tinted hair and really dark skin tone asks. "Why are you two fighting? And how did you manage to increase the size of this compartment?" He finally gets around to asking as he realizes that not only is this group going to be in the same year as him, they also had some wacky hair dos which causes him to wonder if they weren't Metamorphicmagi.

"Why not fight is what you should ask yourself." The one with normal looking hair says and this causes the kid with orange hair to give the other a scratching look with a slight frown on his face. "So... you can see us, can you?" This girl that seems to have this mothering aura about her asks.

"Ok..." Now he's a bit freaked out and before he could say anything, he feels someone stand behind him. "Any of you know a Yachiru Kusajishi?" This six year prefect asks while still wearing normal street cloths.

"If you've harmed her in any way..." The one who's standing across from the kid with orange hair says in a very threatening tone. "She's fine, last I hear she was busy asking Naruto to borrow War for some kind of intimidation thing at the bank." The teen states in a calming tone.

"She's not going to be here?" Asks one of the white haired boys and the teen nods. "Why not?" The aggressive one asks. "Well, it could be because she already graduated from Hogwarts, but that could just be a theory." The brunet teen says with a slight ironic smile on his slightly scarred face.

More then a few just seem to roll their eyes but the aggressive boy just humfs slightly before asking with narrow eyes, "And you are?" The teen behind him doesn't seem offended. "I'm Iruka Umino, sixth year prefect of the Kirin house." Iruka says before adding thoughtfully, "And I just might know who you all are, but I can't stick around for long, so I hope you'll make young Mr Potter here comfortable until another member of the house arrives."

Before he could asks Iruka how he knew it was him, he finds that the teen is already walking away after pushing him more into the compartment. "Hi, I'm Harry J. Potter." He says to those within the compartment.

"Nice to met you, Harry. I'm Retsu Unohana." The motherly air girl says. It wasn't long before that causes most of the others to introduce themselves and he's beginning to get the feeling that things this time around will end in a very different manner then they usual do within his Loop.

**Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony**

He couldn't believe the fact that the Kirin house is a ligament house as those kids that had been in the compartment get sorted into it and the fact there is a table that's slightly below and to the right of the staff table. He couldn't help but notice how those members all seem to be talking about something, often times so absorbed that they don't notice the latest new arrival.

Another thing that he couldn't ignore was the fact that it seems that one of the Weasley twins had been sorted into Kirin house instead of Gryffindor. _I wonder if that stops them from getting into trouble..._ He wonders but then, he had heard some of the older members mention something about a Halloween prank that's going to be happening this year.

"Potter, Harry." Professor McGonagall states and shaking himself out of his thoughts, he walks up to the sorting hat. Like usual, people are having whispered conversations as he does so.

_"Just get this over with."_ He thinks to the hat as soon as he puts it on. _"Are you not a bit interested in why there's even a fifth house?"_ The sorting hat asks in a bemused tone.

_"Is this some kind of fusion loop with other loopers?"_ He asks. _"More like fulfilling that wish you made before the last loop restarted actually. All of Kirin house have plenty of experience in dealing with people like Dumbledore and Riddle. All of them are here to help you fulfill your destiny in the soonest possible time as well. They've already freed your Godfather, captured Wormtail, and already found the Chamber of Secrets."_

He's kind of impressed with that. _"So the basilisk is dead?"_ He asks curiously. _"I believe they've named her Onyx and have taken to taking her on walks through the Fobidden Forest, clearing out a lot of those spiders and Greyback and his pack from the rants 'Bumblebee' had thrown a while back."_

_"Why would... Bumblebee be ranting about the death of that villain?"_ He asks the hat. _"Have you forgotten your detention into the forest to find that injured unicorn? The bit where Draco complained about werewolves living within it?"_

He felt cold as that memory plays out within his mind's eye. _"I'll leave it to Kirin to set you straight. And if you feel the need to chat with me, just mention it to young Saotome and he'll make the arrangements."_ The sorting hat tells him as he finally recovers from the shock that bit of news caused.

"Kirin!" The sorting hat declares and a murmur of chatting happens but Dumbledore standing up seems to put a stop to it. "Surely you're mistaken." The headmaster asks and as he turns to look at the man, he couldn't help but notice how tired the older man looks. Heck, the eyes look like they're more then capable of burning the hat on his head.

"Young Mr Potter here has been sorted into that house and unless you're trying to imply that I'm incapable of doing my job? That an ancient and valuable artifact who's sole purpose is to place students in their proper houses can be mistaken about which house best suits this particular student?" The sorting hat asks in a very dangerous tone.

He notices out of the corner of his eye that members of Kirin were all staring at the old man with what appears to be predatory, hateful looks. "Are you sure you didn't mean Gryffindor?" The old man asks while most of the teachers seem to be glancing back and forth from the Kirin table to Dumbledore and seem to decide to edge away from Dumbledore after a few seconds.

"I cry insult!" The only guy seventh year says as he stands up before the others got to their feet. "I cry insult on you, old man! I and my fellows have grown tired of your meddling in our affairs! Of your attempts at pressuring members of our house into trying for a resort! Of you allowing that bully of a man to continue teaching here!" The young man says.

It didn't take a genius to figure out which teacher this Shippo was talking about. "You can't go around challenging member of the teaching staff you brat." Snape snaps as the pale man rises up.

"On the contrary, it's headmasters and teachers who can't challenge students, there's nothing against a student challenging them." The sorting hat says. "Particularly when the student is a seventh year since they are adults in the eyes of the law." The hat adds.

Instead of trying to break up this foolishness, he's stunned at the fact that Dumbledore has this spark of happiness about this. Finally, the staff table vanishes and the other teachers back away. "Snape will, natural, be my second." Dumbledore says.

"Anko will be mine." Shippo says and a certain teenager with purple hair stands up. He shivers at the joyful, blood-thirsty look in the young woman's eyes as the two move to stand at opposite ends of the hall while Dumbledore and Snape take up positions at the other end.

None of them bow at each other and it's Dumbledore who fires a spell. The spell seems to hit something, slow down and then, with a flick of his wand, Shippo seems to destroy the spell. Instead of countering with a spell, Shippo twirls his wand as he begins to walk slowly towards Dumbledore.

"Isn't this foolish? I mean, Dumbledore has years of experience behind him." He says softly as spells continue to be fired at Shippo but they begin to slow down and stop within four feet of the young man.

"Not to mention the Elder wand." He adds softly as Shippo finally makes it within ten feet of the headmaster. "Who says that Bumblebee is still the true owner of said wand? If I recall correctly, I would say that young Uzumaki is the wand's master considering the number of times Bumblebee has been caught unawares by that one's pranks." The sorting hat says as finally Snape fires off a spell at Shippo, which pretty much breaks the rules of a dual.

Not that anyone seems to be moving to call it off as Dumbledore seems to team up with Snape. Then appearing behind them, Anko has two swords in her hand and they're both resting by Snape and Dumbledore's necks. "Are you two going to surrender? Or am I to be taking your cheating heads?" Anko says in a deadly soft voice that seems to echo through the Great Hall.

"And before you say we cheated, I don't remember where in the rules it said that the second can't go first, after all, all I did was walk towards you lot. I didn't even preform any magic either. I'm willing to have my wand tested to that effect as well." Shippo says with a very satisfied smirk on his face.

"Filthy..." Snape manages to say that one word before his head rolls onto the ground as Anko's sword goes through his neck as if it were a hot knife through butter. "The next words out of your mouth had better be 'I surrender' or your head rolls like his did." Anko says as she moves to have both sword resting on Dumbledore's neck, crossed over each other and appear to be like a pair of scissors as they rest on either of Dumbledore's shoulders.

It wasn't until Dumbledore has a few trails of blood flowing down the sword blades before the man whispers something. "I didn't quiet hear that, could you repeat that in a much louder voice?" Anko says and finally, Dumbledore croaks out, "I surrender."

"Shippo, his wand." Anko says and once the wand is within Shippo's hands, the man snaps it in two and then into four pieces, which causes Dumbledore to cry out in despair at the sight of four pieces falling to the ground. The swords vanish as the two Kirin members begin to walk back to their table.

For a few seconds Dumbledore is staring at Snape's wand but in the end, the man just drops to the ground to gather up the broken pieces of the Hollow to cradle. Snape's body vanishes as does the head and the staff table appears within seconds after wards. His eyes land on their Defense teacher and notices the hungry look within Quirrel's eyes at Dumbledore's suffering.

Finally he realizes that he had better get a move on so that the sorting can continue. Taking the hat off his head, he gets off the stool and begins to walk towards the house he's been sorted into once the hat is on the stool. It takes a few more minutes but finally, McGonagall reads the next name.

"You'd think we killed his pet rabbit the way he's acting." Yusuke mutters in disgust. "Oh lay off, Yusuke, not only have we destroyed his plans for that Hollow but we also destroyed his good guy reputation." Keiko says to her boyfriend.

"He did bring it upon himself. It's just karma really." Botan says with a sigh. A glance at Slytherin showed that they've got this defeatism going on with the exception being Draco, who looks ready to do something foolish and stupid.

"I wonder if we'll finally get a potion teacher who'll teach potion safety procedure?" Sakura wonders and he just couldn't help but shake his at how guiltless they're acting. _Or maybe its because they really don't think they have anything to be guilty about..._ He realizes once the sorting is done and the food appears on their table.

**Kirin Common Room**

He's not the only one to be struck by awe at the sight of the strange statue as they make it to the end of the corridor that's lined with various Asian statue types. It takes him a bit but he finds that there seems to be a tv by the fireplace that is also where there are various couches and chairs.

At another point along the wall, he finds a clock, a cabinet, and various doors that seem to lead off from this main part, though he's fairly sure that the stairs lead to the dorms. "What's in that cabinet?" He asks the closest upper year student, a guy with a bandanna.

"A bunch of flying brooms, safety harnesses, and a few flying board proto-types. All of which were created by Naruto Uzumaki, most commonly referred to as Tao by most of the other houses." The guy says and he couldn't help but be interested in what these items looked like.

So, which the other first years drift towards the tv set, he walks up to the cabinet and opens it. He finds that the space within it to be pretty large and that there were rows of at least two different broom types. He steps into the space and takes one of the brooms down.

At the top of the handle a flat part has an image of a bird's head with a roman number for one on it. He glances at the next broom handle to find that it sports the roman number two on it. With a shake of his head, he re-hooks the broom in his hand up before taking a look at the next broom set.

He takes the first one of that example down and finds it a bit heavier then the previous one. On this one's handle, there is an image of a bull head on it with a roman number under it as well. He had to admit that the broom has a solid feel to it, unlike any broom he's ever had the experience of encountering.

"Naruto created the Falcon for those who like speed while the Ox is a better for those who want a comfortable ride. The Ox also can remain in the same place in the air for a time even if the rider falls unconscious while riding it. That helps with rescuing said rider because the broom has a sticking effect that takes hold as soon as that happens." Quatre explains as the older teen comes to stand within a few feet of him.

"I see." He admits before he puts the broom back on the rack. "We also keep our trophies in here instead of on display in the common trophy room." Quatre says as the blond begins to move deeper into the expanded cabinet.

At the back, pass the brooms, he finds about six different boards that seem as if all they need are wheels to become skate boards. Although he had to admit that the leather straps on the boards were likely there to fasten around ones feet. "How do these work?" He asks before glancing over at the collection of trophies that's next to the boards.

"You'd have to ask some of the others since they're the ones who use them. I'm sure they'd be more then happy to display their skill with them." Quatre tells him.

He moves from the collection of boards to get a better look at the trophies. He's a bit surprised to see that most of them were about the house winning the Quidditch Cup and House Cup with dates on them. Finally, he couldn't help but blink as he realizes that Kirin house have won the two cups every year up to last year.

"Impressive." He admits as he also glances at the Prefect badges that were part of the display with names of their previous owners under them. It also gave him a good idea of what his new clothing emblem will be.

"Do you want a tour of the dorms?" Quatre asks and he thinks about it for a few seconds before nodding. "If you wouldn't mind." He says and Quatre smiles warmly at him.

**September 20, 1991**  
Gaara

"Looks like Britain going to be getting a lot of negative press now." Tenten says as she closes her copy of an international news paper. "Yachiru's is sending these out." Ukyo says as she tosses a magazine onto the table as they were eating breakfast.

The magazine's main headlines were 'Why was Albus Dumbledore allowed to Kidnap Boy-Who-Lived?', 'An Interview with the Original Kirin member!', 'Could Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape have been a Couple?', and then finally, 'Tom M. Riddle and You; The Life and Times of the Most Recent Dark Lord to hit the UK!' He raises an eyebrow at the collection of various photos for each of the major articles.

"That's a good picture of Naruto." He muses in his usual voice tone while Tenten picks up the magazine to read it. "Well, he should have plenty of experience with lighting and what not. He is, after all, in the film business." Ukyo points out as she sits down next to Tenten.

"So... do you really think that Snape and Bumblebee were lovers?" Ukyo asks as Tenten continues to read the magazine that Ukyo brought to the table. "There had to be some reason why the man never tried to correct his in class behavior to be more... light oriented." Tenten says with her gaze not moving from the open pages of the magazine.

"I wonder what Koichi and Harry would make of that idea." Ukyo muses and he figured that the two would likely just find it to be a really, really amusing.

Harry

He couldn't believe that not only was the international press having a field day about Sirius's trail and a 'dead' man's capture, but about speculation in regards to the supposed relationship that's suppose to be going on between the dead potion teacher and the highly disgraced headmaster.

But his thoughts turn from such things to drift onto his Animagus form and how that particular training he went through to achieve it. "I can't believe they ever printed such lies about the headmaster!" He hears Hermione exclaim as they enter into their last class of the day.

He glances at Hermione's badge on her robes and couldn't help but smile slightly at the image of the image of a bird. _She's definitely happier as a Ravenclaw then she ever was as a Gryffindor._ He admits at how comfortable Hermione is among her fellow housemates.

He moves to sit with Toshiro since the other six members of his house were already paired up. He didn't have anything against most of his fellow first years, he just couldn't hep but to find some of them to be really intimidating to spend a lot of time with. He also found that there seems to be some kind of hidden dialog going on among his fellow year-mate.

_Particularly why some of them are referred to as Captains._ He admits as Toshiro nods a greeting at him as he rests his book bag on the ground before he slides into the chair. "Hasn't he learnt his lesson by now about the hazards of doing that?" He ask as he notices Zaraki's position with his feet resting on the desk and his chair looking ready to collapse under his weight or to fall the rest of the way to the ground.

"You'd think, wouldn't you?" Toshiro murmurs as they wait for the class to begin. He notices the minor glares sent at Zaraki's direction and he finally sighs as he decides to leave things be.

**October 31, 1991**  
Hitsugaya

"That doesn't really give incentive to leave the dorms." He says with a frown as Miroku finishes explaining what makes this day so special. "I'm more stunned that neither Duo or the twins managed to win this position considering the various things they get up to." Harry says with a frown.

"Ah, come on Captain! Other then it being a likely embarrassing situation it hasn't really caused any real damage." His lieutenant points out and he gives Rangiku an icy glare.

"In the end, curiosity will likely drive everyone out of their houses at some point today. After all, last year, classes were in session and Shampoo might mimic that before the prank activates." Ichigo's friend, Tatsuki, points out and Miroku smiles in agreement.

"Just how is it that this tradition continues unmolested if always happens every year?" Harry wonders and Miroku just shrugs. "It's been a common thought that Bumblebee never felt motivated to put an end of it." Miroku says.

"That, sadly, does sound like him." Harry admits as they continue to linger at the table as more and more members of the house appear for breakfast. One or two would leave to go do other things, like watch tv, go cram, or for a soak in the hot pool.

"So... how often have you've been practicing your Animagus transformation?" Miroku inquires and he couldn't help but sport a sour face, after all, he hadn't really expected that training to work. "I think I'm finally getting the hang of using echolocation with the help from Shizune." Harry tells them.

"I'm just waiting for my winter coat to grow in, then I'll make a cute fox." His lieutenant says with a smile on her face. "I know that Toshiro hasn't been practicing his transformation into a Snowy Owl." She adds and he glares at her for revealing that.

"I've got my fisher transformation down." Tatsuki says before Ichigo's friend frowns as she asks, "Just what kind of animal do you become? I mean, those two Digimon become human and that Kagome is a magpie, Duo is a ferret, Fred is a red fox, and George is a hooded crow..."

"I'm a Tanuki, or a Raccoon-dog." Miroku says as he glances over at Harry when he said that last part. "My dear, sweet Sango is a Maltese Tiger, Keiko is a barn owl, Kuwabara is a cat, both Trowa and Koichi are lions..." Miroku says before frowning as he tries to recall who becomes what.

"Naruto's a raven, Yachiru is a tarpan, Bill Weasley is a red deer, and Charlie Weasley is a red panda." Miroku finishes. "What's a tarpan?" Harry wonders and he answers, "Also known as Przewalski's Horse, it's a breed of horse that looks like the ice age horse."

"Why is it we don't keep a record of who becomes what?" He asks curiously and Miroku answers, "Well, for one, that list could easily be stolen by a House Elf told to take said list under direct order of the school's headmaster and they really can't do much other then follow the exact wording of their orders. They're fairly good at figuring out loop holes with they want to find them though, which is why we're capable of having an actual breakfast then what they serve here in the West."

"So if we want to know somebody's animal, we've got ask said person then?" Harry muses and Miroku nods. "Good to know."

"Hey Gaara! What's your Animagus form?" His lieutenant asks as said red head walks by. "Javan Hawk-Eagle." The seemingly emotionless teen says as Gaara glances at them with his teal eyes.

He couldn't help but suppress a shiver but it seems that his lieutenant didn't seem to care about stopping since she next asks Kankuro and Temari, Gaara's siblings. "None of your business." Kankuro snaps while Temari answers for the both of them, "Kankuro here is a Golden Jackal and I'm an Oriental Hobby."

The three continue on after Rangiku says, "Thanks!" He elbows her in the ribs as he hisses, "Quit it! If you're going to ask, ask them some place private."

"Alright, alright, shesh, you don't have to rib me, sir." Rangiku says while the others look on with a hint of amusement at their antics.

"Well, I think I'm going to go get some studying done before leaving the safety of the dorms. See you guys later." Tatsuki says once she's standing. "I think I'm going to go see what's playing on the tv." Rangiku says as Tatsuki makes it half way to the door.

"Well, I'm going to go and keep my sweet Sango company in the hot pool." Miroku says as Sango walks pass while engaged in a conversation with Keiko and Yusuke. "I think I'm going to recheck my homework." Harry says after a few seconds of silence at the table.

"Do either of you mind if we sit here?" Ranma asks with Shino, Kiba, Lee, and Tenten. "No, go right ahead. I do believe I'm going to head to the library to find something to read." He says as he gets up. "Before we go, you any of you mind telling us your Animagus forms?" Rangiku asks and he rolls his eyes at her antics.

"I'm an african hunting dog while Ranma here is just your run of the mill dog." Kiba says with Ranma just rolling his eyes. "I'm a whiskered flying squirrel!" Lee declares while Tenten just shakes her head at his antics. "I'm a crane hawk and Shino here is a beetle." Tenten finishes.

"Thanks for the intel!" His lieutenant says as they finally walk away from the third, long table. "Well, I'm off to get a good soaking in before we have our first class. See you later Captain!" She adds as she heads for the co-ed washrooms.

Gaara

All around him were trees, massive trees that seem older then those he saw during his few visits to Hidden Leaf. The leaves of the trees seem bigger then they should while odd ferns grow about the tree trunks. He seems to be all alone as he glances about the forest.

His fingers go to his ears and finds that they're fine, not pointed in the least. As he struggles to stand, the color around him seems to go gray while everything stops moving. Finally, a slightly familiar voice begins to speak.

**"A forest of primeval beauty stands around you as you awaken. A realm where dreams and nightmare can come true with a single, heartfelt wish when the mist rolls in. So be careful of what you wish for because it just might be the last wish you make."** The woman says. _What does this mist have to do with wishing?_

**"Player Hint: All mist wishes shall cancel out in a year and a day, so be prepared to live with a handy cap for that length of time."** Another voice says and he blinks as he considers that. **"So be warned that any monster or beast around you might as well be another player."**

**"Player Hint: Also your wish can not affect another play, for example, 'I wish _blank_ were a dog' would result in nothing happening. As would 'I wish I were back at Hogwarts'."** The voice continues and he couldn't help but muse, _What would happen if the player wished for the power to turn people into dogs?_

**"Goal of the game is to find the source of the wishing mist so you can get rid of it."** The first voice continues. **"There old ruins about the island which could lead to the source of the mist."**

**"Player Hint: Not only are their actual other student players among the population of this continent, but made up players who just illusions, these illusion players might appear as yourself or as other students you actual know. Or those with said appearance could truly be who they appear to be."** The second voice informs him and he scowls as another thought of another wish could land somebody the appearance of another student.

**"Player Hint: Wishes are capable of bonding you to a certain things or spot like say you wished for some monster to be your pet or bodyguard. You will then find yourself incapable of moving far from said monster for the duration of the wish."** And he had to admit that did sound like a decent rule.

**"Good luck, young adventurer and may you enjoy your game."** The second voice says finally does the color returns while things finally unfreeze. With a sigh, he takes one last look around in hopes of finding a pack of supplies or a weapon, anything really to help him on his way.

He thing takes off in the direction of running water to see if his appearance has changed like that hint had mentioned. He also noted that there doesn't seem to be any mist hanging about the forest. He also decides that it's about noon from the position of the sun.

He finally makes it to the bank of a fast flowing stream and glancing at his reflection. "Great..." He says and finds that his voice matches his new appearance. "At least I didn't change gender or age." He adds with a sigh as Ryoga's reflection looks back at him.

_I wonder... will I find myself answering to Ryoga then to Gaara?_ He wonders as he frowns down at his reflection. Finally, he stops looking at his reflection, for now at least, to think about following the direction of the stream or not. He also tries to ignore the 'watch' around his wrist as well.

**Week Later**

"Hey Ryoga! Man are you a sight for sore eyes!" Somebody who doesn't look like anyone he would know shouts at him. "Err, hey?" He says in a puzzled tone as the unknown teen comes racing towards him, he's not the least bit surprise to have found himself turning on hear his 'name'.

"Name's Even, Even Willis Hammett, well, it is in here at least." He studies Even up and down, taking note of the semi black hair with bangs threatening to fall over his hazel green eyes. "I'll give you a hint, my pet's name is Kyla." Even says with a confident smirk.

_Kuwabara._ He thinks but finds himself unable to say that name out loud. "I've been known to carry a gourd made of sand." He tells 'Even' and it didn't take long before 'Even' realizes who he really is.

"Well... It's better then looking like a stranger." 'Even' says and he sighs as he nods, knowing that 'Even' had a point. "Have you made a wish yet?" 'Even' asks and he shakes his head.

"You?" He counters and 'Even' nods. "I wished for the ability to transform into any big cat that roamed earth." 'Even' says with a slightly mischievous grin on his face. "I can now transform into extincted felines like a saber-tooth tiger and cave lion."

"Interesting." He states and silence seems to hang between them. "So, you want to team up?" 'Even' asks and he shrugs as he says, "Why not? It'll be nice to travel with somebody I know. Maybe we'll encounter the others along the way."

"Sounds good to me." 'Even' says and within seconds, a large lion is standing before him with his head cocked to the side in a questioning manner. He smiles slightly before motioning for 'Even' to lead the way.

_It isn't a question of me not having any idea of what I should wish for, it's that I've got too many ideas for wishes._ He tells himself but in the end, he's got an idea of what he'll be wishing for this evening as the wishing mist rolls in. _Let's see if I can wish for the location of every person in this game._

Harry

He couldn't help but be glad that there seems to be some kind of rule when it came to 'sexual' expressions. True, there were people who had wished for the ability to control gender while within the 'game' but at least they couldn't force people to do such acts.

_It's one thing to alter ones gender and species, it's a different kettle of fish to force them to preform sexual acts._ He thinks and a simple glance shows that other then another two students being slightly dazed, it seems that the one who had turned him into a female dog never really existed, thankfully.

"That was beyond freaky." A sixth year Hufflepuff says and the third year Slytherin just nods. "Yes, yes it is."

"At least there seemed to be something prohibiting sexual acts." He says and the other two guys nod rapidly in agreement. "I wouldn't put it pass a few guys in my house to have actually wish for _that_ ability." The Slytherin spats and he couldn't help but sympathize since he had spent a few Loops shadowing sick individual Slytherin who had found some ritual that, for a single evening, gave their victims a woman's things but the desire to use said things just to know what it's like...

_Which reminds me that I still got one to kill off before he passes that 'ritual' on._ He reminds himself, after all, if he kills this particular Slytherin before the guy gets the chance to teach those three students it.

**Christmas Day**

"Why are we heading into the forest now of all times?" He asks Heero who's flying next to him since he's pretty sure that Ichigo doesn't have a clue as to what's going on either. Most of the house were flying around the forest on broom stick while Heero, Ichigo, Duo, Ranma, Daisuke, and himself had manage to get short strings so they can use the flying board as their mode of transportation through the Forbidden Forest.

"Well, for one, if we tried to take a vacation beyond Hogwarts, Dumbledore will make it his personal mission to see that we're followed by every reporter in the world looking for some news about your Godfather and yourself." Heero explains calmly. "True." He admits before he asks, "But why do we need these mats?"

Heero doesn't answer but does slow down. He glances down and finds a huge herd of unicorns moving about. "Hi Berry!" He blinks while Ichigo seems to stiffen.

He glances down to find a group of people resting on floating mats with brooms and flying boards hovering close by. "Yachiru?" Ichigo asks in a dumbfounded way at the sight of this pink haired woman sitting on her own mat.

"Heero." This blond says while he finally spots somebody he's been longing and yet dreading to meet. "Harry..." Sirius says on a particularly large mat that he shares with Remus.

He couldn't help but stare dumbly at his godfather since he's never seen Sirius look so healthy and stable. _I know they freed him a few years early but... What the hell?!_ He thinks as he slowly floats to the large mat where his godfather and Remus were sitting.

"You look good..." He says as he ignores Yachiru shouting out a hearty greeting to 'Kenny'. "You look a bit underfed. Have you been eating enough?" Sirius asks as in the background he hears Zaraki demand about who's that blond guy on the mat next to her.

"Well, I have been eating Asian food, though most of the older students keep trying to pour some potions down my throat." He admits before he glances to see various people holding onto Zaraki's limbs as the kid tries to attack the blond who seems to be sighing while Yachiru seems highly bemused about most of this.

"Who's the blond?" He asks as Zaraki finally seems to calm down after being told that yes, Yachiru is a virgin as is 'Tao', though the blond just rolls his eyes as he shakes his head, clearly not seeing why Yachiru had to bring that up.

"Oh, him, that's just Naruto Uzumaki, also known as Tao. Nice guy, heck, I've managed to land a role on his second season of Dragonriders of Pern based off of the second novel Dragonquest and the Harperhall Trilogy books." Sirius says with a very wide smirk.

"You mean he's the guy who's in charge of that show?" He asks as he recalls the episodes he's seen a few time. "Yea, he has the actors act with golems while under the impressions that they're acting out before a green or blue screen. He uses miniatures golems for Threadfalls, going between, general flying or travel scene, and then mix them with some life size scenes." Sirius tells him and he couldn't help but be impressed with how little magic Naruto seems to use to pull it off.

"It's much warmer on the mat." Remus says and he blinks before realizing that everybody else seems to have their own mats set up and resting on them. It doesn't take more then a few seconds to cause the board to hover in a level fashion before he unstraps his feet so he can walk onto the enchanted mat while Remus does something to causes the board to remain hovering.

It didn't take long before he realizes that it was much warmer on the mat then standing up in the air. As he sits down between the two remaining Marauders since Wormtail has been executed within a week of his sentence and the two wands on him were snapped, destroying his holly's 'brother' wand.

"I'm kind of surprised to see so many unicorns..." He admits after a few minutes of silence. "Amazingly with so few Acromantula living within the forest, the population of rare animals have risen. Gee, I wonder if the two are linked?" Sirius says with a great deal of contempment coloring his tone.

"We're not blaming Hagrid, let's face it, Hagrid has an unusual taste in animals. But, sadly, Hagrid never thinks about what kind of impact the species he raises can have on resident species. While he does love the animals around, he tends to forget that he can't just release them out into the forest since it is suppose to be a preserve for creatures highly endangered like those unicorns down there." Remus admits and he sighs as he nods.

"The Acromantula know better then to eat unicorns but that doesn't stop them from killing them and many other 'light' creatures." Sirius says before adding, "The Acromantula just love to kill anything just because they can. They got a taste for human flesh and there have been disappearances from Hogmeade since their release in the forest. Although Dumbledore doesn't seem to have any troubles covers it up their disappearances."

He sighs, he might not have spent a lot of time in Hogmeade but he had wondered why nobody seemed to live there. "Kids especially." He says as he glances at the two and the men nod.

He recalled the 'walks' the Kirin members do with the basilisk and realizes that perhaps, he might want to begin doing the same. "I'm still amazed that basilisks actually like Acromantula meat." He admits. "Well, there's got to be some reason why spiders fear and hate those serpents." Sirius says.

"Particular since they're large enough to be a snack." Remus muses with a wiry smile. It's about then does he realize just how different Remus looks, though it's not as noticeable as with Sirius. "You're hair..." He says as he finally realizes the lack of grays.

"Well, they did mention you would know about my... furry problem without them saying otherwise." Remus admits and Sirius couldn't seem to help adding, "It was like you were a woman."

Remus growls and before opening a simple button flap. He blinks at the sight of a picnicking basket that is uncovers. "... how?" He couldn't find any words to describe it.

"Naruto's very handy with space enhancement spells and wards. Heck, Naruto's got to be the most talented spell user and crafter in the UK." Sirius says with a grin like a proud father, although he's not sure if Naruto didn't already have a father out there, proud of him.

"It helps that he's got those shadow clones to do most of the mathematical and potion work since they don't need to use a wand for it." Remus points out and he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"You have to see it to believe it." Sirius admits. Even Remus nods in agreement as Remus closes the flap before resting the basket on it. Within seconds, he has a simple metal tube that feels only faintly warm.

He twists off the head and finds hot chocolate. As he rests his lips on the edge, he finds that the hot chocolate wasn't too hot but nor was it very cold. "It's just the right temperature." He admits after he gulps some of the liquid down and screw on the head.

"There's like eight liters in each tube." Remus explains and he just had to shake his head in disbelief.

Silence seems to reign among the various groups. Then, it was like a switch was turn on and he can hear a guy say, "Well, I believe introductions are in order."

He glances around and finds that the blond seems to have some kind of energy pattern floating in the air before him. "I'm sure that by now everyone knows me, Naruto Uzumaki, also called Tao." And once more, it was as if Naruto was with a few feet of him instead of at least ten feet away in another tree.

"Is there some kind of pink hair fetish I should know about with him?" He asks the two grown ups. "Sakura and him were on the same team and he did spend a year alone with Yachiru, so they kind of became very close friends." Sirius says as Naruto continues, "And before anybody asks about the scene from before, Yachiru and I aren't boyfriend or girlfriend, nor are we friends with 'benefits'."

Naruto did the air quotes on benefits and most seem to snort as they shake their heads. "We aren't, damn it! And yes, I am still a virgin as is Yachiru." Naruto continues, tossing a look at Yachiru. "Now then, I'm going to activate this spell so that Kasumi, then Kurama, and Yukina can introduce themselves since most of you new ones already know Yachiru." Naruto says and the floating pattern alters color as the blond's hand seems to hover over a rune then move it out of the pattern before taking the one symbol at the center and exchanging them.

Within seconds a much more simple pattern of runes and Asian characteristics appear where Akane and Nabiki sit with a woman who seems to have a metal dog with her. The woman stands up and says, "I'm Kasumi Tendo, older sister to Nabiki and Akane Tendo. It's nice to finally meet Yachiru's friends since I was worried that you won't arrive at all."

"She seems nice." He admits before asking, "What's up with the dog?"

"Kasumi's into alchemy and specializes in golem creation. Gin is her most successful self thinking golem to date, but then, she hasn't really needed to go to the lengths she took in creating him." Remus says as Naruto alters his rune scheme once more.

Another rune diagram appears where this girlie looking red head is sitting with Kuwabara. "I am Shuichi Minamino, most commonly known as Kurama. My specialty is plants." Kurama says and he sighs, he should have expected something like that, especially given the fact that Neji does look pretty girlie.

As Kurama sits down and the lates rune scheme appears where Hiei is sitting with a young woman. The woman stands and introduces herself. "I am Yukina, Hiei's twin sister." Yukina says and he couldn't help but stare from one to the other before the scheme vanishes.

"Huh?" He couldn't help but say. "Well, I do believe story time is about to begin, so just sit back and you'll find out the hows and what nots." Sirius says as Naruto finally puts the finishing touches on his glowing rune scheme with Asian characters.

He jerks slightly as light diagrams of runes seem to appear at all four edges of the mat, their colors finally enter into a lazy blue with the outer most characters moving counter-clockwise as the most inner ring of runes circle clockwise. "Ok, I just need a single person to say something per mat just to make sure everything is working." Naruto says in a cheerful tone and one by one, they do so.

"Excellent! Now then, who wants to begin?" Naruto asks as the blond man sits down, though Sakura does shove him slightly, clearly believing that he's being impolite.

"Well, I guess I wouldn't mind being the first." Ranma says slowly as he glances at Ryoga and Mousse. He couldn't help himself as he leans forward slightly, wanting to know just what kind of story the proud teen has.

**January 4, 1992**

"Ok, so we have the stone, now what do we do with it?" He couldn't help but ask, particularly since he had been kind of surprised to find out that Dumbledore hadn't installed the stone in that chamber where that trap door lead.

He barely sees the stone for longer then a few minutes before he gets attacked by Voldemort's spirit, causing him to black out to be waken in the medical wing of the school. "Well, I for one, want to analyze it using this ward proto-type I've been developing since my third year." Kagome admits.

Kagome, Heero, Neji, and himself were currently the only three awake who weren't watching movies in one of the study rooms that are connected to the library. "Getting a sample of this water and using that ward wouldn't hurt either." Heero points out and Kagome's eyes light up for a second before she smiles and nods. "True, very true."

"Well then, should I go get some water from the washroom tap?" He asks and Neji gets up. "I'll do it."

It didn't take long before Neji arrives with a bowl of water and they then, carefully, lower the stone into the water. The stone glows softly for a second once its surrounded by the water. Before he picks up the stone, Heero casts more then a few analyzing spells on the water and stone.

"I'm not sure what that is, but it's not something I would want to drink." Heero says and he says, "The stone... it's a fake?"

"I believe so, which means that Dumbledore has either created this or was fooled by his so-called friend. I believe the latter since anyone who's lived this long wouldn't be willing to die now any more then they would then." Heero says and he couldn't help but sink a bit into his chair as he tries to wrap his mind around this.

"I would still like to analyze the stone." Kagome states. "You ok, Harry?" Neji asks and he finally lets loose his laughter.

It takes him a few minutes to get it under-control but once he did, he couldn't help but say, "All this time... a fake. It's funny, Nickles must have just used Bumblebee to go into hiding, to start a new life! The spider is a fly in another spider's web!"

He knows that he is babbling but he couldn't help it, all that time he felt guilty about 'killing' a married couple he didn't even know... He never killed them at all. "Well, I'm going to see what my analyzing ward says about this and then we can return it before the night is out." Kagome says as she pulls the bowl towards her and leaves the dinning hall.

"I think I'm going to turn in for the night." He tells them and they nod as they themselves get to their feet, likely off to join their fellows or go do their own projects.

He's confident that Kagome will, by morning, have a report of what that water does and plans to read it once he's got her permission. _I wonder what could happen if I write a letter to old Nickles to congratulate him on fooling the Bumblebee?_ He wonders and decides to do so after reading Kagome's findings.

**Farewell Feast**

He couldn't help but notice the confident look on their potion teacher's face, although none of the others seem particularly worried while Dumbledore seems to be irritated about the fact that he didn't go and 'rescue' the stone. It seems that even before Quirrel managed to get out of the castle, the possessed man had been stopped by Flitwick and Sprout.

Sprout had a panic attack at the sight of Voldemort's spirit raising out of Quirrel's body but some spirit barrier that Botan had risen around the castle kept either of them from getting taken over by the Dark Lord's essence. The stone was then 'destroyed' to keep the spirit from getting his 'hands' on it.

Which was kind of sad since he would have given much to witness a Quirrel original statue with two faces on it. _Next year will likely be the easiest year to date._ He muses since its unlikely that Onyx will be obeying any orders a possessed student will give her, no matter if said student is a parselmouth.

_There are now leather headbands that act as parseltongue translators so the uniqueness of finding humans who speak it. I also doubt that Onyx will like being bossed around by said pushy possessed student._ He thinks as he recalls his own conversations with the serpent. It also helps that other then those special 'walks' through the forest, Onyx's eyes will have that spell to ensure that the killing effect isn't active.

He sighs at the sight of those at the staff table finally begin to transform. "Yoko?" He hears Akane asks Shampoo in disbelief once each member of the staff have been transformed into very large, multi-tailed foxes with varying coat colors being gold, silver, or a very vibrant red that seems to shimmer about in this light as if made out of fire.

"I stand by my choice." Shampoo says and he just sighs, still a bit surprise that Dumbledore hadn't ever bothered to try and get rid of the various silent wards about the Kirin table, which allows them to speak fairly freely among themselves.

The enchantment likely began with the House Elves and had only gotten reinforced by various members of the house at some point before the end of the year, even if its just to ensure that they have their privacy when they want it.

"Well, I for one am very touched by Shampoo's choice since I am the last Yoko to be attending the school... Well, unless the next group of first year Kirin students count a Yoko among their number." Shippo says from his position next to Shizune.

**So Ends Kirin House**


	31. Naruto Reincarnated as Tails

**I Don't Own Naruto or Sonic!**

**- o 0 o -**

_I didn't sign up for this._ He thinks as he moves through the vents while an experimental cloaking device covers his being. He moves as carefully as he can since the device doesn't do anything to cover noise and smell.

He comes to the end and peers through the metal slits. He glances around the upper parts of the room for cameras. He finds at least two but he also noticed three other grids. He couldn't help but scowl as his tails lash softly back and forth against the metal walls of the ventilation system, a tight fit even for someone as young as him.

_It's times like these that I wish I still retained my chakra._ He thinks as he reaches into the pouch hanging from his belt around his waist. _I don't even see why they just don't raid this place since then they could destroy the research for this thing along with the weapon's factory next to this place._

He takes out a small case that contains the laser that will destroy the proto-type that's resting in the center of the room. After all, he sure as hell isn't going to enter into that death trap, no matter how many lives it'll save if he succeeds in stealing it so that his benefactors can create a counter for it. _I don't care if they say they're with the Resistance, nobody would send a kid my 'age' on a mission like this._

Taking the laser, he begins to aim the thin point through the slits of the grid, careful not to have the point's tip visible by any cameras set around the room. He's about to press the button when something causes the security system to proclaim warnings as red lights become activate and start flashing. He closes his eyes as bites down on his urge to curse under his breath.

Hurrying to put the laser away, he hears something banging against the vault door. A look into the room shows that the metal, security covering the device is indeed covering the delicate device and the metal pillar it is still resting on is slowly lowering itself into the ground. As he gets ready to go back the way he came, the door finally bursts open and something comes slamming down behind him.

He couldn't help but stare dumbly as gas begins to come drifting out of this newly open vent, which causes the cloaking device to shut off, leaving him very visible. He slams his way out of the air vents and somehow doesn't make it to the floor. "What was a kid like you doing in the vents?" Somebody asks and he glances up to find the face off of a wanted poster.

"You're Sonic..." He says and the blue hedgehog just gives him a smirk, a smirk he knew very well since he had once worn one oh so similar when he had once been somebody else, before saying, "Time to do it to it."

Before he could begin to wonder that the hell this guy is talking about, the world seems to blur around him and he suddenly feels as if his fur and skin were trying to come off. He vaguely hears a girl's voice scowling somebody and a much more laid back guy's voice making some catchy remark.

He didn't have long to recover before the world blurs and he finally blacked out before he felt the need to barf.

-)**V**(-

"It looks like he's coming too." He hears a voice say. He couldn't help but groan slightly as he feels just how achy his body feels, though his shoulder feels like somebody tried to rip it off. _I wonder what I did to piss Sakura off this time..._ He couldn't help but wonder as he swallows.

"Here's some water." Another, more masculine voice says. As he finally opens his eyes as he sips some water through a straw, he blinks a few times to clear his vision, he even uses an index finger to get rid of the junk pooling by his nose.

_Well... at least I managed to find somebody with pink hair? ... Or are those spines? Whatever they are._ He thinks as pushes the cup away so he can sit up. "Thanks." He rasps out and he winces slightly at how scratch his voice sounds.

"Sonic..." Sonia says in a tone that clearly meant that the blue hedgehog had better say something, like apologize. _Do all females use that same tone with stubborn guys?_ He wonders as he turns to look at Sonic, curious to hear what the speedster had to say.

"I'm sorry." Sonic says and a glances at Sonia shows that she now has her arms crossed over her chest and is tapping her foot. He flickers his ears as he slowly realizes that the van, he hopes its a van, is moving.

"What? I already apologized, what more do you want?" Sonic asks and he couldn't help but find this all so very amusing when he's not on the receiving end of it.

"He did indeed." He agrees on Sonic's defense, although it seems that Sonia just smiles slightly at him and pats him on the head like a little kid, which he is now, before glaring at her brother.

"Sonic shouldn't have gone as fast as he did considering he had you only by the hand." Sonia says and he blinks as he glances between the two.

"I only come in two speeds, slow'mo and speedy." Sonic says and even he knew better then to say that. "Ouch! What you do that for?" Sonic asks as he rubs his ear after Sonia gave it a quick pinch.

"Show some concern here! He's just a little kid, he's barely half your size and you treated him like some kind of rag doll!" Sonia tells Sonic and he couldn't help but scowl, especially since she's right about his current youth and lack of height.

Sonic does seem to blink as he takes a look at him before realizing that Sonia is right. "I really didn't... I mean, blood was rushing through me and we were in a battle..." Sonic admits as he stares from the floor to him. "I should have found a safe place for you before returning to help my sibs."

"Stuff happens, it's not as if you dragged me to that place..." He admits. He never really been on the end of this kind of scene before and for some reason, it brought tears to his eyes, though he kept blinking rapidly in hopes of causing them to vanish. _Did anyone I know ever apologize like this to me back then when they were totally out of line?_

Sonia glances worriedly at him but after a short hug, she moves to the table to where that device is waiting. He couldn't help but find himself at a lose of just how to react to this whole thing. "So... what's your name kid?" Sonic asks after a few minutes of silence as the blue hedgehog takes a seat next to him.

"Nobody's told me." He says truthfully since pretty much everyone he's met during this last year has either called him boy, runt, fox, kit, and whelp. "You're an orphan?" Sonia asks as she glances up from her workstation, showing that she is indeed keeping an eye on him even though she's busy.

"Been one as far back as I can recall. Even if people knew who my parents were, they never talking about them with me or bothered to give any possessions they might have left when they died." He, once again, says in complete honesty. _Of course every adult preferred not to use their head and put two and two together when it came to how similar dad's and mine looks were. It's amazing at how bitter hatred could blind people from seeing what's in front of them all along._

"Surely the orphanage wouldn't leave you nameless..." Sonia asks and it seems that she's not the only one who finds this to be frustrating since Sonic has this frown on his face. "Don't recall ever being in one." He answers and he hears something break.

Sonia seems to be taking deep, calming breaths after destroying the handle for this small mirror. He feels his ears kind of rest on his skull after hearing the pink hedgehog mutter a bunch of death threats to those irresponsible adults. It's clear that she wasn't use to this since most of those threats weren't highly thought through.

_Well, from what I've seen, such callous attitude that I'm describing likely would never have the chance to take place since these beings seem to have some universal parenting instinct when it comes to kids._ He admits to himself, although it seems that he's more then just rousing it in these three Royal hedgehogs.

"So... what were you doing at the place, little dude?" Manic asks from the drivers seat. "Some guys were looking for a way to destroy that device but none of them were small enough to get through the vents. So, thinking they were part of the Resistance, I offered to do it for them." He explains, more then a little glad that the topic had left the 'rough' patch in their conversation.

"They gave me this laser and this proto-type cloaking devices for the job." He adds as he takes out the small carrying case for the laser and holds up his left hand with the 'watch' strapped to it. Sonic takes the laser case from him and he undoes the strap of the cloaking device to hand over to Sonic too.

"F.L.T." The blue hedgehog muses after reading the top of the case. "Flat Laser Trigger." He says and Sonic seems to roll his eyes before tossing the case over to Sonia.

As Sonic takes some time to examine the cloaking device, his stomach chose that time to growl. With a hand over his med-section, he couldn't help but feel sheepish about it. Sonic gets up and rummages through the fridge after leaving the cloaking device with Sonia.

After he ate the small meal, the rocking of the van somehow managed to lull him into sleep.

Sonic

"Well, that didn't take long." He muses as he holds onto the tuckered out fox kit. Slowly picks the kid up, being careful to curl both tails so they're touching the kid's belly.

_Never seen a fox with twin tails before._ He admits not for the first time as he heads to a more secure bed then the pull out couch they had the kid resting on when they retreated from the exploding building. He hadn't expected for the kid to be so light either.

"It never does all things considered." Sonia admits as he heads to sit at the passenger seat. "At least we can do something to make his life a bit better." Sonia says before growling, "By the sounds of it, we already treated him better in the short time he's been with us then he ever was in his short life."

"He's a trooper, that's for sure." Manic agrees. _I wonder if Tails is a good nickname for him? At least until we give him an actual name..._

**Epilogue**  
Reeve 'Tails' Windfall

"Hey Tails!" He hears Vine shout and he groans more at his more commonly used nickname then at Vine herself. "Hello Vine." He says as he puts the gadget he's working with on the table.

"Have you heard the news?" Vine ask as she plants herself across the table from him. "Is it the news about Manic's newest orphanage having an opening ceremony on Royal Reunion Day?" He asks since he didn't see why she bothers doing this with him.

After all, he is adopted into the Royal house about a month after he met the three triplets. So he, of course, knows pretty much all the news and announcements before they're released to the public. _It's hard not to when it's getting discussed at the breakfast table._

"Prince Manic is?" The gray ground squirrel girl asks. "It was in the paper yesterday." He tells her and it takes a few seconds before Vine recovers.

"No, not that news. I mean the one where Sonic's girlfriend Sally finally got her AI project up and running." Vine says and sighs. _Well, it seems that she did managed to hear about something before I did._

"N.I.C.O.L.E. is up and running?" He asks and Vine nods her head in a slightly rapid fashion. "I wonder..." He muses and he gets up from his seat to head off to visit Sally's lab.

"Where are you going? You forgot to put your gadget away!" Vine calls after him as he takes off at a jog down the halls of the university.

He manages to either weave around people or forced to channel a bit of Chaos energy into his shoes to leap over them before continuing on his way towards Sally's lab in hopes of not missing out on Sonic finally asking Sally to marry him. "Sorry, Rotor! Kind of trying to make it to an important event!" He says as he almost collides with the purple walrus.

"That's what you always say, Reeve." Rotor says as he lands behind Rotor. "Yea but if what Vine says, I'll be gaining a new relative to be soon!" He counters as he turns the corner.

As he watches how Sonic fumbles around with the ring while Sally seems to be busy placing plates about the hand held computer that likely stores the AI that Sally's been working on before she began dating Sonic. "Did we miss it?" He hears Sonia asks softly and he shakes his head without looking away from the scene.

"I would have thought Sonic wouldn't be so slow in asking her." Manic whispers after watching the scene for a few seconds. "Consider how long it took before Sonic was willing to admit they were dating." He points out softly as the ring manages to slip out of Sonic's grasp and sails onto the desk where Sally's working.

Sally pauses before looking at the ring. Sally just blinks before setting her hand held computer down on the desk so she can pick up the ring. Sally examines it before asking in a slow manner, "Sonic... is there a reason why this ring landed on my desk?"

"Well... I was kind of hoping that... Well, will you, Sally Acorn, do me the honor of marrying me?" Sonic asks in a very in secure voice.

Sally seems at a lost before she stands and walks around her desk to stand in front of Sonic. Sally leans over and gives Sonic a kiss. "I accept." Sally says as she slides the ring onto her finger.

"Really?" Sonic asks in a slightly dumbfounded tone. "Really." Sally says and draws him in for a kiss.

"What are you three doing by that door?" Knuckles asks, which causes them to spill into the room. "Sonia? Manic?" Sonic wonders as he stops kissing Sally.

"Wait... what's Tails and Knuckles doing here too?" Sonic adds as he glances from him to Sonia's husband. "That's what I want to know." Knuckles says as he glances questioningly at Sonia, his wife.

"Well, we heard about Sally finally putting her AI through its paces and decided to come down to congratulate her." Manic says as they get untangled so they can all stand up. "That's right." He agrees as he straightens up his belt.

Sonic just seem to sigh while Sally looks bemused at the antics of her soon to be in-laws. "Well then, you must be here to take Sonic and I out for an expensive dinner to celebrate our engagement." Sally says and Knuckles seems to sigh.

"On us, of course." Sonia says and Sally nods with a slight smile. "Who's going to tell Grandma?" He asks.

"Who's to says I'm not already here?" Queen Aleena muses as she steps out from the side of the door. "So the whole university knew I was going to ask Sally to marry me today?" Sonic asks in an exasperated tone.

"Just us... Well, they do now." He says before glancing at the curious onlookers standing out in the hall.

_I guess that just leaves Manic..._ He muses as he glances at the green hedgehog before he hears Vine and a few of his other friend call out to him, with a few calling him Tails and the rest Reeve. "Well, see you guys later!" He says as he takes it as his que to leave.

"See you." Aleena says, sentiments echoed by most of his family. _They really are my family._

**The End**


	32. Magical Rings: Harry Potter

**I don't own Harry Potter or The Monster's Ring**

**- o 0 o -**  
October 1988

He sighs as the light beyond his room vanishes, snapping him out of his musings about the latest book he managed to read. _At least Russell wasn't living with his enemies..._ He thinks as he slips The Monster's Ring into the 'rafters' of his room.

He'll return it to the library as soon as he can, although he would have loved to own his own copy of said book. _Of course I won't make the mistakes that Russell did... Well, I would hope I won't._ He thinks as he lies down on the floor and covers what he can with his ratty blanket.

He thinks as he has his image of what that ring within the pages of the book had looked like. _Too bad magic isn't real cause if it were, I'd so make my own Monster's Ring._ He thinks as he puts his glasses down before a fitful sleep overcomes him.

*** * ***

Unknown to young Harry Potter, a minor flash of dark purple erupts at those wishful thoughts and a certain book is copied in an act of accidental magic from the lonely child resting below.

- -**)(**- -  
July 1991

As he collects his things from his room under the stairs, a few metal somethings and a flat item fall from the rafters and he frowns at the sight of a certain book. After blowing a thin layer of dust off the cover, he feels his mouth open and his eyes widen. _I know I returned this book! So how can it be here?_

But he snaps out of those thoughts to hurry up to his new room. Although his thoughts were whirling about this strange occurrence, it did bring back his musings of creating his own ring. _Maybe magic is real and that my 'loving' aunt and uncle knew all along, knew that I could be... That I am a..._ He thinks and he couldn't squash that because it sounds like something his relatives would keep from him, especially when they strive to be so normal.

_After all, that letter did mention Witchcraft and Wizardry, which sounds like there are people out there who practice it. I've always been blamed for things I couldn't have done, although I wish I had the guts to do. They must have known, why else punish me when it's clear I wouldn't have done those things?_ He adds with a frown as he closes the door behind him.

For some reason, a slight aching feeling erupts within him over this latest betrayal. He puts the little box he has his stuff in on the desk and drops himself on the bed that's within the room. It didn't take long for that ache to leave him, after all, it wasn't the first time he found himself hurt by his relative's actions, just the first time he actually gets the idea that he did indeed do those things he was accused of.

_If magic is real... Then I can fulfill that wish._ He finally thinks before his aunt bangs on his door and screeches at him to get to the kitchen to help with making dinner.

- -**)(**- -  
August 1991

_I'm so glad I asked that goblin about another way to get to Diagon Alley besides using muggle methods._ He thinks as he walks down the alley, heading for meeting with an Artificer he managed to find listings of and had arranged to met in hopes of getting a professional opinion on how to craft magical items. Particularly what kind of challenges you face in creating such an item.

_I wonder just what kind of lasting enchantments you can place on ordinary things... After all, it would be better to have a few attitude modifiers around just encase my relatives get any bright ideas about me going to a magic school._ He thinks, not that he has any plans to continue living with his relatives once he's found a place to live, be it an apartment or a house his family owns.

_Should I enlist the aid of goblins for that task?_ He wonders as he finally arrives at the restaurant that's by one of the entrances into Knockturn alley. Ignoring the looks that more then a few people were giving him, he spots the Artificer Tobias Rupear wearing the beaded necklace he got a picture of.

_Polyjuice might be disgusting to drink but at least nobody is stopping me to shake my hand because I out lived my parents and some psychopathic wizard with a god complex._ He thinks as he takes another sip of that potion just in case he forgets during his discussions with Tobias. _Using seven of those hair from those random people was definitely a good idea as well._

"Artificer Rupear?" He inquires as he takes off his charmed sunglasses and puts them in his shirt pocket. "Yes I am, Evan Coville Elives I take it?" Tobias asks and he nods.

"You can call me Evan." He says as he sits down across from the Artificer. Tobias smiles and counters, "Call me Tobias. It's my name after all."

"Thank you for meeting with me. I can't begin to describe how much this meeting means to me as I have been interested in your profession since I was accepted to Hogwarts. I've always wanted to know more about what it takes to become an Artificer, particularly what differences there are when it comes to enchanting non-crafted items." He says.

"Yes, not many understand the subtle different between my work and some spell placed on an item to bait muggles." Tobias says as a waitress appears with a menu for him. "Muggle baiting doesn't do more then cause a headache for the Auror department." He muses as he skims through the menu.

"And bring unnecessary attention of magic to the muggles." Tobias agrees with a slight sigh. "You wouldn't believe how many people come to me to enchant or craft items who's sole purpose is to bait muggles."

"You'd think they'd have better things to do then to devote so much time and magic into those sorry endeavors." He says with a slight shaking of his head. Tobias nods in agreement.

By the time the waitress comes to take his order, Tobias and him have begun discussing the principle differences between simple enchanting and crafting items that were designed to not just hold enchantments but to help empower them. He manages to remember to take a sip of his Polyjuice potion every hour for the six hours he was with Tobias.

He sighs as he watches as Tobias leaves with a crack, he had learnt a lot from the Artificer and he has high hopes of his success in fulfilling a wish he made not too long ago. He takes out the piece of paper that lists the books and items that an Artificer uses. _Might as well see if any places within Knockturn alley have any of these, particular pre-enchanted ward stone so I can set them up in my room so nobody can detect me using magic._ He muses as he heads into the deeper parts of the alley were you can buy anything for the right price.

(o)

_Huh... what a profitable evening._ He muses as he climbs up the stairs of the Knight bus after giving paying for his ticket and telling them where to drop him off. He feels the second wand resting in his jean's pocket and couldn't help the smile widen slightly. _A very profitable evening indeed considering that less then two weeks ago, I was only beginning to allow myself to believe that magic exists and that I could be a wizard._

_The question now is, how much did Dumbledore knew was going on at the house after he dropped me off..._ He thinks after the heart thumping ride on the Knight bus as he walks towards the house where his relatives lived.

That thought kind of surprised him when it popped into his head as he slowly begins to recall what Hagrid had told him about _his_ **story** that wizards and witches were told for about the last ten years. While he did feel loyalty to the giant of a man, he couldn't help wonder how this benevolent wizard could ignore how his family treated him during any check ups.

_Unless... But what kind of idiot wouldn't check up on the Boy-Who-Lived? I mean, muggle governments regularly send people to check up on orphans, so he must have done a check up on me, right?_ He wonders as he moves to the side of the house before slipping out of the oversized cloths as the potion's effects fade, leaving him to return to looking like a scrawny child.

Not that he'll remain looking so since he is taking a cocktail of potions to help correct what little food he received during his childhood. He also had gone to a wizard eye healer who gave him an updated prescription for his glasses as well as enchanted frames that were enchanted to take a greater beating then his previous ones. It didn't hurt that they didn't look like they were taking over his face.

Of course he's had to be pretty secretive when it comes to not just his new glasses but other things like cloths and runners that actually fit his build and feet. While he didn't know what colors to get said items in, he sure as heck couldn't look any worst then wearing his cousin's castoffs. _Not that I've been wearing those cloths around either. I can't wait to watch those rags burn in a bonfire._

Once he's changed into said rags and has stuffed his cloths into a plastic bag, he heads for the back door and then up to his room while his family sit before the tv. All three act as if he doesn't exist and he's more then a bit glad for that. It didn't take long before he's unshrunk his things and begins to set up those ward stones under a few boards he managed to pry loose during his search for any stashes his cousin might have made and had forgotten about.

He watches as the stones begin to glow and that glow spread out onto the floor then up the walls before engulfing the ceiling and the closed window. Hedwig ruffles her feathers and he turns to give her a reassuring look before glancing back at the warding stones which no longer glow. With a sigh, he takes his latest wand that he purchased from everything shop in Knockturn Alley and begins to cast a low level locking charm on not just the door but the hinges just encase the hinges give before the door does.

"Now then, where did I put that spell book..." He mutters as he begins to search through his new trunk for a certain advance spell book that has silencing charms in it.

**- * - * - * -**

I hope you guys are patient, although I bet more then a few of you have an idea of 'the power he knows not' is going to be.

- -**)(**- -  
June 1992

_Ok... That didn't answer anything._ He thinks as he watches as the white haired elderly man walk away, leaving a small crowd on its way to visit him. _Well, at least he's not lecturing me on my marketing strategy. I mean, really, why shouldn't I get a profit when they're willing to buy anything with my **Name** attached to it? It's call Royalties after all._ He thinks as his view of the hospital doors gets blocked by one of the Weasley twins.

"Did you get the picture?" Terry asks and it takes him a few seconds to realize what his friend is talking about. "Well, I did get a picture, just not of Beast Boy." He says as points to the slightly broken camera.

"I don't get why any of you believe in those rumors. There isn't any proof that this boy even exists and don't get me started on the stories where he's suppose to be Hagrid's love child." Hermione says in a huff as Terry takes the camera and begins to rewind the film within it.

"Well, how would you explain how Draco and Snape ended so high up on the walls in only their underwear with a spot sticking charm around the top of their underwear?" Neville asks their fellow Gryffindor. "Oh I don't know, a levitation spell on their cloths and a quick sticking charm after vanishing their cloths?" Hermione says.

"Sounds like you got some experience with this, Hermione." Terry muses while Fred and George begin to dig into a box of jelly beans, the muggle types thankfully. "Perhaps you'd like to reconsider our offer to make you our apprentice?" Fred asks and Hermione just goes from blushing to just rolling her eyes.

"No thank you, I prefer to have a feasible defense that I didn't what you two are up to." Hermione finally manages to say after they all chuckle at her reaction. "Sounds like a weak defense to me." Neville muses and he nods in agreement while the sole Ravenclaw wonders, "I can't help but wonder why I'm even friends with any of you."

"Could it be because you're always trying to pick Hermione's brain? Or wanting to learn the origins of the local Beast Boy that's hounding everyone in the school?" He suggests and Terry hums in a thoughtful manner. "Well, I guess among those are among my reason." Terry admits with a charming smile sent at Hermione.

"Well, we should let Harry rest from his exhausting encounter with What's-His-Face." George says as he elbows his twin, likely spotting the school nurse's approach as well. "Well, see you at the Farewell Feast!" Neville says and he just nods as the group slowly withdraws from his bed side.

As the curtains close around his bed, he turns to look at the still none final produce ring on his index finger of his right hand. The jade face stares back at him, the sapphire eyes flash a dark purple before the top of the ring slowly turns in a clockwise manner. He couldn't help but grin as a familiar feeling slowly engulfs him, the ring only turns twice and he's manage to grab his wand.

It didn't take long before he's altered his cloths and has set an illusion of a resting him in the bed. _Well, like Tobias said, all things are a work in progress as you draw closer to your ultimate finished product. Although I doubt Tobias would enjoy the idea of the ring making a few decisions on when it's time for it to be used._ He muses as the changes subside.

_At least I don't have to worry about the Full Moon or three twists._ He adds as he passes through the curtains, heading for the door to see what mayhem he can cause without anyone realizing that Harry Potter and Beast Boy being one and the same.

**The End**


	33. Undercover Girl: Naruto

**I don't own Naruto!**

**- o 0 o -**

_This could have gone better._ He... she thinks as she rubs the back of her neck while her shadow clone apologizes. She waves the clone off as she reaches out for a mirror to see if her alterations remained.

The sight of straight brown hair, hazel green eyes, and lack of whisker marks causes her to smile in relief. _Now then, let's see if that seal will hold when I try to cancel this._ She thinks after admiring her new reflection.

Setting the mirror down, she then tries to cancel her Henge but she doesn't feel any different. To be sure, she once more checks in the mirror before patting herself down to make sure that no surprises popped out. The clone offers her a chakra limiter which should help hide her chakra signature during this month long 'training' exercise that kind of began as a bet on who's were the best at sniffing out undercover people and who's the best at remaining undercover from the hunters.

Just a few hours ago, her luck had run out and she picked an uncolored straw, meaning that she's to be one of those to do their best to remain undercover. She and the others who came up short have forty-eight hours to melt into the civil population in and around Hidden Leaf or at least find some hide-a-way to hold up in.

_Luckily, Pervy-Sage left behind that book on seals and that chakra limiter._ She muses as she finally finishes putting on cloths. "We've got the passport. All we need is a picture to put in the slot." Her shadow clone says.

"What name am I to go by?" She asks as she picks up a pack filled with girl cloths and feminine products. "Kasumi Hikari, recent immigrant from Land of Waves." The clone reports.

"How many clones have passports now?" She asks as she practices her walking since her body feels pretty odd. "Twenty-six. In a few hours, we'll have a total of fifty." Her clone reports.

"Any signs of the others?" She asks as she tries to keep from slouching as she finally shoulder's her pack. "Lee has been seen heading northeast, likely going to try to 'run' for it instead of trying to do undercover. Neji's still looking at maps, Choji's heading off with Ino somewhere in a southern direction."

"So you and the rest will be heading northwest or southwest?" She asks and her clone answers, "Likely divide into two groups and seed as much of those two areas as we can. A few want to see if they can't create clones that look like forest animals."

"So, where do I pick up my passport?" She asks, more then ready to vanish back into Hidden Leaf with her new identity as Kasumi Hikari. The clone tells her and she hums.

Before they split apart, the clone asks, "Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, that seal is suppose to help alter your behavior, not just help hide your gender. That limiter also keeps you from using most of your chakra."

She sighs before moving her bangs from one of her temples and channels some chakra, which is fairly hard with the bracelet like limiter gracing her slender wrist. "I got this mental stabilizer we put on before deciding on any particular look. The problem as I see it will likely come from me accidentally activating my chakra and causing those seals to flare up."

With that, she walks off to collect her passport. As soon as she can, she will use those scent removing soups and hope that her body begins to produce a more feminine scent so that Kiba and Akamaru can't sniff out her true gender.

- = **)-Week Later-(** = -  
Sasuke

As he stalks towards the local hot springs, he couldn't help but grumble about the latest shadow clone they found in a village east of Hidden Leaf. So focus on his brooding thoughts that he didn't notice the girl until they collided. "Sorry, please forgive me, I'm running a bit behind." The girl says as she scrambles to collect a few leaflets.

He blinks and watches her with some disinterest as the girl finishes her task. It didn't take long before he finds himself staring into hazel green eyes. "Again, I'm sorry." The girl says and bows slightly at him.

As he walks pass, the girl then says, "You're one of those Leaf ninja who saved my village from Goto!" He pauses before turning to look at her, it didn't take him long to recall that mission. "Thanks, for getting rid of him. He was ruining what was left of our country." The girl says before realizing that she's still late.

"Oh my gosh! I got to go! Bye Uchiha-san!" The girl exclaims and he watches as the girl speed walks away, clearly trying to keep her dignity while at the same time trying to make her appointment.

_From the Land of Waves, huh? I guess with the bridge it's easy for them to leave._ He muses as he feels his spirits lift a tiny bit at the praise he received from the late girl.

- = **)-Last Week of the Bet-(** = -  
Naruto

_Five more days and I'll have won the bet._ She tells herself. _Still, maybe I should have tried passing myself off as a six year old instead of a thirteen year old girl..._

"Oh, sorry, Kasumi! I didn't mean to... I think I'll just leave now." Genji stutters as he slams the door shut. "Maybe I shouldn't have taken him up on his offer..." She muses as she shakes her head slightly.

_Nice guy though. I wonder if I knew him from the ninja academe?_ She thinks not for the first time since she accepted Genji's offer to stay with him until she manages to find a place of her own.

During her stay with Genji, she had learnt that he was an orphan like her and has been living in his own apartment since age ten. She sighs as she privately adds as she washes the shampoo out of her hair, _He's also nervous around girls, has aspirations of being a doctor, is a talented cook, and is an all around nice guy._

_Funny how it feels like I've known him all of my life even though we've only known each other for less then three weeks._ She muses before feeling a bit of guilt about deceiving the guy. _If it weren't for pretending to be a girl, I might have allowed myself to lose myself in this new life I've built for myself._

"He's a really great guy..." She admits out loud with a sigh as she finally finishes rinsing out her shampoo and reaches for the conditioner. _If only he were a girl..._ She admits in a sad sort of way.

_Maybe I should leave a clone here instead of ending Kasumi Hikari's life... I mean, it would be a shame to 'kill' her after putting so much work into creating her..._ She thinks and for the first time, she wishes she had someone to confide into, someone who she trusts to give her decent advice.

_Well, I know one thing for certain, I'm never going to tell anyone how I managed to evade them or else people will begin to get ideas in locking me in the form of a girl and try to use me as some kind of brood mare._ She decides with steely resolve. _Especially if I have to erase this whole month from my mind._

It's about then does she notice that something red is getting washed down the drain. Cocking her head to the side in puzzlement, she follows the trail up stream as it were and is shocked to discover that it's dripping down her legs. She reaches down and touches that area, probing for any cuts she might have develop but finds no real point of injury to explain why she's bleeding from that area.

"Oh hell, so this is a period..." She murmurs softly to herself as she finally recalls something she might have learnt during a health class or maybe it was a textbook...

- = **)-Three Days After the Bet-(** = -  
Iruka

"What do you want, Naruto?" He asks the young Genin who's resting on his couch. He's not sure how the blond found his address but Naruto looks highly uncertain about something.

"Why do girls bleed from... down there?" Naruto finally asks him and he suddenly feels as if he should have just stayed in bed.

**The End**


	34. The Culling of Hogwarts

**I don't own Harry Potter**

**- o 0 o -**

November 13, 1994

"Are we sure that Harry would want us to do this in his name?" The one wearing smokey gray cloak with the deep hood up, covering their face. All of them were wearing cloaks with deep hoods, although not all of them were the same color and all of their hoods had been charmed to alter their voices while the cloaks hide their over all body shape, making if hard to tell what gender the wearer is.

"His second year." The one in blue replies and that pretty much sums it all up. "Point." The one in gray says and a fifth member appears within the room.

"Sorry, it took me a bit to get the charms right." The new comer says wearing a green cloak and sets down two tightly bounded stacks onto the table. "Excellent." The one in purple says as they examine the lot.

"How are the goods coming along?" The one in blue asks after turning to the one in brown. "They are already being packed up in their boxes. They'll be done by midnight tonight." The one in brown answers.

"Excellent, our plan will soon bare bitter fruit." The one in blue says as the one in purple rub their hands together. "I still say that Dumbledore won't fall for any of this." The one in gray says.

"You didn't mention Snape not falling for this. So you must have something planned for him. What is it?" The one in purple asks and gray sighs before saying, "I used some of my own resources to ensure that Snape and... Moody will be busy."

"In what way?" Green asks and beneath the hood, gray smiles. "Let's say I'm boring a simple idea that's been used since ancient times. Its so simple that nobody would ever believe it would work." Gray states calmly.

"Have you done your part?" Gray asks blue and purple. "Of course! The sites are just waiting for the collection boxes and, of course, the slips."

"Ah, well, here are the collection boxes." Gray says and within seconds, the boxes appear as if by magic. "You used Harry's cloak didn't you?" Purple asks and gray nods just enough for the hood's material to ruffle.

"Good, then if you don't mind, now that we've got the boxes and the slips, we'll go place them at their rightful places." Blue says and gray hands over magical cloak.

"Well, if we're done, I've got other business to attend too." Green says and so they leave the special room, all but brown, but then, brown had special ways of traveling about the castle.

Harry  
November 19, 1994

"Harry... Harry... HARRY!" He bolts right up as somebody shouts in his left ear. "Wha? I didn't burn that bacon..." He says automatically as he backs away from whoever it is shaking him.

"... Bacon?" Neville asks and it takes him a few minutes to realize that he's at Hogwarts and that it seems to be more crowded then usual. "What smells?" He asks Neville while ignoring the usual nervous teen's question.

"Well, I'm not certain but I do believe that somebody managed to sneak a bunch of horses into our dorms... Although I haven't the slightest clue as to where our room-mates are though..." Neville explains and with a sigh, he reaches for his glasses.

"Holy... I thought you were kidding about the horses!" He says after not just putting his glasses on but turning on the lights. "Looks likely they're not house broken either..." He mutters at the sight of dung on the floor.

"I'm more concerned by the fact they're stallions..." Neville admits nervously and he frowns. "How can you tell?" He asks, after all, he was never taken to petting zoos when his relatives took his cousin.

"Well... you see those bulges? The one longish one is their..." Neville seems to just get more red and he doesn't hear what Neville said but he gets the general idea.

"Ok, why is it bad that they're stallions?" He asks and Neville sighs. "It means they're temperamental, although, I guess that whoever brought them here must have fed them a calming potion since they're not fighting each other." Neville muses.

"I'll take your word for it since it sounds like you've got more experience in this then I do." He admits to Neville, which causes Neville to flush a bit at the praise.

As they sit there, each lost in their own thoughts, the door opens and there stand Hermione. "Only Neville and Harry in this one!" His bushy haired friend calls to somebody unseen.

"Hermione!" Both Neville and himself exclaim in relief as the witch levels her wand and blue energy travels to each of the stallions within the room, causing them to vanish. "Morning you two. You wouldn't believe how few Gryffindors are still here." Hermione says and it didn't take long before they both opted to follow after Hermione as she vanishes from the doorway without getting dressed.

"What's going on? Why were those horses in our dorms?" He asks as they pause before another door. "Well, we're not sure but some of us believe that this might be a Slytherin prank or some training exercise Moody came up with to remind us all to keep up our guard. Just remember, these are just theories. We haven't had time to investigate since we're still removing the horses from our dorms."

"Where are the horses going anyway?" Neville asks curiously and Hermione shrugs. "Dobby told us to use this spell to send them to the school stables. We'll sort out what to do after we've cleared out our dorms." Hermione says and she opens the door.

_Well, isn't this an interesting way to wake up on a Saturday?_ He muses as Hermione teleports the various horses away. As they continue, he couldn't help but notice how more surly Hermione gets as they continue to encounter rooms filled with horses.

_Well, whoever put them in there clearly should have thought it through some more since Hermione's likely going to be ranting about how unfair it was for the horses to be stuck in a small room without adequate bedding, food, or water._ He decides as Neville and himself continue to trail after Hermione until they've cleared out all of the boy's side of the dorms.

By then, all of their stomachs were growling and instead of returning to their dorms to change their cloths, they just head out after putting on some conquered fuzzy slippers one of the few seventh years created.

**Midnight**

"Well, that went well." Gray states dryly and the others all kind of shrug. "You're just foul that the only living teachers left are Madam Hooch, Professor Vector, and Professor Trelawney." Purple says.

"Dumbledore never did try to make it clear how Harry's name got in the goblet in the first place." Brown points out. "Too true, too true." Blue says.

"Sorry, it's just that, well, I'm a little perturbed that Trelawney gave Hagrid her box is all." Gray admits and green pats gray on the shoulder. "Look on the bright side, nobody used the finishing spell on him so he'll return to normal when the New Moon arrives." Green says as best as they can.

"I know, I know. It's just that so many didn't care that Harry didn't put his name in it." Gray says before adding after a few minutes, "Although I can't help but be a bit satisfied getting that Rita though."

"There, see? We got somebody we weren't even aiming for." Green says.

"So... when do you think they'll discover the real Alaster Moody within that trunk?" Purple muses and blue remarks, "Oh, I don't know, after Frudge finally leaves with his special 'adviser', allowing Madam Bones to finally do her job."

Brown's hood flickers backwards, the illusion hanging about brown's form lets go and reveals Dobby and his small form. "I... err, Dobby wants to know what's to become of the fake friends and unbelievers now?" Dobby says, still finding it difficult to return to using house elf speech while wearing the enchanted cloak still hanging about his frame.

"Oh poo, I was hoping we could keep up the masquerade a bit longer." Luna says once the hood of her green cloak rests about her shoulders. It wasn't long before gray's hood reveals Hermione, blue's reveals George, and purple's reveals Fred.

"Well, it served its purpose. Although shame about little Ronnie though..." Fred muses and George nods. "Well, in the end, at least we ensured that he's not a jack-ass." George points out.

"You three don't seem too broken up over Ginny's fate." Hermione says with a frown. "The votes were tallied as fairly as possible. Besides, didn't we all vowed not to try and save anyone who ended up on the negative category?" George points out.

"Or to warn anyone. And let's not forget using the finishing spell on any 'horse' caught within the walls starting from midnight yesterday for a full twenty-four hours?" Fred points out and Hermione sighs.

"At least Hagrid never entered into the school, although how he managed to survive most of the day in the Forbidden Forest as a horse, I doubt is something that I would want to know." Hermione admits with a sigh. "Fang being full of Pesky Vultry meat might have something to do about that." Luna muses thoughtfully.

"Vultry?" Fred and Hermione echo. "Well, it's kind of hard to say their actual names while still wearing this cloak." Luna admits in an embarrassed way. "I... Dobby sympathizes." Dobby says as he pats Luna's arm.

"Well, to answer Dobby's question, it seems that according to Madam Pomfrey, all of the horses are all muggle Arabians and Arabians are a very popular horse breed so I was thinking that we create a breeding farm with them as our founding stock." Hermione admits.

"Just curious why don't we just sell the lot of them and wash our hands of it?" Fred asks after glancing at George. "Well, for one, do you really want to bring the ICW in to investigate why we're selling people transfigured into horses, be my guess, because that's what's more then likely to happen." Hermione says.

"We truly have followed in Circe's foot steps, haven't we?" Luna muses and none of them could really deny that. "Makes you wonder if she didn't already had the right view on how to deal with human nature..." Hermione admits with a sigh.

**The End**


	35. Maximal Obsidian: Naruto

**I don't own Naruto or Transformers: Beast Wars**

**- o 0 o -**

"Obsidian! Hey, wait up!" Waterjet says and he slows as he turns his head to look over his shoulder to see the slender beast form of Waterjet come lopping towards him in his awkward gait that likely has to do with the fact that Waterjet only has two short, but powerful limbs.

"You have anything to report, Waterjet?" He asks his fellow Maximal and, oddly enough, subordinate. "Sir... Does sector nine really need you to check it out? Couldn't you send, say, Glidebot or Fourwinds?" Waterjet inquires and he smiles slightly.

"Who did you prank this time, Waterjet?" He asks with a slight smile and in a very amused tone. "Nobody yet... I mean, me, prank on a day like today?" Waterjet says and the reptilian face tries to look innocent.

_Pretty amusing to see the puppy-dog look on a face that has three eyes..._ He muses as they stop walking. "Look, Waterjet. This day affects us all in different ways." He says to Waterjet as he sits down with his tail twitching every so often.

"Take Tusker, he usually heads off to tend to the flower patch that Fleetfoot and Petalstance planted." He says and Waterjet nods, flickering his muscular tail, likely getting impatient.

"I, myself, like to go off on my own for the solar cycle." He says and glances to the west where the horizon is slowly beginning to brighten up.

"Ah, but, who's going to be left in charge without you or Savage around? Remember last stellar cycle when Savage and you headed to check on that energon field to see how that fallen star effected it." Waterjet says, slapping the tip of his tail on the ground. "Ramtron almost slagged Petalstance while Snare and Glidebot's game program triggered a level blue alert."

"We would have left Fleetfoot in charge but he was in the CR chamber because someone used that experimental glue on Fleetfoot's bed the night before." He points out and Waterjet looks slightly ashamed of that. "But Ramtron and Petalstance have been eyeing each other for a rematch!" Waterjet says.

"Savage and I trust that Fleetfoot's more then capable of managing the situation until one of us returns. Just don't aggravate Fourwinds and things will go smoothly." He tells Waterjet as he stands.

"But... but..." Waterjet says and sighs. "If things get heated between you two, just hide in the lake until Savage or I get back." He tells Waterjet.

It didn't really surprise him that instead of returning to base, Waterjet heads for the lake. _Was I acted like that when I was..._ He wonders but couldn't bring himself to finish that thought. _Dwelling on that past will only drive me insane. After all, it's not like I can turn back the hands of time to undo that fight..._

As he arrives at the boundary line of the sector nine, his sensors begins to notice some kind of energy occurrence that seems to be trying to engulf him. :Sir! There's some kind of energy perk around you!: Ramtron says and it seems that as Tusker begins to radio him, the signal is already beginning to break apart.

His internal sensors suddenly go offline and just before he blacks out, he watches as his surroundings break apart.

- = Sasuke = -

He couldn't help but scowl as nothing happens to the ash covered body at the center of the summoning diagram. None of them move and then, after at least two minutes, something seems to grab ahold of some internal part of him and he soon finds it difficult to breath as he falls to his knees.

He hears the others begin to have the same problem as his vision swims and he begins to shiver as a chill hits him. What feels like an eternity, the chill seems to retreat and the drain on his energy lets up, although he is having trouble from blacking out since the energy hadn't returned. "What the fuck is that?!" He hears one of his subordinates say from the door leading into the room.

He manages to sit up and finally glances at the center of the summoning diagram to find some kind of black large feline with dark purple mane, more like a horse's mane then a lion's, growing from the forehead and thins just before the butt. As the large feline begins to stir, the tail begins to flicker frequently.

He tries to stand but his legs keep giving out and from a quick look around, the rest of the group have the same problem. With a grunt, the feline raises its head and yawns, displaying a wicked set of fangs, before opening its eyes, revealing dark blue eyes. The pointed ears flicker about as the feline shifts its position.

_"Ah slag it."_ A male voice growls as the feline's head turns to stare at him. The feline gets up and begins to test the seal diagram which seems to flash whenever the feline tries to get out of the circle.

A very beastly snarl echos through the room and winces at the sound. The feline stops pacing and before his eyes, everything about the feline moves, shifting until what's standing within the center of the seal diagram is some kind of being made of metal. In the thing's hand is a glowing sword since the edge of the strange sword were the source of the glowing.

"Aarg!" He cries out as he hurries to cover his eyes as the sword makes contact with the chakra that's forcing the thing to remain in the center of the diagram. "It's going to blow!" Somebody shouts from the doorway but he still couldn't find it within him to move out of the way.

Finally, something flings him backwards with a thunderous sound that echos through the room. Within seconds, he finds himself lifted in the air and finds the metal face of the thing they summoned holding with ease. "What am I doing here?" The thing demands.

"... Trying to bring a dead person back." He finally says as he gets slammed into the wall a few times. "Who?" The being demands, he couldn't help but wonder if what they summoned is male since it's got that kind of voice.

"The dobe... *slam* Naruto Uzumaki, the container of the Kyuubi!" He answers and he hears a few metallic thuds. "Crap, now what do we do? It's make of metal, not flesh!" The swordsman of his team declares.

The metal being growls and he can't help but feel a bit relieved as he's not staring into its face. "Keep that up and I'll step on you after I'm done with this one." The metal being states with a hint of a growl.

"What are you?" The female member of his team asks and the being replied, "Maximal."

"Now then, how do I return from where you teleported me?" The self proclaimed Maximal demands as soon as the being once more focuses on him. "I don't know! Ask Madara!" He exclaims and he can't help but loath himself for his fear of this metallic thing that they summoned. A being who's suppose to be a servant, a chained and obedient to their wishes.

"And which one is Madara?" The Maximal snaps but before he could say anything, something hits him between the eyes. As his vision goes, the stranger has dropped him to deal with the assembling minions.

- = Obsidian = -

He mentally sighs as he drops the dying teen to deal with the assembling ninja. He swats the flat of his sword carefully, although it doesn't prevent the group from getting cut from the glowing edge. A few manage to switch out with something else but most try to use a jutsu on him.

Kunai click as they hit his metal body and since his body is made out of better metal, all of them drop to the floor. He tries to be gentle but it seems as if his just too powerful or they were too weak as they try their best to 'kill' him. _To be fair... I wouldn't know how to take me down if I confronted myself as Naruto._

But in the end, they either retreated or they died. He ignores the wooden puppet and begins to visit the rest. "Madara?" He asks this girly guy, or masculine woman, he found a bit beyond the wooden puppet.

"Over there." The person says and as he turns, the person moves to cling to him. He turns his head to find some teeth coming out of the palm of the hand biting down on his lower foot. He shakes his head and moves off, dragging the guy along until he finds another Uchiha, he could tell because of the red eyes with those three dots positioned around the irises.

With a little shake of his foot, the blond person with teeth on the palm of their hand is sent flying. He puts the tip of his sword by the elder's head before asking, "How do I return to the place you teleported me out of?"

"... It'll wear off in a month's time." The elder Uchiha says weakly. His scanners show him that the elder's body is failing. "I hope you are right, but then, by then, you'll no longer be among the living." He says as he takes the point of his sword out of the ground.

As he turns away, he returns to his beast mode so he can at leave the room since the doorway wouldn't fit his robot form. _Huh... I thought I would have at least felt something with his death..._

+ { [**Three Weeks Later**] } +

_Why can't they just leave me a lone? Its not as if their nets can hold me nor their ropes._ He thinks as his scanners pick up another party coming to try their luck in capturing him to sell for a handsome price to some rich merchant or circus.

_They come with ninja as scouts..._ He muses as his scanners pick up energy signatures among the humans. _I wonder from which village they hired them from..._

"Just one more week and then, hopefully, I'll return to my company." He mutters softly to himself as he remains sitting on the cliff. The mountain he's living on gives him a very good view of any incoming parties coming to try their luck in capturing him.

- = Sakura = -

"I don't see why we're here... If this is really a demon, why hasn't it attacked the local villages?" Ino mutters as they keep to their own fire, separate from their clients.

"Doesn't really matter, does it? It's not as if I have anything to look forward too." She says as she stares at the kettle resting on the grill of the fire.

"Oh lighten up, Sakura! You're just sulking because Sasuke is dead and it wasn't by your hand." Ino says and she sends a glare in the blond's direction.

"Naruto's been dead for little over three years, Sakura. Let his rest in peace." Choji says unexpectedly and she glances at the teen before returning to gazing into the fire as an image of Naruto's smile face flares up from her memory.

_How can I let him rest? It's my fault for not being strong enough to stop Sasuke or to fight by Naruto's side to bring Sasuke back..._ She thinks as she recalls the state of Naruto's body.

Some villagers had tried to have a holiday declared and that marked the beginning of Lady Tsunade's true reign as a Hokage as she not only killed those council member who passed that announcement but stripped the council of the powers that the Third had granted it during his second reign.

Within three months, Tsunade not only updated the hospital but also installed a medical program plan to be taught at the ninja academe. At age ten, academe students can choice to attend medical training, which is a much surer way of becoming a ninja then the normal program. It's an aggressive and demanding program but it will grantee that there will be future medic ninja for out going teams sent beyond the village walls.

_I would have thought Lady Tsunade would have left the village if it weren't for that day being declared a holiday._ She thinks as the kettle boils and she takes the handle of the kettle and pours its contains into the tea pot.

- = Obsidian = -

He watches as a group of riders come thundering up the mountain path, a path he made sure to leave paw prints upon as he hides within a shallow cave that's got bushes before it. He sets his chin onto his paws, waiting for their screams to sound out as they trigger the simple log trap that will drive them back down the trail.

Horses scream and the yells of men ring out through the air but somebody surges up the path. "Choji!" He hears a young woman's voice calls out as something large and registers an energy signature charges pass. "On it!" A young man's voice says.

_Choji?_ He wonders as he raises his head from his paws to try and get a look of who's on the path. He feels his jaws part slightly at the sight of familiar and yet unfamiliar women racing pass. _Sakura? Ino?_

He began to reconsider his decision to remain on this mountain side now that he's going to be facing off against people he knew while he was Naruto Uzumaki. Particularly if one of those had been somebody he had been crushing on. As he lies there, more and more people pass by his hiding spot.

He waits a good mega-cycle before leaving his hiding spot. He leaps over the trail and lands on the rocks on the other side. He then begins to climb down the side of the rocky slop, carefully trying not to disturb too many rocks. He pauses as a few rocks fall down the side.

A quick glance behind him reveals that those three ninja were trying to follow him. He snorts before continuing to leap and climb down the rocky face. A few kunai hit his side and bounce off his body. He hears Ino curse and then a few kunai hit him on the thigh of his leg once he's landed on the rock.

A bit of a shake later and the kunai dislodge themselves from his thigh. He finds that Sakura and the others were closing in quickly but then, they were likely using chakra to stick to the rock faces as well as to power their leaps. Choji calls out a war cry as he leaps high into the air.

Seconds later Choji is now rolling down hill in his direction. He waits for the last second before ducking as flat as he can on the stone's surface since he guesses, correctly, that they all expect him to try and leap over Choji once he's too close for comfort. As Choji comes out of the ball, the large built teen has difficulties trying to stop his descent.

"That just blows..." Ino growls as he turns to continue his descent before the pink haired teen and blond teen continue to pursue him. "I'll check on Choji." Ino says.

Sakura continues to try and slow him down using kunai but they just continue to bounce harmlessly off of his metal skin under his artificial black coat. He doesn't glance backwards since Sakura is close enough for his sensors and scanners to pick up her location. He manages to dodge out of the way of Sakura's attempts to land on his back.

"Damn it!" Sakura curses and he snorts as he slides down the last few miles of rock face. "What the hell are you?!" Sakura snarls as she tries to mimic his success with the rock face.

He leaps gracefully onto the grass and turns to watch Sakura land on her butt as she trips on a large stone. "Not what you think I am." He answers and she seems to freeze as she gives him a very startled look.

"You're tactics would have done well if I were what I appear to be, a primal beast. Now then, since I seem to worn out my welcome around this area, I think I'll try for a new area in which to wait out the remainder of this week." He informs Sakura as she sits there, gasping at him.

"If the one called Madara spoke truly then I shall return back from whence I was teleported from, leaving this world behind." He says before adding, "So, please, stop chasing me, I might find myself forced to truly defend myself, and I highly doubt you and your comrades will live through that experience."

Leaving her there, he heads in a western direction away from the mountain. He'll wait a solar cycle before heading south as well as continuing to travel in a western direction.

- = Sakura = -

She couldn't find her voice nor really control her thoughts as the beast they had been chasing not only proved to be intelligent but kind of peaceful. _We should have realized it... he wasn't a demon from the moment we sighted him. After all, demons always radiate killing intent and he wasn't._

_Must be a type of summon._ She finally decides as Ino and Choji arrive. "Sakura? You alright?" Choji asks, shaking her out of her thoughts.

"That wasn't a demon..." She finally says as she finds her voice. "... Looked like a demon..." Ino admits.

"It... he spoke. Told me he'll be gone by the end of the week. I think he's actually a type of summon." She explains as she accepts Choji's help to stand.

"And you believe that?" Ino asks with her arms crossed. "Well... yea. After all, our spy did mention that something went wrong when the Akatsuki tried to resurrect Naruto. That they summoned some kind of metal being that first appeared in the form of a large lion like beast." She admits now that she's made a few mental connections.

"You mean that thing is actually made of metal?" Choji asks her and she blinks before frowning as she tries to figure out if the beast was or wasn't. "We could always go retrieve those kunai to see... After all, they kept bouncing off of him." She suggests.

- = Obsidian = -

"You're back, you're really back!" Waterjet cries out as soon as he arrives within the clearing of the base entrance. "Glad to see you're still online, sir." Savage says as most of the Maximals rash pass to come welcome him back.

He notices that pretty much all of the Maximals are here, which include those that prefer to range far from base. In total, forty some Maximals were ranged around him, all chattering excitedly about the fact that's he's back. _Home sweet home._

**The End**


	36. Sonic Roboticized

**I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog**

**- o 0 o -**

Silver

Pain was his first, if fleeting, memory.

_Ironic since I'm a robot, not a living thing._ Silver muses as the machine's body automatically not only sorts the broken scraps and gadgets but adds them to his inventory list.

"Silver, do we have a base board number seven-one-four-x?" Ben asks him from the doorway leading into the front of the store. Silver turns to regard the horse style Mobian as he answers in a soft tone metallic voice, "Four repaired ones in slot sixty-three and twenty fired/broken ones in slot six."

Ben nods and moves to the appropriate shelf to fetch one of the fixed ones. Silver makes a note to spend the rest of the month focusing on repairing broken computer boards since this is the fifteenth time that somebody has come looking to buy one as Silver turns his head to continue on sorting through the scraps that they had bought, traded, or he found during his time in the local scrapyard that's at least two week journey by walking from Quarterz.

_The very same scrapyard I woke in as well..._ Silver mentally muses before checking the date since it appears he won't let up on recalling his beginnings. _Another year has come and gone. Hard to believe that I have been active for six years now._

Silver tries to keep himself from replaying his earliest memories or to dwelling on his 'feelings'. _Make me wish I were just a simple drone. Damn Robotnik for programing me to have an AI._ Silver mentally growls, cursing his creator and programmer.

Silver pauses to stare at his slightly clawed hands, opening and closing them before moving his optic sensors down his right arm, studying the armor he managed to create to help him control his strength and to obscure his base line body, that of a metallic hedgehog. The armor also helps to take damage or to enhance any of his laser attacks in case he's forced to protect himself.

_I'm a battle bot._ Silver states mentally to himself as Silver the robot stares directly ahead, not really paying any real heed to the images his optic sensors were sending to him. _I'm a weapon made to fight against the rebels, in both actual battle and to psyche them out by appearing to be a metal Sonic the hedgehog._ Silver adds and finally, Silver mentally shakes himself and focuses on finish sorting the bin of scrap next to him on the lift he created for this very purpose.

**Same Day**  
Tails

_Six years..._ The twin tailed fox thinks sadly as he stares down at the tombstone. "And still, I can't believe you're gone..." Tails says out loud in a whisper tone.

Though he's spilled tears many times in the past, he still finds it within himself to cry over his friend and somebody who he considered a brother. Tails wipes some of his tears away before placing a small flower before the stone which reads, '"Sonic" Maurice Hedgehog, Champion of Mobius, Birth and Death: 3220/162-3235/xx'

"I wish you hadn't agreed to plan Trojan, Sonic... There had to have been other, better ways then to allow yourself to be captured while wearing the chip..." Tails says softly as he stands before the grave, repeating his old rant that he usually gets into since the third anniversary of Sonic's death.

Nobody really knows for sure what happened after Robotnik 'escorted' Sonic deeper into his main city, not even Robotnik himself and Snively, though they were there. Project Trojan had been a very big success as it not only erased all of the data within Robotnik's computer network but apparently caused the explosion that brought down the factory building.

It had taken weeks to clear out a path leading to the ruined underground lab and the two barely surviving Overlanders. Although the two only survived by rolling into a space when one of the large computers fall over, acting as a buffer from the falling rubble. _I'm just surprised we manage to keep hold of them for two whole years before they finally escaped._

Although they searched, they never did find Sonic's body and thus, Tails and most of Sonic's close, personal friends never really got closure since they still believe, despite evidence to the contrary, that Sonic is still alive somewhere on Mobius. _After all, Eggman shows that there are other universes out there, for all we know, that explosion send Sonic into one of those worlds._

A beeping causes Tails to snap out of his thoughts and sighs as he finds an alarm blaring about an attack on one of the new settlements that sprung up when those Roboticized got their free will back. It had taken some time but they had managed to de-Roboticize the populous simple because they lacked the de-Roboticize programs that Robotnik had installed to keep them from freeing his 'robot' slaves.

"I'll see you later Sonic, it seems that I'm needed in Quarterz." Tails says after reading the short but important message that came along with the alarm. Tails sprints to the Tornado and climbs into the pilot seat, seconds later, he's flying through the air, heading in the direction of the settlement.

**Field Outside Quarterz**  
Silver

"You're coming with me, whether you like it or not." Dr Eggman informs Silver as he continues to fight off the swarms of various SWATbots and more advance machines. Silver doesn't reply as he rams his left hand and arm through a bee bot's head.

Flinging his arm, Silver sends the robot into the chest of one of the SWATbot, forcing that bot to fall over. Silver blasts a line of SWATbots to his right using his laser, causing them to explode.

_:Signal found.:_ His internal computer informs him and Silver orders, _:Engage self-destruct protocols.:_

_:Engaging.:_ The computer tells him and within a second, all of the surrounding bots explode, leaving him alone in a field with the 'good' doctor. "I suggest you leave the same way you arrived." Silver says in a firm, cold voice as Silver's armor weapons retract.

His power supply is down to sixty percent, which means he'll have to turn in earlier to recharge. Silver turns to face the robotic doctor. "You are not welcome here." Silver adds and Eggman looks ready to explode without any help from him.

"I am your creator, you should be obeying me!" Doc Eggman says and Silver counters, "You are not my creator, you are just his double from another universe, therefore, I do not have to obey you."

"I will truly enjoy it when you bow before me." Doctor Eggman growls before fleeing, leaving him alone in the middle of the battlefield. _At least nobody was injured._ Silver thinks before his computer detects an approaching aircraft.

Within a few seconds, the computer tunes in to the radio signal that's coming from the craft. Finally his optic sensors pick out the approaching airplane. Before Silver could open a channel with the aircraft, something sends him flying through the air.

"Why don't you deactivate so I can deliver you to Doc Eggman? It seems as though the good doctor will be happy to have you." The voice belongs to Richard the leopard, a Mobian he's had deals with in the past.

Silver struggles to get up despite the fact that the cables were draining him of his energy. He manages to cut into the plastic covering of the two wires and crosses them, the energy released gives his reserves a boost and he charges towards Richard.

Ripping the energy pack off of Richard's back, Silver quickly reprograms the pack to return his energy. Richard howls from his attempt to nab him from behind, the metal spike managed to keep the Mobian off of him. Silver didn't get all of his power back but enough to be over fifty percent.

As Silver yanks the two prongs out of his armor, bullets hit him in the back. His optic sensors flicker for a few seconds as Silver wonders where the bullets were coming from as Richard screams about him being a berserker or a highly dysfunctional robot. Silver finally turns his head to find that the aircraft is circling overhead and on spotting the guns, realizes where the bullets had come from.

Silver couldn't think of anything positive course of action in which to stop the attacking plane and decides just to stand there, ignoring the logical conclusion to follow after Richard to make sure the Mobian doesn't get armed with a new weapon. While he's sure he'll regret not following through with that course of action, Silver feels that at this point, his best course of action was to take no action at all.

The airplane circles a good eight times but other then dropping the energy pack, Silver hasn't done anything other then watching the aircraft circle overhead. Silver groans as a missile hits him in the side but he doesn't do more then grip the side of his armor while turning to stare at the newly armed Richard.

A series of bullets hit the ground before the leopard while the pilot declares over the speakers, "Cease your actions! The robot doesn't appear hostile."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Richard points the missile launcher up at the aircraft and before he knew what's what, Silver's rocket come online and he takes the missile meant for the aircraft. Silver lands hard in the ground, leaving a slight trench in the dirt as his computer begins to give him a damage report.

Tails

While totally confused why the strange robot would take a missile meant for him, Tails launches a metal net in the Mobian's direction. The net works and the missile launcher lands onto the leopard's chest. Tails lands not far from the site and finds that the Mobian had managed to get out of the net.

As the leopard Mobian flees, Tails moves to check on the robot. "What happened here?" Tails asks the fallen robot. "Doctor Eggman captured a couple of kids... Demanded that I come for them... He let them go and ordered his minions to circle around me demanding that I turn myself over to him for reprogramming..." The robot says in a broken, metallic voice that's got a distant quality to it.

Tails blinks as the green light in the eyes grow dim. "Managed to find network signal of the bots... Engaged self-destructive protocols... Eggman fled... Richard..." Finally the optic sensors black out and so does the robot's mainframe it seems.

Tails believes he has a very good idea of what happened after Eggman fled and feels a bit ashamed for firing into the robot, adding to its damages. A small party of Mobians from the local settlement appear. "Silver? Silver!" One of the lead Mobians shouts and many of the others follow after.

"Silver?" Tails asks and the horse Mobian nods. "It's what he told us to call him when he arrived about four... Coming to be five years now." The older Mobian says.

"What happened to him?" One of the other Mobians ask him and Tails tells them what Silver to him, although when he got to the part about Richard, the whole group apparently know who Richard was.

"I'm going to have to disengage his armor..." The horse Mobian mutters and Tails turns to watch. Seconds alter, the Mobian peels away some sections of metal. He moves to help and by the time they have Silver out of the armor, Tails couldn't help this odd lump within him at the sight of the robot's base form.

_A hedgehog... Looks like a Robian..._ Tails thinks though feeling glad that Silver wasn't blue or he wouldn't know what to think. "That's what he looks like? Why, he looks like a Robian..." One of the group says and he's kind of glad that he's not the only one to notice the similarities.

"Are we sure he's not a Robian?" Another wonders and the horse Mobian sighs. "He seemed pretty sure that he wasn't."

"Let's get him loaded up and take him to that CR chamber he created for repairing himself." One of the Mobians says and they all seem to be in agreement. Tails helps but stays behind for a few seconds to send a brief report before taking after the group, more then a little curious to see what this CR chamber is.

**Two Hours Later**

Tails couldn't help but feel a headache as he tried to hack into Silver's computer. The keyword is tried since the computer wouldn't response to his attempts and had continuously caused his handle computer to restart as well as lose any and all date concerning Silver's mainframe.

Finally, Tails decides to head off to get a bite to eat as well as to radio in with Rotor about Silver. It had taken about fifteen minutes for the repairs to be finished to Silver's systems but it seems as if it'll take a few hours before Silver's batter is filled. Apparently, Silver is capable of running a week on a single recharge.

By the time he returns, Tails groans at the fact that somebody had indeed stolen Silver during his twenty minute absence.

**Six Hours Later**  
Doctor Eggman

"Now let's see what secrets you hold." Eggman says once the Mobian Richard left with his money. His robotic servants had, during his conversation with Richard, hooked wires into Silver's outlets before putting the strange metallic being into a tube and then fill it causing Silver's seemingly incomplete form to float.

Within a few keystrokes, Eggman begins the process of hacking into Silver's systems so he can find out just what makes this robot so special. Within twenty minutes, something goes horribly wrong.

Sally

"Project Trojan is active!" Rotor says as her friend enters into her office. "Trojan? But we deleted all of that data!" Sally says as she stands up to hurry out of the room.

"Where is it?" Sally asks and Rotor answers, "It's attacking Eggman's systems. They're system's defenses are responding but it'll be over, we think, in less then fifteen minutes, thirty if the defenses manage to fully activate."

"I would have thought it would be sooner..." Sally muses and Rotor points out, "Eggman's systems are different then Robotnik's but the virus seems to be adapting fairly well to the different system."

"Do you think that... I mean, the chip was the only thing we never found to destroy..." Sally says as they entered into the massive computer room.

"That might be a possibility." Rotor says, knowing what she's referring too. For which Sally is glad, although at the sight of seeing Shadow standing before the large screen, he asks, "Project Trojan... What is it exactly?"

"A computer virus designed to infect Robotnik's systems. Sadly, we couldn't infect his systems through our connections into his system without jeopardizing our systems." She explains as Rotor moves to the computer console to bring up the status of Project Trojan.

"We created a device that can be worn on the wrist, that's designed to upload the virus directly and wirelessly into Robotnik's mainframe. The process of uploading the virus should have taken about two hours, three and a half tops." Rotor picks up as she watches the virus' progress in Eggman's systems.

"It was Sonic's last mission. The one that he didn't return from or found a body from." Sally finishes and Shadow's eyes narrow slightly as the black hedgehog frowns.

"Which means that Doctor Eggman might have recovered Sonic's body?" Shadow asks slowly after a few seconds. "It's would contain the last traces of Project Trojan in the form of the device." Sally tells him.

"I've messaged Tails about this development." Rotor says and Sally could only imagine what's going on within the twin tailed fox's mind.

Tails

Growling softly, Tails just continues through the vents until he discovers the lab that holds Silver and pauses as Eggman lets loose a string of curses. It seems that Eggman is trying to shut down his system but its not responding to his attempts.

Tails watches in a type of fascination as Eggman picks up one of the bots and tries to break through the glass. Shaking his head, Tails frowns as suspicions begin to bloom within his mind. _Silver's no robot, he's a Robian. And I can only think of one hedgehog who's connected to Project Trojan..._

"Looks like the Brain-Burn-Thru software shorted out by Trojan... But not before clearing away Sonic's personality and memories... Leaving him to be a blank slate." Tails muses softly to himself, oddly enough feeling comforted by the sound of his own voice.

The lights begin to flicker as Tails takes out his computer to report his findings. Silver's eyes seem to flicker to life and that causes explosions to begin and the lights flicker, but he had managed to spot Eggman freezing up in his attempts to get Silver out of the tank. He felt more comfortable thinking of his Roboticized friend by the name he choice while as a Robian then by his true name.

Finally, the smoke clears and after waiting a few minutes to finish his message, he kicks the grid and enters into the room. He uses his flashlight to light up what he can of the Roboticized Overlander, it seems as though, once again, Project Trojan was an overwhelming success.

"Silver?" Tails asks as he stands before the tube. Silver moves his head slightly to gaze at him. "Can you get out of there?" He asks and Silver's optical sensors blink before the Robian slowly and jerkily moves to rip the wires from his body.

Once the wires were disconnected, Silver seems to straighten before punching the tube. Cracks begin to appear as Silver continues to pound on the tube until it finally gives. Tails moves to the side before the tube finally gives, allowing Silver to drop to the floor of the tube's floor.

"Where... am... I?" Silver asks and he answers, "In one of the many labs of Doctor Eggman. Although I'm pretty sure we might not have to worry about him any more."

Tails offers his hand as Silver, shakily, stands up and after a few kicks, Silver gets out of the tube. "Was anyone harmed when they came for me?" Silver asks, which means that Silver came through it with a set of memories intact.

"Richard returned a few hours after you took that missile for me and dragged you out of the shop." Tails informs and Silver says, "Good to know."

"Reinforcements should soon arrive and then we'll try reversing your Roboticization." He informs Silver and Silver seems to stiffen. "But..." Silver trials off.

"You're Sonic the hedgehog. We never did find your body and all of the data tracks in Robotnik's computers were erase using a classified project called Trojan. So we didn't know what happened and the two survives seem to have short term brain damage in regards to what happened that day. But considering how you are now, I'd say that he got you into a Roboticizer and that during the process, Project Trojan managed to finish downloading into his system." He explains after blasting the door so they can enter into the hallway.

"I was affected by Project Trojan then?" Silver asks and he hums in agreement. "Seems so, it likely didn't help that you were in ground zero when the project was released. I believe the virus got installed during the process of your Roboticization and remained, which is why when I or Eggman tried to connect with your mainframe, my computer was forced to restart and this happened here." Tails informs Silver.

"How are your reserves?" Tails asks and Silver answers, "I'll likely shut down as soon as we stop. I don't have much time to recharge."

Tails smiles slightly, he could only guess why Silver's active at all but is at least glad for the chance to get to know Silver as he is now. "So... what have you been up to since you woke?" Tails asks as they enter into a stair case.

**The End**


	37. Paintings: Digimon

**I don't own Digimon.**

**- o 0 o -**

Takato

"Mom? Dad? Mom? Hello! Anyone here?" He calls out as he wanders in this really spooky dark place. He shivers and wraps his arms around him as he tries his hardest to suppress his feelings of loneliness and hopelessness.

"Please, can anybody hear me? I... I don't know where I am..." He says sobbing as his voice breaks and he stops walking to sit on the floor. Holding his knees to his chest, he cries as the situation finally overwhelms him.

He didn't know how long he sat there crying, but slowly he became aware of something glowing before him. The sound of wind chimes finally causes him to rub his eyes with the back of his hands as to get a better look at the source of the light. Blinking, he tries to rub his eyes with his palms but sure enough, the image before him hadn't changed.

"Are you fireflies?" He asks, his despair forgotten for the moment as he studies the golden glowing creatures before him. The group of five simply chime and giggle, which for some reason makes him feel a bit better.

"Can you guys help me find my parents? I think they're lost." He tells the very interesting creatures. The five giggle and chime among themselves before they somehow float off the ground to surround him.

"You know where they are?" He asks the glowing creatures hopefully as he gets up off the ground. He makes sure to brush his pants before allowing himself to be escorted anywhere.

The glowing creatures just chime at him as three lead and two fly on his either side. Along the way, he couldn't help but wonder how he arrived here, in this cave since he had, last he checked, been playing in the basement. It kind of bothered him since his parents had reassured him that there wasn't any secret passage way leading into the sewers or into the shadow world where nightmare monsters live and rule, like Kazu had told him during recess a few weeks ago while they were practicing a fire drill.

What seems like forever, they finally arrived at some stone room. He couldn't help but frown as he glances around, looking for the familiar bags of flour that are usually kept in the basement of their house, a house that also serves as the family bakery. "I don't think this is my parents' basement, you guys." He informs the five glowing creatures who were circling overhead.

He sits down on the ground after he decided that he's tired of walking around. "I wonder if this means I don't have to worry about kindergarten?" He wonders, after all, he had been attending to a whole four months now.

He tries to imagine a life without going to school and after a while, that lead him to think about the fact that he may never see his new friends, cousin, and parents ever again cause he did the impossible and found that hidden passage that his parents told him didn't exist but obviously does or he wouldn't be in this cave with those strange firefly like creatures that have grown in number...

He frowns as he glances up and tries to count but it's really hard cause he can't remember what comes pass seven so he just decides to round their number up to at least a hundred, however many that's suppose to mean... He scowls at himself as he gives his head a shake since he couldn't help but feel as if there's something that he should be worried about...

_Well... They haven't swarmed me so they can't eat little kids... Or maybe they're just waiting to fatten me up before eating me? I think that's going to take a long time cause I'm pretty small and scrawny._ He thinks as he extends his arm to study it for a few seconds.

Scratching his head, he couldn't help but glance around at the stone walls. "Hey! There's pictures on those walls!" He says with a grin. It wasn't long before he moves to look at the pictures on the walls, he tries really, really hard to resist the urge to touch them cause he's sure he'll get into trouble touching them since they remind him of those flat stones with worn pictures on them.

Ignoring the chiming sounds and giggles coming from those firefly creatures, he tries to figure out what kind of story the pictures were displaying since that's what his parents told him about such things when he asked them. _That one looks like an angel... If that one is an angel then I guess the black one is a type of devil._

Moving to the right, he finds another image and it displays a huge image that seems to dominate the picture. The symbol contains an upside down triangle in a circle with three triangles touching the points of the upside down triangle within the circle. Around the edges of the picture show odd looking people and monsters that look like they're attacking the symbol.

_I wonder if that means that the symbol is a crest or a coat of arms belonging to some enemy..._ He wonders as he stares up at the symbol, wondering what kind of person could cause monsters to gang up to attack him. _Must be a knight._ He decides with a grin, feeling as if he solved a mystery of the ages, he then moves to the left to see the other picture on the other side shows.

Kuzuhamon

She pauses to glance at the swarm of Digi-Gnomes flying about the ceiling of the room, her irritation at her mediation somewhat forgotten at the sight of so many in this one place. A few part from the overhead swarm to hover before her, chiming at her. It takes a few seconds before she looks pass the group of three to see what appears to be a human child gazing at the mural displaying historical accounts.

_Must be a Bakamon..._ She thinks with a hint of irritation coming through. Walking over to the 'child', she asks in a mildly angry tone, "What are you doing here? This place is under my protection."

The little one whirls after jumping slightly to stare at her and as the child stares at her with widen eyes, she manages to keep her thoughts and feelings from altering her face as she realizes that this is indeed a human child.

"My parents told me that there wasn't a secret passage in the basement so it was safe for me to play down there, only I managed to find the passage and found myself in this cave. I got tired of walking and I called out for my mom and dad, but they didn't answer so I finally stopped walking to sit down, cause my feet were starting to ache cause of all the walking." She blinks as the child continues in a way that makes her wonder if he ever pauses to breath, "Then these glowing fireflies showed up and then I followed them through the tunnels since I thought they'd take me to where my parents are but they brought me to this room and then they stared to fly up around the ceiling, leaving me to sit down on the ground. Next thing I know, there's like a hundred of them flying up there!"

As the boy is about to continue, she holds up her hand as she sighs while trying to make sense of everything the child before her has told her. "How old are you?" She asks and the boy blinks before answering, "I'm six! I've been in kindergarten for four months already too!"

She shakes her head slightly as she smiles slightly at how proud the boy sounds. "Do you know where my mom and dad are?" The boy asks after biting his lower lip and looking up at her with his hazel red eyes that are alight with hope.

"I've got a general idea of where they are." She replies, its not a lie since it's clear that his parents were in the human world, she just hasn't a clue where in that world they are though. _I'm just glad that I look 'human' at this moment since I doubt the boy would be so bold otherwise._ She muses.

"I'm Takato by the way, what's your name?" Takato asks and she answers, "Just call me Kuzu."

"Ok Kuzu!" Takato says after giggling slightly at her 'name'. _Damned if I'm going to be the one explaining to him about the Digital world and what a Digimon is. After all, it's not as if he's going to remember this. Human kids this young do tend to forget about things, so no harm done._

"Hey, Kuzu? What does that triangle symbol mean?" Takato asks after he takes her hand and kind of directs her attention to the right most portion of the wall.

Blinking, she glances at the image but freezes at the sight of the symbol of the Digital Hazard. "What do you think it is?" She manages to ask after a few minutes of silence between them.

"Is it a coat of arms belonging to a knight?" Takato asks her once she turns to look at him, his head cocked to the side and she couldn't help but laugh at the suggestion. "What makes you think it's a knight?" She asks the innocent, human child before her.

"Cause all of those monsters and people are attacking the symbol! Only reason why monsters would gang up on anyone would be cause they were a great hero! Though I guess the knight lost or else his image would be at the center of this picture instead of his crest..." Takato says with a frown as the boy glances from her face to the picture.

She couldn't help but close her eyes as she shakes her head for a few seconds as she weights the idea of telling him the truth or leaving the whole thing alone. _Out of all of the historic accounts, why would this chamber choose now to display it?_ She wonders before frowning slightly as she turns to stare at the symbol. _Particularly why with a human child within it?_

She turns to regard the boy, a child young enough to so very impressionable and trusting? Full of dreams that he was drawn into the Digital world from the basement of his very home. Then suddenly her vision seems to vanish the surroundings around the boy and before her eyes, the child before her morphed into a much older version of himself, a version who's wearing a pair of yellow goggles upon his head.

This version of Takato turns to look at her and she finds herself grazing into a slightly more mature set of hazel red eyes. She still found within them hope and dreams, but she also found hints of sorrow, anger, despair, and mule headed stubbornness as well. The image of the young preteen retreats and then, before her, she finds a knight displaying the symbol of the Digital Hazard.

The armor of the knight continues to shift between blue and silver to white and red. _Gallantmon..._ She muses, though she hadn't realized that there were any other versions of Gallantmon that were blue and silver...

Finally the vision fell away, leaving her with only the impression that the only sure thing to come was that the boy before her will one day become partnered with a Digimon, a Digimon who's mega form will be Gallantmon or a type of Gallantmon. _I'm sill not going to inform him of where he is or what I am._ She thinks as she glances away from Takato.

"All I can say is that this symbol is a very powerful one among my people. It's hard for me to explain what it represents since its really complicated and long story, one that I doubt you'll be around to hear since I have an idea of how to get you home." She says and Takato looks at her with wide eyes filled with relief and joy.

"Really?" The boy asks and she nods with a soft smile, "Really."

Before she can place a sleeping spell on him, a Digi-Gnome appears between them and suddenly, the swarm seems to engulf the boy, pushing the boy towards the only wall that has never displayed any historic accounts. With a frown, she follows after, wondering what they want of the young boy.

Takato

"Hey look! There's paint here!" He says as the fireflies let up on pushing him to this wall. "Hey! This wall is blank..." He adds as he sizes up the wall.

"Hey Kuzu, do you think it'd be alright if we draw on it?" He asks the beautiful lady wearing purple and black cloths as he picks up a brush that's on a latter. "If I were to guess, I'd say that we've been invited to just that." Kuzu informs him in a dry tone.

He glances over at Kuzu before glancing up at the fireflies that have once more resumed circling overhead. "Maybe we can paint one of those fireflies and other stuff, like a knight and a dragon!" He says as he grins as he tries to imagine what kind of dragon he'd like to paint on the wall. "Well, I've got no objections to the firefly idea..." Kuzu admits.

Eight Years Later

"Bright idea, goggle-head. 'Maybe it's in that cave over there.'" Rika says and he just sighs as they follow Guilmon as the red Digimon sniffs the ground.

"Well, how was I to know that we'd be experiencing an earth quake? I didn't even know the Digital world gets earthquakes..." He replies and the fourteen year old red head just huffs slightly and seems to quicken her pace to get pass him. He just sighs and wishes this Chamber of History was easier to find.

"Takato?" Guilmon asks him and he replies, "Yes Guilmon?" The virus rookie turns to look at him with a slightly puzzled look on his face as his partner asks, "I think I smell you."

They all stop and he feels his face heat up while Rika looks bemused while Renamon moves to stand next to Guilmon. "Oh come on... You were there when I bathed in that river, Guimon, I can't possible smell that bad right now..." He says but Guilmon shakes his head.

"I smell a very old you by this shoe print." Guilmon explains and he perks. "Shoe print?" He asks and Renamon kneels down to examine the print as he gets closer to where his partner is standing.

"It looks like a child's sandal print." Renamon confirms and he bends down to get a look. He frowns before he freezes to glance around the tunnel that they're in. He tries to recall something but it just slips away.

"The prints seem to be heading off in that direction." Renamon says as the fox Digimon points off down a side tunnel. "This feels kind of familiar... All that's missing are fireflies..." He muses softly to himself as he stares down the tunnel as that feeling of familiarity returns.

"Fireflies?" He hears Rika and Guilmon wonder but he doesn't reply as he begins to wall down in that direction. He hears the others follow him but his thoughts weren't really on his current surroundings.

_This is getting kind of freaky..._ He thinks to himself as a memory of him feeling lost, alone, and hopeless arouses from within his mind. At the sight of stone walls, he pauses as he feels himself getting cold.

"But I was six!" He mutters as his memory suddenly clears to crystal, as if just returning to the site has helped him recall those memories. "Takato? Are you ok?" Guilmon asks him and he blinks as he turns to look at his partner.

"I'm not sure, but I've been here before... The fireflies brought me here... I met Kuzu here... We painted on one of the walls..." He says and he finally remembers what those fireflies looked like. "They were Digi-Gnomes!"

"Let's get this straight, you were six when you visited this place? That the Digi-Gnomes brought you here?" Rika asks him and he nods. "I got lost in our basement," Rika snorts softly, "and after a while, I got tired and sat down. A while later five glowing creatures, Digi-Gnomes, appeared. I asked them to take me back to my parents and they lead me here, to this chamber."

As he touches the stone walls by the entrance he continues, "I sat down and after a while, more Digi-Gnomes appeared and they circled up at the ceiling. I finally got bored and decided to check out the wall pictures to the right... The first one had an image of an angel facing a devil. The picture to the right of that one had... it had... Oh!" His eyes lit up as he turns to look at Guilmon as if something finally made some weird sense.

"Saw what?" Rika asks and he points to Guilmon. "The symbol on Guilmon's chest at the center of the picture with a bunch of monsters and people attacking it."

He doesn't feel like telling them what he thought the symbol was of. _Might explain why it was added to Guilmon... After all, I had thought it a knight's coat of arms..._ He thinks as they enter into the stone chamber.

"Huh, the images are different then what I remember..." He muses as he heads to the right once they were in the chamber to study the wall he recalls seeing the image of the Digital Hazard. "This is what we were looking for." Renamon says as she touches the wall.

"What does it say?" He asks Renamon as she studies the symbols about the picture. "It just details the first coming of the D-Reaper to the Digital world." The yellow rookie informs him.

"Hey, Takato! Is this the wall you painted on?" Rika calls out and glances behind him, he finds that both Guilmon and Rika were standing before the wall he recalls painting on. "Yes it is." He admits as he jogs over to where they're standing.

"Is that suppose to be us?" Guilmon asks him as Guilmon touches the image of a red knight with white wings coming out of the knight's back. "I was only six." He admits as he gazes at the image.

"Who did you say helped with this?" Rika asks as she stands by the area where he wrote his name. "Kuzu, why?" He asks curiously and Rika moves to reveal the name Kuzuhamon under his name.

"But she looked human! Sure, she was wearing purple and black, but there wasn't a mask on her face..." He says as he just stares.

"You did a good job, Takatomon! I'm surprised you don't have your own art show!" Guilmon says and he sighs as he shakes head. "I was only six..." He says as he glances at the various figures painted onto the wall, particularly a group of kids sitting under a rainbow, a group that numbers the total of Tamers which also includes Impmon's two Tamers as well.

"I can't believe you painted your goggles..." Rika says with a sigh and he blinks as he turns to see what Rika's talking about. "I didn't paint that, Kuzu did." He admits, although he did wonder how she knew...

**The End**


	38. The List Part 4: Digimon

**I don't own Digimon.**

o - o - o - o - o

_"Five new rules... Huh, look at that, I guess that poll finally ended." Takato muses while Calumon and Guilmon munch on some day old bread items and pastries._

#11) When about to do battle with any Digimon trying to take over the Digital world, you may not use the following war cries: ~ Kari  
- "For the Horde!"  
- "Let's get dangerous!"  
- "Bring it ON!"  
- "Stop poking ME!"  
- "Let's rock this joint!"  
- "In the name of the Moon, we shall punish you!"  
- "Five points if you get them in the chest! Fifteen for head shoots!"  
- "Thunder! Thunder! THUNDERCATS HO!"  
- "Slag those data scumbags!"

_"I just know Terriermon's going to be using one of those next time a Digimon Bio-Emerges..." Takato murmurs while wondering if he shouldn't add something informing the green rookie that goes for their group too._

#12) No trying to start a cult centered around Digimon, our crests, the Digital world, yourself, and fellow Digidestine. ~ Kari

_"Well, duh, but then, it's kind of too late since Ryo already has a cult following..." Takato admits with a sigh._

#13) Stop informing people that we are a super secret sub-division of some government agency, we have enough trouble as things stand now. ~ Kari

#14) Stop trying to tell people that Mimi, Yolei, Ken, and myself are Royalty and as such you along with us have diplomatic immunity because you are our 'bodyguard'. ~ Kari

_Takato chuckles as he shakes his head, wondering what kind of ideas will start floating about in Terriermon's head. "Rika's not going to enjoy this idea one bit."_

#15) While I can't stop you from having your partner and/or yourself from taking up offers to sell products, you are to re-frame from acting as another Digidestine/Digimon's agent. ~ Kari

_"What you readin' Takatomon?" Guilmon asks as he chuckles softly. "Just non-sense that will likely give Terriermon ideas." Takato informs his partner._

_"If you say so, Takato, if you say so..." Guilmon says, clearly not understanding it. Takato hums thoughtfully as he notices that a certain function is still active._

o - o - o - o - o

_"What the... Huh... I wonder if Kari gave him permission to add those rules..." Sora wonders as she re-reads the rules that Kari and that kid Takato had posted._

#11) When about to do battle with any Digimon trying to take over the Digital world, you may not use the following war cries: ~ Kari  
- "For the Horde!"  
- "Let's get dangerous!"  
- "Bring it ON!"  
- "Stop poking ME!"  
- "Let's rock this joint!"  
- "In the name of the Moon, we shall punish you!"  
- "Five points if you get them in the chest! Fifteen for head shoots!"  
- "Thunder! Thunder! THUNDERCATS HO!"  
- "Slag those data scumbags!"  
a) I would like to inform that I support the banning of these war cries in our group, too, alright Terriermon? ~ Takato  
b) I don't suppose I could add, "Resistance if futile, be prepared to be assimilated" to the list? Or any Star Trek references? ~ Yolei  
c) Might want to include Star Wars too. ~ Joe

_Sora just sighs and wonders if they shouldn't just ban using current slang altogether before moving onto the next rule._

#12) No trying to start a cult centered around Digimon, our crests, the Digital world, yourself, and fellow Digidestine. ~ Kari  
a) Kind of too late for our group... ~ Takato  
b) Really? Who/What is getting worshiped? ~ Yolei  
c) I'd rather not say but sadly, my two friends of mine are the high priests. The sad part is, they have a massive following, much to Rika and his dismay. ~ Takato  
d) How well is this guy taking it? ~ Joe  
e) Kind of well, but then, he doesn't live in our district. Although, I'm starting to wonder if he hasn't slipped off to spend a month or two in the Digital world... ~ Takato  
f) I wonder if his school work has suffered... ~ Yolei

#13) Stop informing people that we are a super secret sub-division of some government agency, we have enough trouble as things stand now. ~ Kari  
a) This one is really iffy, considering we have been known to work with a 'supposed' secret agency. Not so secret now a days but it was when we started our group. ~ Takato  
b) Hey, is that the Hypnos that Terriermon pranked? ~ Yolei  
c) Yea. ~ Takato  
d) Justice got served, didn't it? ~ Yolei  
e) I rather not talk about it. ~ Takato

#14) Stop trying to tell people that Mimi, Yolei, Ken, and myself are Royalty and as such you along with us have diplomatic immunity because you are our 'bodyguard'. ~ Kari  
a) Terriermon and anybody else, this goes for our group too. ~ Takato  
b) Which members of your group are entitled? ~ Yolei  
c) Odd question cause I thought you'd guys know which two I'm talking about... ~ Takato  
d) Really? I'm pretty sure I haven't heard of anyone in America getting some kind of royal digital title... ~ Joe  
e) I'm with Joe. ~ Yolei  
f) Who says Terriermon and I live in America? ~ Takato  
g) Well, where do you live then? ~ Yolei  
h) In Japan. ~ Takato  
i) Really...? ~ Joe  
j) I'm pretty sure, I am a Digimon Tamer after all. ~ Takato  
k) Tamer? ~ Yolei  
l) Well, there was this one time an Omnimon called us Chosen... ~ Takato  
m) Might have been a prank from Matt and Tai... ~ Joe  
n) It would have been pretty impossible prank to pull off since we did fight Gulfmon... ~ Takato  
o) Gulfmon? Never heard of him... ~ Yolei  
p) Well, his role behind the V-Pets never got revealed. ~ Takato  
q) I think I'm going to wait for reinforcements before touching that one. ~ Yolei

_"This is kind of disturbing..." Sora muses as she tries to recall anything about V-Pets. "Just who are you Takato?" The Digidestine of Love wonders after a few minutes before she continues onto the next rule._

#15) While I can't stop you from having your partner and/or yourself from taking up offers to sell products, you are to re-frame from acting as another Digidestine/Digimon's agent. ~ Kari  
a) Don't have a comment for this one, Takato? ~ Yolei  
b) Not really, after all, there are tons of Digimon products out on the market. Heck, I hear they were about to release a new Digimon manga before the D-Reaper show up. ~ Takato  
c) I don't know how to reply to that. ~ Joe  
d) I'm starting to worry about that since the D-Reaper was a global incident, it was impossible to miss since it lasted a few months. It had caused a lots of people to immigrate from those cities it occupied and was 'digesting'. ~ Takato

_Sora couldn't help but shiver for some unknown reason every time she looked at the word D-Reaper. 'I already don't like that word and this is, like, the first time I've heard of it.'_

#16) Tamers: Do Not Ever Give Calumon Sake or any other type of alcoholic drink! If you do, then not only are you on your own in explaining to Jeri about it but you get the job of cleaning up after him! I know you were joking about it Impmon but I'm standing firm on this. ~ Takato  
a) I think this is a very good rule for us to have too. All though I'm not sure Digimon can get drunk... going to have to talk with Izzy about that one. ~ Joe

#17) Tamers: I'm totally forbidding people from showing/taking Calumon and Guilmon to any horror movies. That includes watching horror shows and reading horror manga/novels to them. My parents' weren't happy to have Guilmon and Calumon waking up screaming from nightmares after **somebody** showed them Aliens. ~ Takato  
a) I thought Jeri's Calumon's partner... ~ Yolei  
b) Jeri's just somebody he hangs out with the most, I doubt he'll ever partner up with a human. ~ Takato  
c) That would mean that Guilmon is your partner? What is does a Guilmon look like anyway? ~ Yolei  
d) ... Well... he's red big goof-ball of rookie. ~ Takato  
e) A picture would be nice. ~ Joe  
f) Can we even post picture on this site cause I keep getting an error message trying to send an image to that E-Mail address that's causing your name to be highlighted. ~ Takato  
g) I'm running into the same problem. :( ~ Yolei

_'That just seems to bring up more questions.' Sora muses as she does get an error message trying to E-Mail Takato but don't when trying for Joe and Yolei._

#18) Tamers: It would be a big boost in public relations if Impmon would stop parading around the tunnel as a vampire kid to scare tourists. It would be even better if Terriermon would stop charging those same tourists fake wards before they enter into the tunnel. ~ Takato  
a) Is there something special about this tunnel? ~ Yolei  
b) Well, we did face off against some strange Digimon vanishing thing within it and we did use it for a few other things. I should point out that this is the same tunnel Terriermon took refuge in. ~ Takato  
c) Must be a very useful tunnel then. ~ Joe  
d) It works when our partners have trouble returning to their rookie forms, though that's becoming rarer now a days. ~ Takato  
e) You're partners have trouble becoming rookies again? Huh, we are usually having troubles getting them to become champions... ~ Joe  
f) Well, Calumon had been the catalyst of Digivolution. We think he gave that up to be a normal Digimon, though he doesn't act normal by any stretch of the imagination... Guess that's part of his charm. ~ Takato  
g) ... If you say so... ~ Joe  
h) Agreed. ~ Yolei

_Sora couldn't help but stare at the screen as she re-reads that particular bit of information. "Definitely something to ask Gennai about." Sora decides in a firm tone._

#19) Tamers: As far as we're aware, the Digital world doesn't have any holidays, so, you guys know who you are, stop trying to get out of tests or get an extension on your homework by claiming such things. ~ Takato  
a) I get the feeling that Kari's going to agree with this particular rule. ~ Yolei  
b) I think I've seen Davis try this once... Or was it Tai? ~ Joe  
c) It was Davis. ~ Yolei

_"I'm surprise Joe hasn't mentioned that the Bakemon having that one holiday..." Sora muses as she recalls that eventful ceremony._

#20) Tamers: Impmon, please obey the speed limits while driving around the city on Behemoth. (Just how did that bike follow you to the real world any way?)  
a) Do I dare asked what Behemoth is? ~ Joe  
b) It's just a digital motorcycle that seems to possess anyone other then Impmon. Usually appears when Impmon is Beelzemon. ~ Takato

_Sora glances up as her cell phone rings a familiar tone. With a smile, the Digidestine of Love picks up the phone, the computer forgotten as she begins to chat with her boyfriend about their up coming date._

**To Be Continued . . .**


	39. Kind of a Song Fic: Naruto

**I don't own Naruto.**

**To Readers:** The lyrics are my own, so I hope I saved you from trying to find said song off of the internet.

o - 0 - o - 0 - o - 0 - o - 0 - o

'I hold my hand out  
My heart beats rapidly  
As my being aches  
With loneliness

My offer of friendship  
Hangs there  
Between us  
With hope lighting up my eyes  
Waiting for you to accept it

To help me  
To heal the wounds of my soul  
For unlike the wounds of my body  
Time does nothing  
Nothing to the bleeding of my soul

So with hope aflame within me  
I offer you my hand  
Waiting for a friend  
To save me  
To help me  
To heal me

The look in your eyes  
Will haunt me  
As you slap my hand  
My hand that's waiting there

Then you turn away from me  
Leaving me  
Watching you  
As you walk away  
Ignoring my cries  
Ignoring my being

Why can't you see  
How much you mean to me  
As tears trail down my face  
As a new cut upon my soul  
Begins bleed a new

Around me  
Nobody sees me  
As I stand there  
Crying away  
With loneliness  
Pressing in from all around me

Why can't you all  
Hear me  
As I cry my heart out

Why must loneliness be all that I know?  
What have I done to deserve this?  
To deserve this aching in my soul?

I'm becoming hollow  
As emotions bleed  
Bleed right out of me  
Leaving me feeling loneliness  
And knowing despair

These wound upon my soul  
Weigh down on me  
As life passes me by  
As you did  
As you all did  
Leaving me to drown  
In loneliness  
As you drift in and out of my life  
Never stopping  
To see me  
To be with me  
To stand by me  
Leaving me to cry  
Leaving me to die  
On my own

Always on my own  
Never seen  
Always grieving  
For what I never had'

He glances over his work and he couldn't hep but feel a bit lighter now that he's captured his feelings on paper. With a sigh, he blinks a few times before he puts his signature to it.

'Naruto Uzumaki'

With that, he picks up the sheet and puts it into a familiar shoe box before putting the shoe box back into the space between the floor boards.

He does look through the various other sheets, a few pictures he drew using a 'stolen' box of crayons. Of course he had found them in the trash but some guys found him before he put them under his shirt and tried to take them from him as well as give him a beating. Luckily, the guy had died by the time he jumped the fence, it seems that somebody paid for said guy to be hit.

On some colored paper were diagrams of a labyrinth he plans to build when he became Hokage to fend off the 'dreaded' paperwork. He snorts softly as he recalls how he once believed that paperwork was the ultimate evil, now he knows that evil comes from the source not the paperwork itself.

_Still... that labyrinth might not be such a bad idea because it would keep unwanted distractions from entering into my office when I'm busy._ He admits as he comes to his earliest works in writing, inspired by bits and pieces of stories he manage to overhear before being driven away.

Finally he gets to his early attempts at song crafting. He's also been able to get some music lessons using Henge jutsu. It had taken time but he even manage to collect some broken music instruments and repaired them. Although he doesn't keep them in his apartment but at this underground fusion that might have been created during the last war.

Though, now that he's got shadow clones, he's been able to practice with those instruments everyday while he's with his 'team'. He's also been slowly expanding into other fields that were denied to him.

_I didn't so much as choice to be a ninja as been guided into it. The old man is a very skilled Shepard, too bad he's forgotten that threats don't always come from beyond the 'flock' but from within._ He thinks with a sigh before he raises an eyebrow at some actual sheets of music within the box.

It takes him a second before he recalls how they came to be within the box. _And I've only known the jutsu for about two weeks... I wonder what kind of edits will come about with this one?_

Finally, he adds the as yet named song to the sheets before putting it all back into the shoe box. Once the floor panel is back in place, he makes a bee line to boil some water so he can have a few cups of Ramen. _I wonder if I shouldn't create a few female clones to take some cooking class so I can actually eat something that isn't a pack of dry noodles._


	40. Territory: InuYasha

**I don't own InuYasha.**

- o - 0 - o -

The mist curls about the meadow as he enters it. He brushes his braid off his left shoulder as he stalks through the thick mist, his pointed ears keen for any noise as he tries to look more relaxed then what he feels. His eyes focused on a spot before him as he tries not to react to the slight rustling coming from the tree tops.

"Senji of the house of Yousai." A dull orange Oni standing eleven feet in height says before appearing out of the mist. Resting just behind the Oni's neck is a large broad sword that's slightly caked with dry blood. The opposing demon has a tiger pelt about his waist with a thick golden collar with gems in it rests about the Oni's neck.

"Senji of the house of Sofu actually. Lord Gin decided it was time for me to become head of my own house." He states calmly as a few more of the Oni appear, all of them shorter then the brute standing casually across from him.

The Oni smirks before addressing him. "So then, without Yousai Gin's protection you came with tribute to keep me satisfied?" The demon asks him and he snorts.

"I'm here to clear you from my lands, oaf. If anything, you should be paying me tribute, dim wit." He says in a manner that adults reserve for young children.

The orange Oni grips the hilt of his sword as the demon glares at him. "Like a mutt like you can't best me! I, Yasei of the Oni clan, pure of breeding can't be bested by a demonic mutt like yourself." Yasei boasts, slashing the air with his mighty sword.

_It always comes back to that, does it?_ He muses with a mental sigh, after all, it's not like he has any human blood in him.

"Oh yes, I'm such a weak demon that I'm restricted to only my beast form. Oh dear me, what ever shall I do?" He states in a sarcastic tone which cause the Oni demons to growl at him for the mocking their leader.

"Blood freak!" A dark blue Oni snaps to his left while another to his right rumbles, "Weak human wanna be!"

He really had to resist rolling his eyes at their non-original insults. "Enough talk, you die now, mutt!" The leader of the lot growls and within seconds the large sword is into the ground where he had been just seconds ago.

His hand had slipped through Yasei's neck with little effort, killing the demon before the oaf knew what happened. He yanks his arms from the corpse and turns to face the rest of the clan that's circling about him.

He shakes his right hand slightly and the some of the blood covering it flies off, leaving the rest to drip off his hand. It wasn't long before another of the foolish Oni charges at him, he didn't bother to move until the last moment.

He left hand enters into the Oni's shoulder and with ease, with his right hand he grips the injured Oni, using it as a shield from arrows fired off from the tree line. As he allows the meat shield to fall to the ground, he makes sure to shatter the Oni's skull before he races after the archers.

As he leaps over the front line defenders of the archers, he crosses his arms over his chest and then uncrosses them calling out, "Blood Blades!" The blood sent flying from this motion of his hands suddenly glow before taking the form of thin lines that are sharp enough to cut through tree trunks.

A few of the tiny blades miss their targets and land on the ground, causing dust to get blasted into the air while those that hit their targets merely wounding the archers. He lands on the ground between two of the archers and swiftly slashes their throats before evading an axe blade, allowing the owner to become off balanced before shattering the demon's skull.

Blood mixed with grey matter get sprayed about. Fear fills the air as he dispatches three charging Oni demons without much trouble. The scene seems to freeze, none of the Oni moved and he takes a stance with his blood drenched arms and hands are held out in readiness.

After what feels like an eternity, one of the horned demons begins to whimper and drops its club as it turns to flee. With that, the stillness is broken and they begin to flee before him, no longer wanting to face him.

"Cowards." He states softly as he relaxes his stance. With a sigh, he leaps into the air. Within seconds a pair of brown feathered wings sprout from his back, his usually honey brown hair darkens as a deeper shade of brown with a few flakes of black appearing about his back.

From his butt a tail erupts and within seconds is covered with fur of the same shade as the rest of his body. A few feather fan out about the base of the tail. His ears move and broaden until they're on the top of his head. His forearms alter until they resemble the legs of a crow or a raven complete with wick ebony black talons while his legs bend twice as his feet become like the paws of a canine.

In the end, he resembles a large brown wolf with the wings, forelimbs, and tail of a bird of prey.

_It's nice to be part hawk demon._ He thinks with a decisively wolf like howl before taking off like an arrow after the fleeing Oni, hunting them like the rabbits they're intimidating.

**After The Last Oni Is Dead. . .**

"Good job, my lord!" A young demon calls out while trying to clean the golden collar that had been about the leader's neck.

He gives Tako, a young odd breed like himself, a look. "Tako, I don't suppose you tried to kill one, did you?" He asks after transforming back to his more humanoid form.

"I got the one that was trying to plunder this collar." The young tiger/tanuki demon says.

He nods before sighing as he begins to inspect his cloths. "At least I'm not wearing a silken Kimono or else I would had to get rid of it." He muses as he tries to wipe the back of his hand on his blood stained pants.

"True. Anyway, the others have had success in killing those that remained at the lair and are already packing up the treasure the Oni clan collected over the years they've wandered this stretch of land." Tako states while wrapping the collar in the cloth sheet before putting it into one of his pouches.

"I see." He says as he studies the quickly decaying body of the Oni he killed just moments ago. "Then let's head to the lair so that we can check on their progress of emptying their lair." He says as he glances at the young mixbreed.

"Right Lord Senji." The young demon says and takes the lead.

One more passing glance at the skeleton of the horned demon before they leave the clearing, entering into the trees, leaving the dead to lay where they had fallen.

- o - 0 - o -


	41. The Black Gryphon of Hogwarts

**I Don't Own Harry Potter!**

- o - 0 - o -

October 26th

**H**arry raises his eyebrow as he studies the box with his name on it. He could only guess that this was the Halloween costume that he asked Fred & George for.

It's his third year at Hogwarts and somehow, the twins managed to get Professor McGonagall to sign costume permission forms that will allow members of her house to wear costume instead of their Hogwart robes.

Although Professor McGonagall had stated that the costumes had to be full body types since she didn't want any skin to be exposed. It seems that before she approved of the idea, she did a bit of research and happen across muggle ideas of costumes.

It didn't surprise him much when he noted a similar package resting on Ron's bed. He opens the package to find ebony black head that resembles a hawk or eagle's head, complete with feathers. The beak part of the costume is made out of a hard grey material.

He pulls the feathery costume out of the box and finds that it's actually a gryphon costume since the back part of the costume has that distinctive feline look about it. He raises an eyebrow at the bottom of the box.

As he sets the gryphon costume aside and picks up the veil of potion as well as the note that goes with it. The note told him to drink the potion before putting on the costume, it also suggested that he didn't wear any clothing underneath the costume either, which made his face heat up at the thought of what could happen if the costume somehow ripped or something.

But in the end, he'll likely follow their advice if nothing else then to hope they knew what they were doing making such a request. After all, they wouldn't prank him, not when their sister had a crush on him...

Halloween Morning

**H**arry wakes earlier then usual and once he puts on his glasses one, he remembers what day it is. He glances around to make sure none of the others were up before heading to his trunk to take his costume out as well as that veil of potion.

Takes off his boxers before drinking from the potion. Once that's done, he begins to up on the costume. As he's about to put on the head, his body begins to tingle and without him doing anything, the head part of the costume seems to wrap itself about his head without much trouble.

Suddenly his head begins to throb and his sense of balance is through for a loop as he then blacks out.

When he wakes he groans slightly and as he moves, he feels as if something isn't right but in the end, he gets to his feet as he uses his wings to help him regain his balance while his tail twitches uncontrollably.

In the end, he heads out of his dorms and down into the common room. "Hey Harry! I see you got it on alright, huh?" One of the eight others in their costumes asks, likely one of the twins since there two foxes, a typical red one and then a black one.

"Itsss alrrightt." He slurs his words. He blinks in surprise but the other fox, the one that's black sighs. "It's likely the beak that's causing that effect." And the first fox nods in agreement.

He ducks his head in slight embarrassment but he finds a spot to sit down. Once he's sitting down, he takes his time to examine the others around him, they now total nine with him here.

The twins were likely the two foxes, he wonders which fox is which but decides that he couldn't be bothered and turns his attention to the stag that's seated on the couch. He cocks his head in a questioning manner and the stag seems to grin slightly. "Lee Jordan." The stag declares proudly.

He gives the lounging tigress the same look but she just shook her head. "She's been having us try and guess her name. It doesn't help that neither Fred or George here are helping us guess her name too." The white coloured rabbit says. The other rabbit which beyond being, a girl, is a brown in coloured.

He sighs and gives the last three passing glances. Starting from the right there was a pinto mare, then an African hunting dog, and finally a berobed figure that carries a scythe. "Deatthhh, rriighttt?" His beak slurs his words once more and figure nods.

"That I am." A faint voice says, one that sends chillies down his spine.

He turns his attention else where, specifically to one of the foxes. "Arre ttherre to be oothherr grryphhonss?" He asks and both foxes shake their heads. "Nope, you get to be our mascot." The red fox says.

"I see." He says, slightly proud that he didn't slur his words with that, although he had to focus on how to say it without slurring his words.

In time, the rest of the house woke and slowly the common room filled up as more canines, otters, badgers, squirrels, bats, monkeys, various felines, and other types of beasts including mythical beasts file into the common room, making him feel like he's at some kind of zoo.

In the end, once everyone was down and ready to go, they all marched as one through the exit. Then most turned to look at him and with a sigh, he takes the lead of the marry band of beasts, moving through the halls, many paintings seem stunned to see the parade of Gryffindors in full costume.

True, they would likely all have to race back up to their dorms to get their book bags and wands, but at this point, they likely more impressive without those items then with. Though he did privately wonder how Fred and George managed to distract Peeves, but decided to push it out of his mind until later.

About the corner leading into the Great Hall, he slows and then stops to turn around to make sure that everyone gets caught up.

"We're ready." The single boar of the group declares bravely and he nods his feathery head. "Right." He says and with that, he turns around and after taking a calming breath to help smooth his nerves, he presses on.

He keeps his pace slow as to make sure that everyone is following at his heels as he finally enters into the Great Hall. As he proudly leads his house through the doors, it wasn't long before the whole hall becomes silent and staring at them.

He continues to move towards more into the room and then moves towards their house table. He watches as the group splits apart into two groups, one moving to the opposite side of the table. They stand by the bench and then once everyone was in position, they all sit down on the bench while everybody outside of their house watches.

He catches sight of their head of house and could tell she looks pretty smug by their performance of house unity. It wasn't long before food arrives on their table and the other tables return to eating their breakfast.

They did have minor difficulties eating their food, him especially since he didn't have any teeth to chew any of his food. Although anything beyond meat didn't look as appetizing as it usually did. He did notice that all those that were masquerading as meat-eaters stuck to meat while those dressed up as plant-eaters stuck to eating the fruit. Those that were generalists ate anything within reach.

Most were light eaters and in the end, not long after they arrived, many began to head back to the common room to get their stuff. In the end, those that stayed the longest were likely those that could stomach the various foods being served.

"I almost wish there had been more types of food then what there was." He hears Neville say. The usually timid boy is currently wearing one of the two costumes of a lion with the wings of a bird. "I wouldn't minded a carrot or three right now." Says a girl dressed up as a doe.

"Jusst be glad that thiss iss only temporary. We sshould be able to change out by dinner." He says in his best reassuring way. Neville nods in agreement while the girl becomes shy all of a sudden.

"So... what do you think of Hermione's costume?" Neville asks and he gives Neville his best puzzled look. "Huh?"

"She's the one dressed in that tigress suit." The doe explains. "Oh!" He says in a surprised fashion.

The conversation turns to the reaction from the other houses, the three of them pretty much agreed that they did leave a lasting impression on the rest of the school. It was a slight rush to pack up their school stuff and, of course, their wands.

"So you're the Black Gryphon, Harry!" Ron dressed up as a Minotaur. "The twinss gave me the cosstume, Ron. I didn't pick it." He says, he decided to keep his sentences short since it makes it easier for him to keep them from slurring.

"Let's get a move on it, Ron. We might be late for our first class!" One of their dorm-mates dressed as a bat hisses.

"Let'ss get going." He agrees as he slings his book bag over his right shoulder.

During Potions

**H**arry had a very bad feeling about what's going to happen during their potions class. After all, Snape had been eyeing their table all throughout lunch.

As they seat themselves among the tables. He watches as Mafloy glares at the pair seated at his usual potion table. He would grin broadly if it could at the blond's identification, although it wouldn't surprise him if Snape would narrow down who he is within seconds of taking a look about the room.

It wasn't long before Snape arrives through the doors, his robes blowing out about him like wings. "I expect that you who are wearing those ridiculous costumes to take off your head pieces before we begin." The bitter man declares.

"But, sir, we have permission to wear them throughout the day." One of the wolves say. The man glares at them.

"Take. Them. Off." The man snarls.

In the end, they all tried but to him, it was like trying to pull out their own hair, root and all.

"Sir, the head pieces won't come off!" Ron cries out and Snape stills.

The man raises his wand and mutters a spell that's aimed at one of those seated at his usual table. He's not the only one to wince as that student screams out in pain, the fur about their head is ripped out, leaving to bare the pink skin below.

_That could have easily have been me!_ He gulps and he hears others gulp along side of him.

"Dean, are you alright mate?" Asks his dorm-mate who's dressed up as a bat once he's kneeling by the bear's side. Dean only whimpers in pain as his head begins to bleed.

He's not the only one to get out of his chair to gather about Dean's fallen form. Many of his house mates were glaring at the man who ripped out Dean's fur. "Let's get him to the hospital wing." Hermione says as she moves to help steady Dean while Ron moves to take Dean's other side.

Nobody moved to stop them as they all packed up their things and followed Dean to the hospital wing. While they're all worry for Dean, he could only imagine if they felt the same as he did at the thought that they have somehow become one with their costumes.

In The Hospital Wing

"Dear Merlin, what happened to him?" The school nurse cries out as she rushes forward to check Dean over.

"Professor Snape tried a spell to take off the head of Dean's costume. Instead it ripped all of his fur off his head." Hermione declares.

Madam Pomfrey pauses and turns to look at them all. "Why would Professor Snape cast this spell?" The nurse asks.

"Well, you see ma'am, none of us could take our costume heads off." Ron begins after they all looked at each other.

"I see." Madam Pomfrey says and then directs all of them to take a bed each before heading to her potions cabinet to get something to help Dean.

After about an hour, Dumbledore enters into the hospital wing with their house head. "Why aren't these students at their classes?" Professor McGonagall asks.

"They have informed me that during their potion class, Professor Snape ordered them all to take off their costume heads. When they weren't able to, Professor Snape casted a spell on Mr Thomas here to removed said piece of head gear." Madam Pomfrey says.

"Instead of causing the head piece to come off, it caused all the hair on Mr Thomas' head to be ripped out. They all came with him here and I've already examined most of them, headmaster. These are not costumes, they have somehow been transformed into what they appear to be! If this has happened to them, then it's happened to their whole house." Madam Pomfrey finishes.

"I see." Dumbledore says and Harry notices how Professor McGonagall seems to pick herself up. "Do you need any of my expertise, Pomfrey?" Their head of house asks and the nurse's expression softens.

"I think a chat with the Weasley twins is in order at the moment since according to those I've spoken too, they drank a potion that the twins handed out when they gave out the costumes." Madam Pomfrey says.

"I'll get on it right away." Professor McGonagall says and with that, she walks out of the hospital wing, leaving Dumbledore alone.

Madam Pomfrey and the headmaster made some small chat before the elderly man walks out of the room, leaving them once more alone with Madam Pomfrey.

He just sighs from his position on the bed. In the end, he felt a bit sleepy since he's so bore. He takes a pillow from the head of the bed and then lies on his belly with his head on the pillow. He curls up slightly and moves his free wing to help block the light from about the room.

Once he was comfortable, he begins to drift off into a light slumber.

End of the Year

"I wonder how my relatives will be explaining thisss." **H**arry muses as he steps off the train with his friends.

"I still can't believe that George is now an avatar of Death." Ron states as they step onto the platform, getting off the train.

"True, that iss weird." He says as he moves to the side to help Hermione step down from the train.

"My parents will be hounding me to change schools." Hermione states in amusement.

"Thiss didn't happen because of ourr classes, it happened because we trusstted two pranksters." He reminds her and the tigress that was his good friend nods in agreement.

"Though I do kind of wish I got a costume with wings. I won't mind flying free in the sky." Ron says wistfully.

He sighs as he remembers his first true flight using his own wings. He truly will miss flying to his classes and he wasn't the only one since most of those dressed up as bats did the same.

True it took them three months to build up their muscles and their confidence to take that first shaky flight without a broom.

It wasn't long before they have their trunks on a cart. "Hey Hedwig, how's it going?" He asks softly as he reaches into his owl's cage to stroke her breast feathers. The Snowy Owl clicks her beak slightly before settling back on her perch with her eyes closed.

He pulls out his taloned finger and then puts the cage on top of his trunk. After making sure the straps were holding his stuff on the cart, he then follows his friends. Mrs Weasley didn't notice them as she torn into her twin sons while Percy, who it seemed had been that black fox in the common rooms, it still surprised him that the twins had somehow gotten the usually stiff neck Percy to go along with their prank to make the house think that the two twins had dressed up as a pair of foxes.

"See you Ron." Hermione says as she then moves to head to where her parents were. "See you two later." The minotaur says with a wave as they pull away from him.

He waves bye to Hermione once she hooks up with her parents and he continues on through the barrier, heading to the muggle part of the station.

"Where is that blasted boy?" He hears his uncle growl out and he would have smirked if he had the right set of mouth parts.

"Rrrightt here." He says as once he approaches the man and he watches as Vernon pales and then flushes purple.

"Get out of that costume, boy! You're enough of a freak as you were before!" The man snaps and he gives the man an unimpressed look.

"You're looking at the new and improved Harry Potter, also known as the Black Gryphon of Hogwartsss." He states. "And my talonss are quiet sharp. Also, my god-father will be checking up on usss in a weekss time. He'ss currently finishing getting a check up." He adds and Vernon Dursley pales at the thought of a wizard checking up on his home life.

"You'rre sso going to Hell in a hand bassket." He says smugly.

**- o - 0 - o -**


	42. Helping Hands: Naruto

**I don't own Naruto!**

- o - 0 - o -

**"Sad isn't it? Watching the last two of their respective kind engage in a fight to the death."** A visiting entity says to his mate as a slowly transforming red head of some kind of shape-shifting species begins to focus on this blond that was likely from an opposing species of shape-shifters.

**"The poor dear can't even do it properly, see, he's restoring to using sand to make the correct adjustments. Sadly, the golden one doesn't have that earth element so he's unable to match the red head."** The female entity says with sadness emanating from her as the blond makes some energy clones to battle the earth user.

**"Perhaps we should pull the pair here and see if we can restore their shape-shifting abilities? After all, they might be fighting because their respective races believed that the other were responsible for their genetic degradation."** The male of the pair suggests hastily, not wanting to have his wife overly stressed over this extinction of what might be two noble races.

As his wife nods, the male gives her shoulder a gentle squeeze before removing his hand from her left shoulder. **"Computer, retrieve the sand using red head and the energy clone using blond."** The male says as he turns from the larger screen to address a smaller screen to the side of them.

_"Processing request."_ A mechanical voice of the computer states as a series of dotes and dashes begin to alter designs until the same voice says, _"Request underway."_

The male smiles slightly as the time of the world they're passing by pauses and within seconds the two selected fighters are teleported onto their ship.

-(V)-

"Where are we?" Naruto asks Gaara who's the only other one with him. The blond can't help but notice that the red head's gourd of sand doesn't seems to be anywhere in sight. Gaara doesn't respond and within seconds the other demon vessel walks over to what might be a door.

Naruto winces as Gaara punches the door with a fist. **-SNAP-** Naruto watches as Gaara slowly pulls the fist from the metal door. "Huh, Gaara? Is it... broken?" Naruto asks the seemly violent red head, temporary forgetting that they were in a fight just seconds before.

"Yes, I think it might be." Gaara states with clinched teeth as the red head begins to cradle the arm ever so slightly. "Ok then." Naruto says, edging away from the red head, not sure what to make of the guy.

As Naruto's about to ask Gaara something else, a wave of unease enter into his mind, causing him to lose his balance. "I think I'm going to hurl." Naruto announces on his knees as the pressure in his head causes his vision to swim. As the blond blacks out, Naruto swears he heard an eerier laugh erupt from Gaara who's also on his knees. . .

-(V)-

**"That was unexpected."** The male entity says with a slight frown on his face as he studies the red head shape-shifter. **"He's likely a trained berserker."** The female entity muses softly. **"Considering how fast it occurred, I guess I'll have to agree."** The male muses as the female walks towards the golden haired lower life form, leaving him to walk towards the red haired one.

**"I'm sure we can break that training before we can start on repairing their genetic code."** The male adds thoughtfully as he focuses on making the red head levitate in the air while his wife does the same with the blond. The female nods before flashing him with a warm smile that dispelled his doubts about what they're about to do.

The male bows as he motions for his wife to go through the door first. The female laughs, a sound that could only remind one of wind chimes as the female and her cargo do so. The male's facial expression softens before following, the doors close behind his cargo as they enter into the hall.

As the female heads to one lab, the male heads to the second lab that lies in the opposite direction. **_I'll deal with the programing first._** The male entity thinks to himself.

With the female, she places the blond into the tube. According to their scans, the blond was capable of transforming into a canine type life form, a branch of that family that the natives call a fox. As the tube fills with liquid, the computer scans the being and within seconds alerts her to the likely reason for genetic degradation.

**_So, there's more to it this world then the last. They must seal this energy in their own from a young age in hopes of increasing their genetic degradation, not knowing that by doing so they only increase the process. I wonder if those other six lower life forms that were detected to also be shape-shifters have the same energy beings stored within them._** The female muses before dismissing those thoughts, it was enough that they're doing something about two of the eight, the female was sure that if she pushed for them to help the other six that her husband would put his foot down.

As the computer comes up with ways to take the energy beings out of the pair, the female also begins to get readings of how poorly the young life form had been fed. It was easy to rectify that as they're reconstructing the genetic codes. Though it would make the process take longer then they originally anticipated.

It's not long before the scans were completed and robotic arms move to remove the cloths the golden life form is wearing. It doesn't really surprise the female that there were weapons concealed in the being's cloths.

-(V)-

Gaara can't help but feel as if something were missing as the red head vessel lazily opens his left eye to stare at his surroundings. It takes a few minutes before Gaara found the energy to sit up.

After a large yawn, Gaara cocks his head to the side before cocking it the other way. His ears twitch as the Sand ninja looks up at the ceiling. Gaara blinks and then reaches up to feel his head. Gaara's tail twitches as his fingers located and touch his new ears.

Within seconds, Gaara's tongue moves around inside of his mouth, touching each tooth as Gaara looks down at his arms and finds them covered in black fur covering his arms. It takes a few minutes but Gaara finally focuses in on his shoulders and finds that yellow cream colored fur dips slightly towards his chest and if he looks what he think he looks then, a quick glance causes him to nod as the yellow cream fur dips towards his chest from under his arms.

The lower parts of his body have more gray mixed with brown fur though his lower legs have black fur once more. Gaara can only imagine what his face looks like as the usual red haired ninja stands up.

Gaara takes his time getting use to his new sense of balance before he walks around. In time, Gaara begins to experiment with his chakra after running a bit around the room. Gaara finally stops moving around and sits down on the floor as exhaustion hits.

As Gaara begins to lie back down on the floor, the Sand ninja can't help but noticed how clear his mind was and how within his mind, it's so silent...

-(V)-

**"He seemed to stunned with his new appearance."** The male muses. The female counters by saying, **"Of course he was! It's amazing that either are still alive after how hard it was to extract those energy beings. They seemed more parasitic then symbolic."**

The male hums his agreement, it had been touch and go for most of the year as they waited for the natural healing abilities of the pair to finally kick in to repair the energy damage caused to their bodies as they extracted the two energy beings.

**"I guess we'll just have to wait and see how the other one does. The golden colored one did end up being the hardest hit out of the pair."** The male says in a tired tone. The female hums in agreement as she pulls the male closer to her so she can put her head on his shoulder while the arm circles around her shoulders.

Neither moved for a long time as one seeks comfort from the other and the other giving the seeker the comfort she needed.

-(V)-

Naruto feels his ears twitch and his tail curl up more tightly around his legs. It takes the Leaf ninja a few minutes to realize something. _Since when did I have a tail?_ The golden furred humanoid fox wonders before snapping fully awake.

Within sighting the opposing appendage, Naruto panics and within seconds, Naruto finds the room to be much larger and him moving about on all fours. His shouts come out as barks and yowls instead of swear words.

It's not long before exhaustion kicks in and the adrenaline rush fades. Naruto lies on his furry side for a few seconds before rolling onto his back. Within seconds of wishing to return to looking human does the room seem to become slightly smaller and his skin begins to scream how chilly the floor was.

As Naruto drifts off to sleep, he wishes he had a fur coat to keep him warm while he sleeps. . .

-(V)-

**"Looks like he's made up for lost time."** The male says in amusement, it's been a month since the red head has recovered from the extraction of the energy entity and finally, the blond has woken up.

**"He was definitely 'racing' to catch up."** The female agrees, stifling a chuckle. The tension caused unknowingly by Naruto seems to lift as relief sets in.

**"Well then, we'll give him a week before we put them in the same room to see how they react with one another. Hopefully, they won't attack each other on sight."** The male says and the female nods in agreement as she gives the male's hand a squeeze which he returns.

-(V)-

"I really got to stop waking up on this cold, hard floor." Naruto murmurs as he rolls onto his side, he really didn't know how he ended up on his stomach but, really, was it so much to ask if they gave him a mattress or even a straw bed?

Naruto's ear twitches and it takes him a few seconds to realize that he's not alone. So, Naruto sits up as best as he could considering the fact that he sported a bushy golden yellow tail with the tip being black, much like from his elbows of his arms and lower parts of his legs starting from the knees down.

As Naruto surveys his surroundings, he snorts as he notices another furry lump at the other end of the room. The blond Leaf ninja can't help but notice that this room is much larger then the one he's use to. A sniff reveals that there wasn't any food in the room yet either, so Naruto gets to his feet and walks over to where the puffy furred being is resting.

"Huh, a tanuki." Naruto says and the other's ears twitch but the other doesn't stir. So after a few seconds of boredom, Naruto rests his head on the palm of his left hand while using his right to poke the humanoid tanuki.

Finally the lump of puffy fur stirs and Naruto stands straight up before backing away as the human like raccoon dog sits up right. ". . ." The tanuki kind of stares at him for a few seconds before yawning, showing off sharp, healthy looking teeth.

"Gaara?" Naruto shoots and a nod from the tanuki causes him to sigh. "So... You see who's done this to us?" Naruto inquiries but doubts that those responsible had shown themselves to the Sand ninja.

"I've been alone until just now." Gaara says in a matter of fact way. Naruto sighs before crossing his arms behind his head as he looks around lazily. "I wonder why they did this to us. I mean... Err... You had a demon sealed in you, right?" Naruto asks after a few minutes, bring his arms over his crest as he looks at some part of the floor not far from Gaara's furry feet.

"Yea, I do. I take it you did too?" Gaara asks softly and Naruto nods, not particular happy to admit it but doesn't see any reason to deny it.

"I guess we might be here because of that." Naruto admits while Gaara climbs to his feet. "And explain why we look the way we do. After all, Shukaku is suppose to be a tanuki. I take it you have the Kyuubi? After all, that is the only demon to attack Leaf and would explain your appearance." Gaara says and Naruto sighs as he nods, looking at some far wall.

"Talk about being welcome to the brotherhood of demon vessels, huh?" Naruto muses softly. "I wonder what happens now?" Gaara wonders as he looks around, sniffing the air.

Naruto shrugs.

-(V)-

**"They seem to be getting along quite well, love. I think it's time to return them and to start time back up on that world.** The male says gently to his lovely wife. **"Yes, love, I know. Though I'm going to miss having them around even though we had so little contact with them. I'm sure they'll be able to bring back their respective species and hopefully the genetic enhancements will keep their genes from degrading in the future."** The female says, she wonders what kind of children they'll find when they come this way again after their honeymoon.

**"Computer, begin process."** The male says and the computer beeps before a slight hum erupts from the counsel. The pair of shape-shifting life forms teleport from the ship to the ground. Another flash and the planet's time unfreezes, those other life forms begin to move and interact with the two shape-shifters.

**"Where to next, my love?"** The male asks after a few minutes. **"Anywhere as long as you're with me, love, anywhere."** The female says as the image of the lower life forms vanish.

- o - 0 - o -

**Epilogue**

"We're back, we're home! Sasuke, you're a sight for sore eyes!" Naruto declares and within seconds the blond is embracing the other Leaf ninja with odd tattoo designs on his skin.

"Let's go." Gaara calls out to his siblings after watching Naruto move from the Uchiha to embrace the pink haired girl. A slight smile on his face as the red head turns away from his fellow vessel to head home, to a future waiting for him that doesn't have him killing every other living human besides himself.

"Idiot! You're letting them get away!" Sasuke snarls on seeing the Sand ninja continuing heading away from Leaf. "Let them! Gaara and I don't want to fight each other and I doubt that his siblings are in any condition to either." Naruto states as Naruto picks Sakura up bridal style since he wants to get her to the hospital as quickly as possible since he's concerned that she might have suffered some kind of injury to her ribs.

". . . What happened to your cloths?" Sasuke finally asks as they head towards Leaf at a slower pace since Sasuke's pretty exhausted. "I'll tell you later." Naruto states as his head band bounces slightly around his neck as he leaps from one tree branch to another, rejoicing that he's not in any metal room any more.


	43. Twisted Breeds: Digimon

**Twisted Breeds**

I don't own Digimon.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

'**Talking within Mega Form'**

-!- Scene change

/-/ Different point of view

N-N Flash back

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1

He pushes his way through the crowd until he finds the source of the crowd's attention. He schools his expression as he tears his eyes from the working TV set, his left hand goes to the pouch where he keeps those discarded Digimon TCG cards that he finds and keeps. He longs to see if he's up to sniff on playing the game, but he doesn't have the guts to try and approach the card players since he and those like him were considered 'tainted' and a 'non-human.'

He makes his way through the crowd of other tainted non-humans; though they preferred to call themselves Kuruth even though in different ethic nationalities they most likely have other names and terms for what they were, though the most common ones were often refer to them as devils and demons. He glances down at his scaly looking fingers that were tipped by talon like nails and then feels his pointed right ear as he runs his tongue behind his slightly more pointed then average teeth. Around his temples where there are more scaly looking marks and his bright red eyes didn't really help matters, only adding to his inhuman appearance. If one over looked such features, he could pass himself off as a twelve year old kid but it's highly doubtful that the 'norms' could or would look pass such features...

His stomach rumbles as he heads off to scavenge food from a dumpster that's most likely outside of the usual boundaries where Kuruth make their home. He pulls the rugged jacket around him; he shivers as he begins to feel the chill once more. He's just glad that it wasn't snowing just yet since winter time is a very lean time of the year for all Kuruths since they leave tracks in the fresh snow, pretty much telling those that come across the prints that they had visited.

'_I wonder if I'll make it back before it snows…'_ He muses as he glances up into the sky, noting the storm clouds over head. His stomach growls and he knows that if he wants a meal tonight, he'll have to chance it, regardless of what the weather is and soon to be.

As he trudges through the streets, he ponders what his guardian, Yamaki, was up to since his adopted father hadn't shown up in the ghetto for over a month now. He knows that something must have come up since it wasn't like his guardian to be away for this long. He knows that if Yamaki was around, he wouldn't have to worry about scavenging around for food since people often barter food for services that only Yamaki can provide, which were fixing broken radios, TVs, and other electronic equipment.

His instincts kicked in and he hides out in an alley just before some odd mist begins to rolls out of a man hole. As the mist begins to become thin, he notices a beast made up of flames, some kind of cat if he's to guess. He breathes in sharply as he recalls where he's seen something like that before. _'It's a Lynxmon… but it's just a card game, isn't it?'_ He wonders to himself as he notices a girl about his age in a trench coat appears out of the mist, most likely entering it just minutes ago.

"Lynxmon verse Renamon." The carrot top says, he watches as a golden humanoid fox appears by the girl's side. As the girl steps away, the flaming cat charges the golden kitsune with purple gloves. He watches as the two Digimon battle it out, though he can tell that the rookie Digimon was having trouble with the armour Digimon.

The girl must have realised this as well and he watches as he takes out a Digimon card and slashes it through what could only be her Digivice. The girl says something too soft for him to hear, but he could see the effect it had on the fox Digimon as the kitsune vanishes from under the Lynxmon and reappears in the air. "Diamond Storm!" The graceful golden fox says and he winches as the attack hits the fire cat head on. The Lynxmon breaks apart and the particles are absorbed by the girl's Digimon.

The mist fades and the fox follows the girl for a few seconds before the fox vanishes. He couldn't move, he's in shock over what just happened and what it could mean. _'If that girl could partner up with a real live Digimon, doesn't that mean I could have a Digimon as a friend as well?'_ He wonders to himself as he sits there in the alley, his mind a whirl with thousands and thousands of thoughts and ideas, even a few day dreams to boot.

His stomach growls, snapping him out of his daze and he begins to glance at what's around him. He spots a dumpster and heads to it, hoping to find something to eat.

-!-

He groans as the light is turned on, he curls up more into himself. "Get packing, Chibi. We're moving." He hears Yamaki say. He perks up on hearing Yamaki's voice; it takes a few minutes before his brain begins to work out what his guardian just said.

He sits up and stares at the open door, he can hear Yamaki talk with someone in low tones. He blinks before he gets off the bed. He heads out of his room and watches as two fuzzy Kuruths follow his uncle's instructions. Yamaki's fiddling with his lighter, which told him volumes of what kind of mood his guardian is in. He heads back to his room to begin packing up his few personal effects and his old and worn cloths.

It's not until he's done packing, he glances around the room that's been his home since he was four years old. His eyes linger on the drawings that he made on the wall when he was younger. A smile appears on his face as he remembers Yamaki's reactions to said drawings.

"Chibi?" Yamaki asks softly, he rolls his eyes on hearing his age old nick name. "Stop calling me that already, I'm not a little kid any more." He says as he turns to face his guardian. Yamaki chuckles softly as the elder Kuruth ruffles his spiky hair, he hadn't had a chance to style it since he woke up.

"You know how it goes, until I find a more appropriate nick name, I get to keep calling you by the old one." The blond Kuruth says, he sighs and as Yamaki turns around, he attempts not to sound like he's whining, "But I've had this one since I was a little kid!" He follows after his guardian out of the almost bare apartment.

/-/Ryo

He groans, the last thing he remembered was some chaotic Digimon that he can't remember the name of had been using some really odd attack before Cyberdramon deleted him. Not that it stopped the attack that the Digimon unleashed. He realises that his eyes were open but there isn't a source of light to illuminate where he is.

"Cyberdramon?" He asks as he sits up. He hears a grunt from his partner, he turns his head into the direction he heard the grunt. "Where are we?" He wonders out loud as he slowly stands up. He's careful about where he's stepping, he's not sure if the others were here or not.

He places his hand on the wall, soon he's walking around by the wall. He can't help but feel that this place was familiar in some way. Soon he comes to the door; he manages to open the metal door and discovers that he's in Guilmon's shed… And he then looks around and can't find the huge hole that Guilmon had dug long before he ever met the red rookie and his Tamer.

He doesn't see any sign of the others in the shed. It's just Cyberdramon lying on the floor of the shed. He sighs as he examines his cloths; he finds them dirty with dirt and something that looked like mud.

He runs his hand through his hair only to find his ears were pointed and as he touches his forehead, he finds mini horns growing out of his eye brows. He looks at his hands and finds his nails looking more like talons then they should. His tongue goes over his teeth and he finds that not only are his canines were larger, but his teeth were more pointed as well.

He closes his eyes. _'Ok, take a deep breath. For all you know, this is just some kind of illusion and it'll wear off soon.'_ He tells himself as he opens his eyes and looks out of the shed. He glances back to Cyberdramon before he leaves the shed, hoping to locate something to eat for the both of them.

-!-

He frowns as he considers the beating he just received from a group of teens that didn't like 'uppity' beasts. He's guessing that that's what the norm considers those with the kind of traits he now posses. He leans more heavily on the wall behind him as he looks up into the sky. He's currently in an alley, the group had thrown him at the large metal dumpster before the proceeded on beating him senseless.

He found it funny though, he's already healing at an accelerated rate for he knew he had a few either broken or bruised ribs and he literally watched the bruises on the back of his hands heal in the last fifteen minutes. Open cuts took a little long, going from being open wounds to the skin healing and then the bruising vanishing. His once swimming head went through many steps until it vanished.

He sighs and picks himself up off the ground. He walks to the entrance of the alley and looks around to see if there are any large crowds on the streets. He notices the crowd give a pair of fuzzy looking people a wide berth as they head towards the park.

In the end, he follows the pair to the park. Though he's still hungry, he figures he'll wait until night before trying to get into a restaurant or to use a pay phone to order something, have it delivered at a spot where he'd leave a note and some money there, instruct the delivery person onto leaving the food at the spot and just take the money. He just hopes that the currency is still the same here as it is where he comes from.

/-/Takato

He's aware of the van stopping and Yamaki opening the driver's side door. He yawns before he sits up, he turns away from the side door as his guardian opens it and sunlight filters through. He climbs out once his eyes adjust to the light.

He blinks in surprise as he studies his new surroundings. "Wow." He says as he stares at the building that looks high tech. "Our new living space is a few feet underground and you'll finally receive a full time education." Yamaki informs him. He snorts lightly at the mention of an education.

He moves to the side as a group of Kuruth begin to swarm onto the van. "So you've been here, doing whatever when you're not at the city then?" He asks his adopted father. Yamaki motions for him to head into the building, clearly not intending to answer that question. He doesn't press it, but makes a mental note to bring it up at a later date as he wants up to the open door and takes his first step into the place that's his new home.

/-/Ryo

After searching around for a suitable place to live, they just remained at the shed, though Cyberdramon decided to expand their new home by taking his frustrations out on the back wall, making a large hole then what Guilmon had previously created, but his partner didn't do any tunnelling like what Guilmon had done. It's been a whole month since they arrived in this altered world and they had yet to actively look for any of the other Tamers, though he had located the burnt out bakery that's located in the Kuruth grotto. He had attempted to located Takato, who survived the fire that killed Takato's parents.

Turns out, Takato's living with Yamaki, but the thing was, he missed them by a few days. He still finds it surprising that Takato was adopted by Yamaki since from what he heard; Yamaki and Takato hadn't known each other before Takato was partners with Guilmon. He also wondered if this Yamaki was working for an agency similar to Hypno.

He blinks as he notices a familiar face of Henry Wong. On a whim, he heads off to speak with the very human looking Tamer. "Henry?" He says, placing a hand on the Tamer's shoulder, he's vaguely aware that Henry looks younger then he remembers.

Henry turns and freezes on seeing him. "So, how's life been treating you?" He asks the Tamer. Henry's eyes roll into the back of his head and the Tamer collapses to the ground, despite his attempts at catching the other Tamer. He sighs and pulls Henry off the path, towards some cover.

It takes about an hour before Henry stirs. "Ok, that was a weird dream…" Henry says until the partner of Terriermon looks at him. "… Is that you, Ryo?" He gives the Tamer a grin as he replies, "Pretty much, though I did get an upgrade in the looks department." Henry nods, clearly staring at his eye brows, he's glad that he doesn't have a set of horns, fur covering any real part of him or scales like he has seen on a few Kuruth.

"So it wasn't a dream then? That it all actually happened?" Henry says, clearly more for his own benefit then asking him to verify it. Henry's eyes were unfocused; clearly Henry's trying to sort out what just happened. "I don't think I know Takato, he doesn't go to my school, though I have seen Kenta and Kazu on occasion as well as Jeri." Henry admits and he nods in agreement. "I found out that Takato's parents died in a fire, he was only four at the time and he was adopted by Yamaki. Turns out, Takato's what the 'norm' call Tainted, which means you wouldn't have met him in this world." He confesses to Henry, Henry sighs.

"So, do you have any idea where they are?" Henry asks after a few minutes. He shakes his head as he says, "No, I missed them by a few days. They've moved out of their apartment, not that anyone knows where they're headed other then they had a van at their disposal." Henry sighs and looks away. "So, now what?" Henry asks and he says, "I guess confront those we can find. I'm sure Takato will show up sooner or later." Henry nods in agreement.

"So, where have Cyberdramon and you been staying?" Henry asks with curiosity. "At what should be Guilmon's shed, though Cyberdramon did vent on the back wall, but he's not much on tunnelling though." He mentions in amusement. "I think I can get you something to put your stuff in, a trunk probably as well as some worn out cloths." Henry says as the Tamer studies the condition of his cloths. He's lucky it hasn't snowed, so he doesn't have to worry about wet cloths, though he doubts it'll last as he notices storm cloud on the horizon.

"So which do we chat with first Jeri or should we confront Rika or to use Terriermon's nick name for the duo, Twiddle and Twiddle-dumb?" Henry asks him. "I think we might want to go for Wild Cat, seeing how she's the only one with a partner right now." He recommends. Henry grins slightly as he using one of his names for Rika.

/-/Takato

He studies the drawing he did, he doesn't really know what to named the Digimon he drew, but he's got quiet a bit of time to think of one since he's pretty much the only kid around, not that it's new for him, seeing as he never really connected with Kuruth that are his own age. They treated him different since not only did he lack parents, but also the fact that Yamaki's semi resented by their parents as their parents resented Yamaki's techno skills and resources.


	44. Karma Good or Bad Part 1: Ranma

**I don't own Ranma 1/2 or Naruto!**

**- o 0 o -**

Blasts firing from behind, the teal colored serpent dragon rolls to the left side and growls as the dragon's eyes glow for a few seconds before returning to their normal state of gold. The antler like horns glow white before the teal dragon opens his mouth, a small sphere of white energy forms before a thin stream out of the fist sized ball of energy.

The nine tailed stag leaps over the beam of energy and the teal colored serpent dragon follows the leaping demonic deer while the white beam of energy continues to come out of the fanged mouth of the dragon. The terrain below alters as the white beam of energy moves around, trying to hit the ruby furred stag with ebony black antlers crowning said head. _"Stand still, damn it!"_ The dragons growls mentally at the demonic stag that's leaping about the terrain below.

_"Like hell I will!"_ The ruby stag replies as a ball of black energy begins to make an appearance in the center space between the antlers. The stag does a quick turn in the air and lands while staring at the teal dragon flying above as the white beam of energy vanishes as the dragon clamps his mouth shut.

The serpent dragon twists about in the air to evade the black beam of energy that's now lashing out in the air. The teal dragon growls in a beastly fashion as the dragon's antlers slowly begins to grow white. _"This isn't going to change the fact that you now turn into a stag, you stupid hairball!"_ The teal dragon that is Naruto Uzumaki thinks to the current nine tailed stag as the black ball of energy finally vanishes.

_"Who says this is all about you cursing me to be a leaf eater? I'm going to kill you so I don't return to that stupid prison in your gut!"_ Snaps the nine tailed fox turned stag.

The teal dragon just growls before heading straight up into the air, leaving the elephant size stag alone among the ruined forest that's some kilometers away from the city called Tokoyo. _"Get your scaly butt back here you runty human!"_ The nine tailed demonic being declares but the teal dragon just lets his breath go through his mouth, creating a soft hiss.

**"Fool."** The dragon grumbles softly before heading off in his original direction.

**"Blasted brat."** The stag growls before the ruby coated demon heads off to enjoy his time out of his cage from within the teal dragon's stomach.

Three Months Ago  
**o 0 O -**Ranma**- O 0 o**

"Are we there yet?" Whines a certain bright haired blond who's got his arms crossed behind his head. With a growl, Sakura steps up her pace just so she can punch said blond in the cheek, sending the twelve year old flying off of the path.

"Damn it, Naruto! Does it look like we're there yet?" The pink haired thirteen year old snaps at her younger team-mate. "God, you are annoying! Right Sasuke?" Sakura says as the girl turns to coo at the brooding thirteen year old.

"Hn." Sasuke grunts without glancing at the girl and he kind of feels bad for the girl, although he's long since learnt not to voice it after witnessing how well it works for the annoying blond known as Naruto.

_You'd think she'd get a clue that he doesn't care if she's mooning on him or not._ He thinks from the rear of the group. "So cruel..." He hears Naruto mutters before the supposed ninja rejoins his team-mates.

He glances up pass the three to stare at the back of their teacher's head but the silver haired man doesn't seem to have noticed the latest antics between his students. _Just what kind of book is that guy reading anyway? I mean, Pops went all red just after reading a page of said book._ He muses privately to himself, although he hasn't had a chance to nab the book from said man to take a gander at the contents.

"This is so boring." Naruto whines after some time as he, once more, tries to imagine what the book within Kakashi's hands could be about. "Isn't there something we could be doing as we walk, like learning a new jutsu or playing some kind of game?" The blond asks and continues on that vein for a few minutes.

"Naruto..." Sakura growls in a threatening manner as Sasuke speeds up. The young teen shakes a fist in Naruto's direction and the bright blond holds up his hands in surrender while moving a few steps to the side.

Sakura speeds up after giving her hair a flick, he could only imagine what kind of look is now gracing the girl's face at this particular moment. "You really have your work cut out for you, don't you, kiddo?" He muses and Naruto just sighs.

**o 0 O -**Naruto**- O 0 o**

_I'm not sure if I should be relieved or not that none of them suspects that I switched with a Shadow Clone. But then, nobody really asked if I'm still capable of making clones, only asking if I could create a functional one at that pierce moment in time._ He muses as he glances off in the direction the group is traveling in.

"Ok men, you all have your assignments, make me proud!" He says to the minor army of clones that number at least a hundred. "Right!" The army chimes and with that, the clones create small groups before picking up one of the many books he's manage to buy during the last stop in a farming village.

_I can't believe nobody thought it a good idea to learn the local language, tsk, and they call me an idiot._ He thinks as he puts the ear phones over his ears before pressing play on the walkman. _Hopefully I'll at least know what to expect at this valley Genma wants to train at._

Two Weeks Later  
Jusenkyo

_Ok... Let's see if what I've read is true._ He thinks as he watches the group through a telescope a Shadow Clone had been sent off to buy it from a distant town, one the group hadn't visited. He also had the clone visit while under a Henge.

From his vantage point, he watches as Ranma and his father leap up onto the various bamboo poles that dot the area. He watches as the guide comes towards the group, likely to try and warn them about the magical curses that are carried in the water of the spring. He doesn't focus on the small man as he's a bit busy watching as father and son leap about the bamboo poles, likely showing off for Kakashi and his team-mates' benefit since it's rare that the duo get to spar now a days since Ranma and Sasuke were always testing each other.

Finally Ranma manages to land a blow on Genma, a blow that causes the overweight man to fall into a spring. He holds his breath as he waits for something to come out of the spring and within a few seconds, out comes a very large pig trying to stand upright, but fails and lands once more back in said spring with a thrill of distress.

He could only imagine what Ranma is muttering in stun shock of what has happened. He could hear Sakura's voice from here, calling Ranma to come back toward the group. Finally, Sasuke leaps up onto the poles and jumps over to where Ranma is to likely snap the teen out of it, only Ranma acts instinctively and sends Sasuke away.

It does snap Ranma out of it and the teen begins to leap towards the group, only to be intercepted by Sasuke, who managed to hang onto a bamboo pole. He snorts softly as Sakura screams at the two to stop before finally asking their teacher to talk sense into the pair.

To his surprise, Kakashi does put his book away and leap up onto the bamboo poles, heading for the fighting teens. _Now we just need Sakura to leap up to join them and they'll all get cursed._ He muses before pausing to consider something. _Not that she really needs to be leaping around on those poles to receive a curse..._ He adds thoughtfully as the two teens attack Kakashi as a team while also taking pot shots at each other.

Kakashi manages to send Ranma flying towards the starting point of this, a spring not that far from Sakura. With a roar, a petite red head leaps out of the spring and onto a bamboo pole to rejoin the fight. A fight that has paused to see what has become of Ranma.

The look of astonishment causes him to chuckle since it's so comical a look on their faces. Sadly, they didn't recover fast enough to evade Ranma's attacks, causing at least Kakashi to fall into a spring while Sasuke manages to use wires to keep from ending up in a spring. It's about then does Ranma realize that he hadn't come out of the spring unchanged.

"Ahhh!" Ranma screams, doing nothing for the moment, he turns to see what's become of his teacher. He snickers at the sight of a silver furred monkey swimming to shore.

After watching the monkey that is his teacher, he moves to see what Sasuke is up. He finds Sasuke standing on a patch of earth that snakes between three different springs. The Uchiha seems to be staring at Kakashi while wrapping the wire back up.

Finally, Sasuke is done and leaps up onto the bamboo, ignoring Sakura's cries for him to come her way. The typically brooding teen surprises Ranma but before Ranma falls, the fifteen year old clings to Sasuke with a wild look in her eyes.

The pair fall into a spring below while Sakura screams out Sasuke's name. A glance shows that the pink haired genin wasn't thinking right as Sakura charges forth, only to trip and fall into the spring before her. He snickers softly at the mare that's now wearing Sakura's ruined cloths, the headband now resting on the horse's back.

Quickly searching out the spring where Ranma and Sasuke fell, he finds a dog and a dog girl within the spring. He snickers at the sight, especially seeing as the black dog begins to bark at the girl with more then a few canine features. Said features were floppy ears on the top of the head, a tail covered in red fur, he couldn't make out the face very well but Ranma's profile shows that Ranma now seems to sport a short muzzle, and finally, it seems as though Ranma's hands have thickened slightly and now have thick looking black nails on each finger and thumb.

"I'm so glad I wasn't part of that." He states out loud, although he is curious as to what other kinds of things have fallen within each of the spring. "Maybe that guide has a map or something that shows which spring contains which curse..." He adds thoughtfully.

_It would be nice to actually choice which curse I get... Might as well scope out the hut now and make it seem like that I was driven by hunger to leave that early in the morning too._ He decides.

Four Days Later  
Joketsuzoku  
**o 0 O -**Ranma**- O 0 o**

_I can't believe he managed to miss getting a curse..._ She thinks while glaring at the bright blond boy just a few feet away from where she's walking. _It's not fair that he's the only one to be spared..._

Naruto seems to feel her hateful gaze and glances behind him, first at her before looking pass her, likely at Kakashi and Sakura, since Kakashi is riding on Sakura's back along with the bags belonging to pretty much all of the group except for Naruto, since Naruto's more then capable of carrying his own bag.

"We almost there, good sirs." The guide says in heavily accented Japanese and Naruto sighs in relief. "Finally..." Naruto murmurs softly under his breath, although that doesn't prevent any of them from not hearing it since they all have very good hearing.

Although the sight of the gate did fill him with excitement, although that could be from the scent of cooked food waffering down wind, towards them. She feels her mouth water but manages to control herself enough to keep from whining at the thought of food. The ruffling of her pants reveals that, yes, her tail is wagging and fairly quickly from the way her pants move against her legs.

Her father oinks and then squeals as the fat pig charges through the gates. "Wait up, you porker!" She calls out as she speeds up her walk.

As soon as she's pass the gates, she finds her pig of a father digging into a bowl of steamed vegetables. It didn't take long before she joins her pops in eating what's sitting on the table, just waiting for somebody to come along and make a meal of it. She does pause to set a bowl down for Sasuke to eat from.

Within seconds, Kakashi's silver form joins them by starting on some fruit. _Now this is the good stuff._ She admits with a sigh while pausing a second before grabbing the next bowl.

"Sirs? Sirs! She asking why you eat her prize!" The guide informs them and she blinks before turning to regard the teenage girl standing on the log while holding a pair of what appears to be maces at her and then at the rest of the group.

"So if I beat her in a fight, I become the rightful owner of this prize?" She asks the guide and waits as the guide translates her question.

Month Later  
Tendo Dojo

"Well, coming here was a waste of time." Naruto muses softly as Sasuke and himself spar within the dojo. "Hn." Sasuke grunts as they break apart from their spar as Sakura arrives with Kakashi in tow.

"Supper is almost ready." Sakura says as the girl with pink hair stares admiringly at Sasuke. The look causes goose bumps to erupt on his arms but he ignores it as he walks out of the dojo, not doing more then giving the middle Tendo sister a passing look from the bushes surrounding the dojo.

_Pops can't possibly think that this engagement is a good idea... I mean, for crying out loud, he turns into a pig and I transform into some kind of dog girl. We should be looking for a cure, not getting me hitched to some girl! Heck, Sakura is a better fighter then that Akane girl and pinky doesn't even train all that much!_ He thinks with a slight frown on his face as he pointly ignores the youngest Tendo sister as she glares hatefully at him.

It wasn't long before Kakashi and Sasuke sit down on either of his side while Sakura sits next to Sasuke. Which leaves Naruto to sit next to Akane and Nabiki as the oldest Tendo sister, Kasumi, begins to bring out a tea pot and tea cups. He notices that Kasumi seems to glance at Mr Tendo and Pop with a look of disappointment, though it vanishes a second later as if it was never there.

Before Kasumi even finishes serving the tea, Pops has started on a new bottle of sake and pours Mr Tendo and himself a cup each. With Kasumi now sitting down, it seems to signal that dinner can begin and so began the task of feeding his inner beast.

**o 0 O -**Naruto**- O 0 o**

He couldn't help but reflect on a few recent events, particularly how stupid his fellow team-mates had acted while in the Amazon village. _Are they suffering from some sort of brain trauma?_ He wonders as he sits on the roof of the house.

_True, we don't have the slightest clue how to return home or if we'll ever return home, but that's really no excuse for their common sense to take a holiday. Heck, it seems as if I'm the only sensible one of the lot at this point in time and that's really kind of sad._ He admits with a sigh.

_"Worthless runt, what are you worrying about now?"_ The nine tailed demon that's usually slumbering within him asks in a very irritated tone.

_"Just reflecting how stupid my team is acting. I mean, Sakura practically ran right into that spring! And let's not forget how they dug into that food prize while at that Chinese Amazon village too. It's like they're catching some kind of stupid sickness from hanging around the two Saotomes!"_ He informs the fox demon, resisting the urge to point out that the demon had vowed to not help him since he's responsible for dropping the fox into that spring.

_"The fat one is enacting a karma passing spell so he's not the one receiving the blunt of his bad karma by passing it onto his son. Of course now that you lot are traveling with them, the spell is now dividing the bad karma between you lot, although because of me, you're the only one not affected by the spell. After all, you aren't totally human."_ The demon informs him but he doesn't feel like responding to that little taunt.

He had kind of come to figure that hosting a demon had likely left some kind of mark on him. _"Well, nice to see that confirmed, even if I don't like to think about it."_ He muses to the demon within.

_"Although, I can't help but wonder if that dip in that spring hasn't affected me as I am now... I mean, I actually manage to cast a spell on that cheap charm to ensure that unless I'm in a large body of water, I won't transform and you won't 'escape' from your cage."_ He admits after a few minutes of silence. _But then, I've been acting oddly since we arrive here. I mean, I was trying to learn a different language, written and spoken, just because it's there!_

_"Tsk. Of course you're being affected by your 'curse'. If you haven't noticed, your dragon form has five toes, not four or three! You're an Imperial dragon, brat."_ The demon within him states and he sighs as he feels the demon close their connection.

"Just another thing that's changed, but then, it's a given that the relationship would change..." He mutters as he regards his new relationship with the nine tailed demon, he doesn't really consider the demon a fox anymore since he dropped the horse sized nine tail fox demon in that spring when the demon attacked him after he admired his new looks in the spring below him.

Yawning, he begins to stretch before standing up. With ease, he leaps from the roof down to the ground. He heads for the dojo since the guest room is pretty crowded, although Sakura is bunking with the youngest Tendo daughter.

_I'll transform come the New Moon phase arrives._ He decides as he slips into the sleeping bag for sleep.

Present

Arriving at an alley within the city, the teal dragon begins to morphs into a human form, a twenty something year old with long, glossy black hair and hazel green eyes dressed in a simple black shirt and jeans combo. With a grin, the newly transformed dragon heads out onto the street. The dragon in human form couldn't help but smile brightly at the new sights this city more then a few hours away from Tokoyo has to offer.

_I wonder if there are any movies playing tonight?_ The dragon that is Naruto wonders, not at all worried about the fact that the dragon doesn't have any money on him while in this form.

**Might be continued. . .**


	45. Karma Good or Bad Part 2: Ranma

**I don't own Ranma 1/2 or Naruto!**

**- o 0 o -**

**o 0 O -**Naruto**- O 0 o**

"Here's our rent." He says as he casually tosses a roll of bills onto the breakfast table before sitting down. _Heh, she's quick._ He muses as Nabiki manages to snatch the wad of bills before he even managed to pick up his chopsticks.

Genma gives him a calculating look but the older man quickly returns to stuffing his face. Kasumi smiles at him as she comes in with his requested order of ramen. "Thank you, Kasumi." He says to the eldest daughter and the elder teen just smiles with a hint of thanks shining in her eyes.

He finishes the large bowl before Kakashi and his two team-mates arrive in the room. He takes his bowl and heads for the kitchen to refill it, freeing Kasumi up to bring in the rest of the food since Genma and Ranma have headed back into the yard for some more sparring. He spots Akane feeding her 'P-Chan' some rice before heading into the dinning room.

"I think I'm going to remain here to eat my ramen if it's alright with you, Kasumi." He says and Kasumi seems to sigh before nodding. "I'll make sure to leave enough for you, Kasumi." He adds and Kasumi smiles.

"I would appreciate it." Kasumi informs him and he nods. He could only guess that it's been years since Kasumi has ever really sat down and eaten something that she did have to warm up. _You know, I think I can spare a few more bills so Kasumi can get something that's not groceries... She desires to spoil herself ever now and again._ He thinks.

A loud commotion occurs, likely something going on between 'P-Chan' and Ranma since those two get along about as well as water and oil. Then Akane shouts about Ranma 'picking' on P-Chan before racing off to school once the youngest Tendo uses some mallet to send Ranma flying into the air and likely sending the pig-tailed teen off in the direction across the street or into a neighbor's backyard. He puts the lid on the pot and then lowers the temperature like Kasumi showed him before heading upstairs to get his books.

Sakura, Sasuke, and him weren't expected to go to a local school. Kakashi only has them reading out of library books that Kasumi picks up for them from the library. Although soon, the man will have to give them some standardized test to prove that they were being home schooled, it wouldn't surprise him that neither of his team-mates will likely pass said tests when the jonin is forced to test their knowledge of local history, math, and whatever other classes they teach kids here, in this world.

As he uses the stone path to get to his sleeping quarters, he couldn't help but raise a slight eyebrow at the state of his books, but then, chalks it up to Genma likely snooping about looking for some cash to spend on sake. With a shrug, he begins to clean up his sleeping bag before moving onto the next item of business.

_Like I'd stash any cash here. I really don't know what kind of habits any of my team have picked up since they've been cursed._ He thinks as he gathers up the library books and his notebooks, one of which has a list of things he'll have to purchase. One of the top things he's looking to purchase is a house so his team can get away from whatever spell Genma is using to pass his bad karma onto his son and, recently, to the rest of his team as well.

Once the books are packed up in his bag, he heads down the stairs, pausing long enough to stare at the growling dog that is Sasuke Uchiha, a black furred canine glaring at a certain little pig. Finally the tension grew too much and Ryoga turns to flee just as Sasuke pounces forward, jaws snapping just a few center meters behind Ryoga's tail. "P-Chan! Stop taunting Sasuke!" Sakura shouts as she picks up Sasuke's discarded cloths.

_Talk about ironic turn of events._ He muses as he heads to the front entrance to put on his outdoor sandals before heading off to the local clinic to answer phones for Doc Tofu, a job that gives him seed money. It doesn't hurt that Tofu also gives him a hand with his studies, often times giving him a list of books to help advance his understanding of this world at large.

"I'm heading off to the clinic!" He cries as he shoulder's the single strap of the book bag. He holds the door open as 'P-Chan' and Sasuke reenter the house with Sasuke still growling at the little porker. _You'd think Sasuke or anybody with a working brain would have figured out who the little oinker is from the bandanna alone._ Naruto muses as he closes the door behind him before leaping up onto the wall of the property and then leaps down onto the street after getting towards the end of the wall.

_Last night was certainly productive. Maybe I should see just how fast I can travel as a dragon, to see if I can't visit this Las Vegas that I've heard tell about in a single night. It sounds like there's a lot of casinos to visit at that city, a lot of money to be earned._ He thinks with a sly grin on his face as he races down the street. Making a simple hand sign, his appearance alters slightly, instead of a twelve year old, a blond haired nineteen year old can be seen racing down the street.

After all, it wouldn't do for Doc Tofu to get into trouble because the man hired somebody underage.

**o 0 O -**Ranma**- O 0 o**

_I can't believe she expects to learn Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics in under a week! She's not exactly graceful after all._ He muses as he watches as Sakura tries to correct Akane's stance.

"Hey, Ranma? Do you know how long they'll be at this? I mean, I sleep in there." Naruto says with a book bag and sleeping bag resting on the preteen's back.

"I think you're better off trying to sleep in the attic then trying to out those two." He informs the blond ninja. "Do they even have an attic?" The preteen wonders and he glances up at the house. "It should... It's got enough levels for it." He muses and the blond just shakes his head.

"That doesn't mean that it's there you know." Grumbles Naruto before the blond shakes his head before heading for the house. "Maybe Kasumi will let me sleep in Akane's room if I promise not to touch anything of her's..." He hears Naruto mutter as the kid heads for the house.

He shakes his head as he watches the younger boy head out and a certain almost puppy looking black Akita Inu type dog with a blue headband tied about the neck. He watches as Sasuke sniffs about the ground before growling softly as the boy turned dog surges forward into the bushes. Second later, a familiar tiny pig squeals while bolting out of the bushes with Sasuke hot on Ryoga's heels.

_At least Sasuke isn't barking while chasing 'P-Chan' around..._ He thinks while quickly glancing into the dojo to see if Akane has noticed her pet's return. _Though how Sasuke gets away with chasing Ryoga about in either form is something I'll never understand..._ He thinks as he moves to pick up the various boxes that Ryoga had been dragging about, likely gifts of food for P-Chan's owner.

"Well, at least I won't have to worry about Sasuke challenging me tonight..." He muses softly as the two 'animals' vanish from his sight. With a shake of his head, he moves to sit down in a corner of the dojo so he has a better view of Sakura trying to teach Akane in a manner that shows that the pink haired teenager is slowly losing her cool as frustration at Akane's lack of grace is finally trying the young ninja's patience since Akane clearly isn't really listening to Sakura's advice by taking it slow.

While he did want to get a few comments in, he has a very healthy respect of Sakura since unlike Akane, the younger girl has proven to be a talented ninja, even though the pink haired girl hasn't taken her training very seriously unless Sasuke is making comments about how better Naruto's gotten, even though the pair of boys have rarely spar anymore. _Come to think of it, the last time those two sparred was just after we landed on land after that boat ride home. And that was little over a month ago..._

He snaps out of his thoughts when Akane kicks a ball, causing the ball to hit the wall and then it rolls a few feet before Akane while said teenage girl is visibly upset. Akane stomps forward to pick up the ribbon but her left foot drops down onto the ball that Akane had kicked just seconds ago. "Akane!" He cries just as the Tendo daughter gets off balance and falls to the floor.

"Are you alright?" Sakura asks as the thirteen year old hurries to Akane's side, there doesn't seem to be any of the younger girl's previous growing frustration with Akane. Only concern with a hint of guilty relief flash across Sakura's face as he moves to help Akane get up off the wooden floor.

"We better get you to a doctor." Sakura says as they head towards the entrance of the dojo to take the Tendo daughter into the house.

Gymnastics Tournament  
**o 0 O -**Naruto**- O 0 o**

_Why do I have to be here?_ He wonders as he watches as Sakura manages to weld a ribbon about as a shield against the water that's coming out of the hose. He gives those operating said hose a minor dirty look but is very glad he chose a seat in the far back since he spots a silver monkey hugging a novel in plastic bag and a wet black furred dog who's likely growling as said boy turn dog is trying to get out of a shirt.

_He really needs to change his style of cloths. I know Sakura can't really do so because her cursed form is too large and will destroy all of the cloths either way._ He muses as he as he returns to watching Sakura now that Akane finally cut off the flow of water that finally allows Sakura to go on the offensive before Kodachi can recover her balance from the sudden disappearance of the water pressure within the hose.

The teen falls through the metal frame of the arena and lands on the ground. "Winner! Sakura Haruno!" The announcer says and the Furinkan High School section gets up to cheer. Sakura seems to blink before becoming shy about all of this sudden attention.

Within minutes, Sakura is hoisted into the air as most of the high school students surge forward to congratulate the fact that Sakura defeated the St. Bacchus School for Girls' record winning streak. A soft growl causes him to glance down at the steps and he sighs at the sight of Sasuke standing there with his cloths next to Sasuke's side. He raise a slight eyebrow at the young black canine standing there.

Sasuke snorts softly before his team-mate heads off in the direction of the restrooms. With a sigh, he collects the discarded cloths and heads for the men's room, making sure to hold the door open for Sasuke to enter too. Once he's sure that everything is fine, he walks into one of the stalls to put the cloths down before walking towards one of the sinks.

The only sign that he inherited a clone's memory is a minor blink as he waits for the water to warm up. He frowns as he sorts through the clone's last moments but just shakes his head slightly as he cups some of the warm water in his hand. With a whistle, Sasuke stops pacing to stand just half a foot away.

Within a second the water hits Sasuke's head the dog transforms into a naked young teen. Without a nod of thanks, his male team-mate heads into the stall and he just sighs as he turns about to turn off the water flow, he pauses. About ten minutes later, Ranma shows up with Kakashi and his instructor's cloths.

Ranma makes a bee line to sink and within seconds, Ranma dumps water over Kakashi's head and then over Ranma's down, causing Ranma's canine features to vanish along with the red hair and small breasts. Kakashi takes the cloths Ranma brought from the older teen before heading into a stall. A few guys enter just seconds before Kakashi enters into the stall, they did seem to freeze at the sight of a naked guy but recovered a few seconds after Kakashi locked the stall door.

He leaves the restroom, heading out to check out the drop off point that his clone had set up to store what little cash the clone earned in the last two days. He hadn't expected for a clone to survive for four days but one had and he could only guess how long the other clones will last as well. As he finishes using Henge jutsu, he couldn't help but blink rapidly as another clone's memories appear in the forefront of his mind.

"I believe I might want to wait before sending clones out of this ward without doing some research first." He mutters as he tries to shake off the hold that said clone's memories have over him. _Might also want to research demons and demon hunters too. If those things begin to appear around here, I could always become a part-time demon hunter._

_"I don't see why you're worried about that bug. If that's the kind of demons crawling about these unwashed masses then you won't need to worry too much about your safety. You are a demi-dragon, runt, a few things will tangle with a being with the blood of a dragon running through their veins."_ The demon within him remarks and he just rolls his eyes as he walks down the street in his henge.

_"Who says I'm worried about fighting one of those things? I'm more concerned with getting away from Genma Saotome then fighting against some energy vampire."_ He informs the nine-tail demon within him.

_"Whatever, brat. Just remember to watch your back."_ The demon states before withdrawing the connection.

_Considering the bad karma surrounding that house hold, it's kind of hard not too. God I hope this experiment with the clones work out, I really don't want to be too reliant on casinos for income. Never known when your good luck decides to deserts you._ He tells himself with a slight frown on his face.

It takes him some time to get to the spot to retrieve the money. Glancing about, he heads for a restroom to create another clone to replace this clone, one who's going by the name Taiyou Asita. He waits a few minutes before leaving the restroom once he's created said clone and said clone Henged into said disguise the previous clone had created.

"I really need to take computer lessons..." He murmurs softly as he reflects on the two sets of memories. _I get the feeling computers will become something important in the coming times._ He adds mentally as he begins to review ideas on how to get those lessons too.

New Moon

"Shampoo getting really tired. Shampoo never though hunting city deer be this hard..." A certain purple haired Chinese Amazon mutters as the ruby stag with nine-tails hangs about on a roof top a mile away.

The demonic stag grins as best as a deer can while the nine tails flicker back and forth while the black antlers continue to grace the demonic stag's head. The stag mentally chuckles as Shampoo lapses into Mandarin. The demonic entity turns his slightly to gaze down the run down sector of Tokyo, a place crawling with drug dealers, druggies, and 'homeless' people.

Shampoo mentally tries to recall what little she knew of demonology. _Never heard of any demonic deer before, let alone one with black antlers._ The Chinese Amazon muses as the teen slowly glances about the street the demonic stag had lead her to. _Might be a good idea to retreat before I trigger this demon's trap..._

Just before Shampoo does just that, something blasts at a roof top not that far from where the Chinese Amazon is leaning. A slight red blur causes Shampoo to narrow her eyes before darting about the roof tops instead of the street. The purple haired teen spots a team of three people standing on top of another building.

The demon stag had spotted the team of three before the one with the bow fired at him. With a chuckle, the nine-tailed stag leaps off of the roof as the team of demon hunters land on a high roof top. The demonic stag doesn't pause to stand around to give this group a standing target, the ruby furred stag had already given them one free shoot.

_Let's see if this group will 'play' with me._ The nine tail demon muses mentally as the demon finally slows down and sure enough, a few minutes later, the demon hunters spot the stag. With a whoop, the stag heads deeper into the city, going slow enough for the three to take pot shoots at him.

It wouldn't be until four am before the nine-tailed demonic entity in the form of a stag finally vanishes before the expert demon hunters' sights, causing a great deal of confusion for both the team and a certain Chinese Amazon.

**Might be continued. . .**


	46. Bonds of Friendship, Ties of Family

Bonds of Friendship, Ties of Family

I don't own Digimon.

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"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

x-x Scene change

-(V)- Massive time and scene change

-+-Different point of view

--) Flash back

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He asks, "Where are we going, Dad? Is Mom going to be there?" His father, who's shoulders his currently riding on answers, "She might be there, kiddo, she might be." He sighs and rests his head once more on his folded arms that are on his father's head. He hopes his mom is safe and that he'll be able to give her a huge hug. He closes his eyes as he's lolled to sleep as his dad treks through the dark tunnel.

-+-TK-+-

He sighs as he makes it to the hided entrance; he gently straightens up, waking up his six year old son, Tenyu. "Dad?" His son asks in a questioning tone. "I just need you to wait here, 'k? I got to scout ahead." He says to the young boy that had his eyes. The silvery/white haired boy nods, punting slightly, clearly not liking the thought of his father out of his sight.

He kneels down and looks his only son in the eyes as he says gently, "I know you don't want me out of your sight, but I need to make sure it's safe before we can rest. I won't be long, 'k kiddo?" His son sighs and nods, he smiles sadly as he puts his right hand on Tenyu's head. He gets up and then gently messes up Tenyu's short hair.

He waits until he's out of his son's sight before taking out a dagger. He holds it in his right hand, ready to use it if it turns out of be an ambush. With his left hand, he adjusts his shades so that he can see body heat, he glances around then switches the settings back to the usual. He finds the hidden key pad and punches in the code. The door opens slowly, showing it's age.

He's relieved to find that nobody else lies within, he sighs and opens the door wider and calls out to his son, "Tenyu, its safe." He hears the gently footsteps of his only son. He smiles reassuringly at the six year old; Tenyu brightens up and rushes into the room, most likely hoping to find his mother.

His heart wrenches, knowing that Tenyu's mother was dead, had been for the last year. He just didn't have the heart to tell Tenyu the truth though. _'You would be proud of how he taking this, Kasumi. I just wish you were here.'_ He thinks to himself as he closes the door and then turns on the computer so he can activate the lock down for this hide out.

Soon both doors were locked and unless he deactivates the lock down, nobody can get in, even if they know the code for the doors. He leans back in the chair, and then blinks as something begins to blink. He glances over to where Tenyu is before opening whatever message or program that Izzy installed.

It takes the computer a while to bring up the whole thing, leaving him time to make Tenyu and himself something to eat. He had turned on the lights on low and set his shades on the desk where the computer is. He notices a picture on the wall, it shows the group of Digidestine when he had been sixteen. He smiles sadly at the image of Patamon and then at Kari's.

Tenyu puts down the book he had found to get some of the oat meal he had micro waved. His son sits to his right, trying to comfort him as memories of his teens come flooding back. His gaze rests on Gatomon, who had learnt the old trick of transforming into a human in order of escaping ChaosPiedmon's henchmen.

Gatomon's human appearance stood around 5'25", with light brown hair, and emerald eyes. Gatomon had decided on being called Alexandra Hikari, or Alex for short. It was through Alex did he meet Tenyu's mother, Kasumi Jouta. He sighs as he wonders just happened to Alex, AKA Gatomon, for he hasn't hear anything from her for about the time Tenyu was born.

He looks at each of the other Digidestine, he could list when and how they had been killed, for ChaosPiedmon never saw it fit not to broad cast the news about. Izzy and he had been the only ones out of the humans to last the longest, now it's just him remaining. He closes his eyes in hopes of holding back the tears that threaten to overcome him. He couldn't break down in front of his son; he needed to be strong for his son's sake if nothing else.

"Uhm, something's beeping." Tenyu says; bring him out of his thoughts. "Huh?" He asks unintelligently. He puts his bowl down on the counter; he gets up off the rocketry stool. He blinks as he stares at the window that appeared on the computer screen. He sits down on the chair and tries to look for some kind of log or journal entry, since he really doesn't know what to make of what this program is about.

He blinks as the program asks for his id and personal password. He sighs and puts in his full name and for his password, he types in Digidestine Of Hope, without any spaces and with the caps. He blinks as a window opens up before the screen. Once it finishes loading, it starts up.

Izzy's image faces him and begins, "Hey TK, I guess if you're watching this you found my last attempt to save our world. As you know, ChaosPiedmon had first caused a minor dispute which was designed to distract us from his true intentions." Izzy pauses before continuing. "It worked, with Kari's death weighing heavily on us; we left the newer Digidestine to face the first assault of ChaoPiedmon's armies. Then we lost Mimi during an assassination about four months after ChaoPiedmon's army's by then conquered Africa and major parts of the Digital World. We lost Palmon when she helped defend New York State." Once more, the image of the Digidestined of Knowledge paused.

"I could go on and on, but that's beside the point. Since ChaosPiedmon finally finished conquering our world and parts of the Digital World, I had been pondering ways in which to counteract ChaoPiedmon and came to the conclusion that without either our partner Digimon or without the other Digidestine that we couldn't hope to stand up and defeat the mega. So I explored around the region that had been where Gennai's house. I found many interesting things and over time, began to think up a way to send someone from this time back in time, maybe all the way back to before Kari's murder. I had spoken with Alex about the possibility and learnt about this Digimon Millenniummon who is this god type Digimon known for his abilities to cross time and space. According to some of the files I gathered from what remains of Gennai's journal, this Digimon had made an appearance in our reality, only to be defeated by a pair of Digidestine. Gennai hadn't listed their names, but in a later entry, one of the boys is called to face this Digimon once more and Gennai came up with a device to allow the child to move about through time and space in order to combat this evil Digimon. Luckily for us, Gennai wrote the plans in his journal and I was able to come up with this program that you see before you."

Once more the recording pauses before Izzy continues on once more. "I was going to test it out once I informed Alex what I intend to do, I am leaving tomorrow to meet with her. I do plan on using it right after I get back, but I guess I never made it back. I hope this works and if you do attempt to use this TK, I want you to bring this simple pouch with you to hand over to my past self." Izzy smiles sadly before saying, "I wish I could have seen you one last time, my friend. It's been decades since we contacted each other, I hear from Alex that you're currently dating someone. I was glad to hear that you had found someone to be with. I really do hope that it works… or had worked out between you two. Bye TK and I truly hoped things had turned out better then this. January 17th, year 2055."

That window goes black, he stared numbly at the computer, surprise that at the date. He had been 68 when Izzy recorded this; Tenyu was born in 2058, three years after he first met Kasumi and after a year of marriage. He sighs and shakes his head, considering how youthful he looked, he was in his seventies and it would appear that Izzy too hadn't looked his proper age either. _'I bet Davis would have enjoyed this, he'd most likely joke about how handsome he looks for a seventy year old.'_ He thinks to himself.

"Dad? Did you know that guy?" Tenyu asks. He looks down at his son, he sighs mentally. "We were belonged to the same group, once upon a time." He says to his son. "Really? Did ya have any adventures?" Tenyu asks brightly, his bright blue eyes shining with curiosity. "Lets go over to the bed and I'll tell you about what happened when I was two years older then you, ok?" His son grins and nods, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the bed. He smiles and lets his son pull him to the bed.

Once he's sitting with his back against the wall, Tenyu crawls into his lap and he puts an arm around his son's shoulders. "It all started at summer camp…" He begins once he finishes gathering his thoughts, Tenyu already hanging on his every word, edger to hear about when he was around Tenyu's age.

-+-Tenyu-+-

He yawns and smuggles more with his pillow. His stomach growls, meaning that it's breakfast time, so he sits up and look around the room. The lights weren't that bright so they didn't hurt his eyes. He finds his dad looking through the cupboards. He glances at the computer, he kind of remembers some of the stuff that the man on the screen was saying, but most of it went over his head.

"Dad, is there stuff for breakfast?" He asks. His father smiles as he glances his way. "We got some more oat meal, but I'll have to head up to get some juice and other stuff. But that can wait until later." His dad says. He glances at the computer again before asking, "Are you going away through the computer?" His father looks slightly surprised at that question, then his dad gets what he's asking. "If I'm going to use it, you'll be coming with, kiddo. We're family." His dad says. He smiles, relieved that what's going to happen he'll be with his dad.

He bites his lips as his thoughts turn towards his mom. He looks down at his lap, he knows that something happened to his mom, but he really wishes that he was wrong. He knows that his dad's not telling him what really happened with his mom and he didn't want it confirmed though. He blinks in hopes of keeping the tears from falling.

"Foods ready." His dad says, he looks up and grins as he climbs down off the bed. He climbs onto the stool and begins to dig into his food. He notices that his dad's eating slowly again. He sighs mentally, wondering what's on his dad's mind at the moment. He doesn't like it when his dad's like this; he tries to think of a way to snap his dad out of this.

"Are you going to pick up some more cloths for us?" He asks finally. It works, his dad blinks and looks over at him. "I should, shouldn't I? So, what colours do you want?" His dad asks and he thinks about it for a few seconds before answering, "How about blue? Or purple! Yea, purples cool! Right?" His dad chuckles and ruffles his hair. "I'll see what I can do." His dad promises. He beams as well as congratulates himself for a job well done.

-+-TK-+-

He walks through the tunnel once more, this time with some bags. He left Tenyu busy playing a game on the computer. He hadn't wanted to leave his son, but he didn't dare take him with him out onto the street either. So he chose the lesser evil and distracted his son and left without his son knowing he had.

It hadn't taken long though, it did give him time to think about whether or not he's going to use that program that Izzy left though. He has decided that he might as well use it, though he'll be taking Tenyu with him. He just needed to go as far as to when he was nineteen years old. He could then go through the process of 'adopting' Tenyu.

They'll be leaving as soon as they have cleaned up. He'll have Tenyu take that pouch as well as anything else he decide to take with them. He soon makes it to the door and puts down the bags from his right hand. He punches in his code and then closes the key pad. He then pushes through the door once he picks up the remainder of the bags. He smiles slightly at the sight of his son totally absorbed in the computer game.

He shakes his head in amusement. He makes sure to shut the door and manually jams the lock mechanism which means that even if someone comes along and tries to open it, it would take who ever it is hours to get it to open up. By then, they'll be long gone.

x-x

He stirs and as he opens his eyes, he knows that something wasn't what it should be. He blinks as he finds a ceiling above his head. He smells chemicals which mean that he's in a place with nurses. He sits upright and finds that he is in a nurse office. He looks around for something that might tell him what date it is. He pushes the covers back and stands up, he glances at his cloths and flinches at what he's wearing.

"Guess it's before …" He couldn't say it, even if he's alone. He pulls back the curtains and finds Tenyu on the next bed, with the pack by the end of the bed. He sighs in relief, glad that he didn't have to look far in order to find his son. He looks at the clock and notices that it's about two in the afternoon. He finally notices the calendar and blinks at the date. "I'm eighteen? I was hoping for either nineteen or maybe twenty-one. This is definitely going to a bit tougher then I thought." He muses out loud.

He looks thoughtful, until the door opens and he comes face to face with someone he hasn't seen since he was twenty nine years old. "Kari…" He says, not sure if he can believe that it's really her. "Dad?" A more familiar voice asks. He turns to look at his son, he smiles slightly and Tenyu drifts off into slumber once more. "He was found about the same time you fainted." Kari says.

He nods and sighs as he runs a hand through his short hair. Taking note kind of how pale Tenyu is in this light. He moves and checks to see if his son might be developing a fever or something. Other then being a little warm, Tenyu is fine. He relaxes, looks over to find Kari looking at him with a searching look. He shifts slightly, uncomfortable under a supposable dead woman's gaze.

"He looks kind of pale, just wondering if he might be…" He says, trying to fill the silence between them. He just knows that if it had been anyone other then her, he might have been able to pull off some reasonable act to get rid of suspension. He really had to wonder what's going through Kari's head at the moment.

-+-Kari-+-

'_Is it me or did that fainting spell knock something loose in TK's head?'_ She thinks for herself as she muses as TK gets even more uncomfortable under her gaze. She glances at the kid in bed, TK wasn't the only one concerned about how pale the kid is.

They also couldn't find anything on the kid, plus they didn't bother to go through the pack that the kid has, which might mean the kid is a run away. She didn't think for a minute that the kid was out and about on his own, he seems to be between the ages five and seven. They were already looking around for his older brother or guardian.

"You think anyone would mind if I take the kid home with me?" TK asks as her best friend from childhood stares at the kid. She blinks; kind of surprise at TK's question. "I think they're going to try and call his parents." She answers. TK snorts slightly, "I'm his father, Kari. Met Tenyu Yamato Takaishi and we're from about fifty years in the future." TK looks into her eyes as he says that last part. Any thoughts of her friend pulling her leg as she notices the serious look in his eyes, for she doesn't know what to say to that so she just continues to stare at her blond friend and fellow Digidestine, trying to come to grips about what she's currently feeling about this for she knows that she couldn't be Tenyu's mother.

"You murdered two months before the take over of our world began. It took me decades to get over you, Kari, just to let you know. It was through Gatomon did I find Tenyu's mother. She was killed a year ago, when Tenyu was five. I still don't have the heart to tell him that he'll…" TK trails off and for some reason, that admittance made her blush and feel sorry for both TK and for Tenyu. "You have proof." She asks softly. "I had Tenyu carry this pouch that Izzy wants me to give to his… current self. It should contain everything." TK says softly. She glances at the pack on the floor, then something clicks and she asks, "If you're from about fifty years in the future, wouldn't you be too old to be fathering children?" TK blinks and then begins to chuckle and then laughs out right, this causes Tenyu to wake up. "Um, what's going on?" The son of her best friend and crush asks as his father laughs controllably, she couldn't blame Tenyu about being confused by not just his surroundings, but also at his father's behaviour.

-+-Tenyu-+-

He glances around the street, finding it odd to be walking around in daylight. He did notice some major differences to the last time he was out and about with his dad, for one thing, there weren't any Digimon patrolling around as well as none of the buildings look like gloomy either. He glances over at Kari, one of the people his dad told him about yesterday.

He then looks over to where he heard laughter. He grins as he watches some other kids' race off on odd shoes with wheels on the bottom. He looks forward as the bus stops and the doors open. They climb onto the bus; he sticks close to his dad as they walk to some seats. He sits by the window and looks straight out of the window once he sits down. The bus jerks and soon they're moving forward.

Neither his dad or Kari were talking, he looks at his dad and then at Kari who's sitting on the seat behind them. He notices that both seem to be thinking deeply about something, he guesses it might have something to do with him. He turns to glance at his dad's cloths and didn't know what to think of his dad wearing such bright colours, but then, according to what dad told him, they didn't have to worry about Digimon hunting them down, which was a good thing.

He watches the world go by as he stares out of the window. He can't wait to meet his uncle Matt. He knows that his middle name was in honouring his uncle whose full name is Yamato. His dad places a hand on his shoulder and he gets up off the seat. He follows his dad off the bus; they were at some kind of mall from the looks of things. He wants to ask where they're going, but he gets the feeling that this was kind of really important to his dad so he doesn't say a word.

They stop before this shop that sells musical instruments, he waits for his dad to go inside, but as he looks up into his dad's face, he sighs mentally at the look in his dad's eyes. He glances at Kari and finds that she's not helping either. He glances between the two of them for about two minutes, then moves forward into the shop. He looks around with wide eyes, stunned at just how many things were in the shop.

He walks up to the front desk, his gaze snapping randomly around at the many items that fascinates him. He stops before the desk and stares at the man before the desk. He notices the blond hair and the blue eyes. He asks bluntly, "Are you Matt?" The man blinks in surprise and looks down. "I am. You're looking for your parents, kid?" Matt asks. "Dad's outside the shop, kind of out of it. Kari's not really helping either. I'm Tenyu, so you're my uncle?" He asks. Matt coughs and looks stunned and very uncomfortable. "I only have a little brother kid. His only eighteen and your how old?" Matt asks. He cocks his head to his side and then answers, "I think dad's name is TK, I think. Well, my mom called him TK…"

-+-TK-+-

He blinks and looks around for Tenyu, he then looks into the shop to find his son talking with his brother. He groans, but walks inside with Kari following behind. He got to hear the last part that his son said to Matt. "Err, I guess you'd like me to explain, huh?" He says as he comes up behind his son. Matt rises an eyebrow and waits for him to continue. "You see, I married Tenyu's mother about fifty years down the road and I just couldn't leave him so I brought him with me as I used this program that Izzy was able to modify to send people into the past." He can tell that Matt didn't have much faith in what he's saying and he sighs.

He looks down at Tenyu and asks, "Mind if I get something out of the pack?" Tenyu shakes his head and he opens up a compartment where his shades are. He takes them out and hands them over to Matt. "They're high tech, so try not to break them. There are some nubs on left side." He tells Matt. Matt puts them on and then toys with the nubs and soon Matt gasps in surprise and quickly plays with the nubs once more, he guesses that Matt activated the infrared.

After a few minutes, Matt sighs and takes them off. Matt looks at the left side and then shakes his head. "Ok, there really something." Matt says and then hands the shades back to him. "Though, why come back to the past if you have a family?" Matt asks. He sighs as he finishes putting the shades back into the pack. "Because expect for me and maybe Gatomon, everyone else is died." He answers simply. Matt looks stunned and he couldn't really blame him, he just hopes that he'll be able to avert what had happen, what might happen, or is destined to be.

-(V)-

He watches as Tenyu attempts to tackle Tai, his son's partner leaps forward to help tackle Tai onto the ground. He sighs as his nine year old son gets caught in a headlock and Agumon kind of holds Leormon's tail so that the lion cub couldn't help Tenyu out of the headlock. "Let me go! Let me go!" Tenyu cries out and Tai says, "Not until you say the magic words, kiddo." He shakes his head as Tenyu continues to struggle to get free of the headlock.

"Oh stop it Tai! I doubt anyone would want to stroke your ego anymore then it is." Kari says as she enters the living room from the kitchen. Tai sighs drastically, but lets the feisty nine year old go as Leormon and Agumon stop wrestling around. "I think Ranma ½ is on!" Leormon says and the pair races upstairs, leaving Tai, Agumon, Kari, and him alone. Patamon and Gatomon were busy completing a mission in the Digital world, so they wouldn't be able to make it for the shower taking place tonight.

"I kind of wish I have that kind of energy." Tai muses, breaking the silence. "And here I thought you were just growing up." His wife says jokingly. He smiles as Tai and Kari argue as they enter into the kitchen, leaving Agumon and him to follow behind.

Kari and he have been married for about a year and a half and he's happy to know that Tenyu doesn't mind that he remarried. He had been kind of surprise when he decided to tell Tenyu that his mother's been died for quite sometime, only to find out that Tenyu kind of already guessed that he'll never get to see his real mother again.

He sits down at the table, for Tai's already moving about the kitchen, helping his wife finish dinner. He smiles as he watches Kari move about. Mesmerized by Kari's body, for Kari's about four months pregnant with their first born, they were already picking out names for either gender, though he knows that Kari is hoping for a daughter. Tenyu doesn't seem to mind that he's about to become an older brother in about five more months, but then Tenyu seems happy that they weren't on the run anymore.

Tenyu and him are still pretty close to each other, for the first month Tenyu ended up sleeping in his bed, for his son found sleeping with him helped him feel secure enough to fall asleep in the unfamiliar surroundings. Patamon had been kind of sulky about it, but by the second month Tenyu was fine with sleeping on his own in his own room.

About six months later, Gennai presented Tenyu with a Digivice and a Digi Egg. Three days later the Digi Egg hatched and by the second week, Tenyu's partner Digivolved into Leormon for the first time. Gennai had to attempt that he hadn't known what kind of Digimon would have hatched out of the Digi Egg, and over time they had seen Leormon Digivolve into his champion form of Raiamon and, for a short amount of time, into the ultimate GrapLeomon.

He sighs as he thinks about why Raiamon had needed to Digivolve to ultimate, he's just glad that Tenyu was fine when that whole ordeal finished. He also

To be continued …


	47. Halloween Episode, My Style Part 1

**I don't own Buffy!**

** x 0 x**

"Ok, this is different." He muses before glancing around him only to find mini genetic rejects racing around with some of the older crowds have dazed looks on their faces, ones that likely mirror on his face just minutes ago. Scratching the side of his head at the scene before him, he just sighs and begins to study what he has on his person, hoping for some cash or something just in case he needs to use a taxi.

"What the...?" It didn't him long to find a very odd assortment of knives with two daggers, a short sword that seems to have silver fused to the edge, a bejeweled staff with glowing gems, and at least three strange looking guns that didn't seem to need bullets, one of them hanging from his belt, another strapped to his left hip, and the third strapped to the boot of his right leg. What really helped was that within seconds of touching each weapon, he received a rush of information about not only how to use them but what kind of enchantments were laid on them.

The smaller knives seem to have a spell of True Flight on them, making it so that they'll always hit their targets although one of the two daggers had a spell of Life Steal on it, allowing him to increase his life span by adding the years of his victim had to live until they died of old age to him. The other dagger was enchanted to cut through anything but living flesh, which seemed odd but likely real handy by passing locked doors.

The sword did indeed have silver infused in the cutting edge of it and the spells on it were shielding spells, going so far as to give him some immunity to instant death spells. The staff would not only allow him to use air, earth, fire, and water spells but allow him to summon elemental spirits of the four elements. Finally, the guns were particle accelerators, most commonly known as laser guns and were en-spelled not to go very far from their owner.

As some of those little monsters come to swarm him, he just used his staff to knock them out before deciding to see his reflection in hopes that if he does so, he might remember who he is since just touching each of his assortment of weapons gave him knowledge, it stands to reason getting a clear reflection of himself should do the same, right?

It wasn't hard to break into a house and after turning on the lights, he finally gets a good look of his face. First off, he finds that his hair is blue, obviously dyed, but the front part is spiked while the rest of it is done in a low ponytail that goes about midway down his back. His eyes were gold in color and finds a stylish silver E looking tattoo on his forehead, on the left side.

Turning his head slightly, he finds his ears were slightly pointed and a look into his mouth revealed that while his canines were larger and pointed, his other front teeth were also slightly pointed as well. Opening his mouth so that he can get a good look at his molars reveal they're normal enough.

He's wearing a white long sleeve shirt, blue jeans, black army boots, and a simple denim vest. In the end, it didn't help with his memory and so, when some more of those little genetic rejects appear at the door, he didn't have a problem knocking them out once more, only this time with his fist.

And so, he wanders the town, knocking out pretty much anyone who decided to assault him. After about an hour, a red headed ghost appears just after he's finish buying something to eat from a cafe while reading a small pamphlet about this town called Sunnydale. "Xander! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Says the ghost.

"Xander? You sure that's my name?" He asks, suddenly very interested in what this girl had to say, more then ready to hear her out simply because he's pretty much grasping at straws. "Well, yea, you did go a bit berserk on buying that stuff from the discount bin. I mean, who's tacky enough to mix fangs and elf ears?"

He winces as he replies, "Me apparently." The girls eyes widen and she tries to say, "Oh, right, err... sorry, at least you're you, right?" He shakes his head as he states, "Well, considering I bought a bunch of random junk, does it really surprise you that I don't have an overwhelming identity as a costume?"

"Wait! How do you know that you're turned into your costume? I hadn't gotten around to telling your that yet, have I?" Ghost girls asks, frowning very cutely as she tries to puzzle it out. "Not really, but I did kind of connect the dotes since it is Halloween and the mini monsters seem to be something kids would wear during this holiday." He admits.

"Oh? Oh, that's a relief, although have you... you know, killed anyone yet?" Ghost girl asks and he shakes his head. "I've just been knocking them out when they come to bug me." He tells the red headed ghost. "Well, that's good." She says, clearly relieved to hear that.

"By the way, what's your name?" He asks and the girl's eyes widen. "Willow." The newly dubbed Willow the Ghost says and he nods.

"Anyway, we need to find Buffy. She dressed up as some noble woman and she freaked when she saw Angel go vamp when he defended her while Cordelia didn't do much other then scream. It didn't help that I was out trying to locate you." Willow says and he nods as he gets up, within a single gulp, he finishes his pop and says, "Ok, lead on, Willow."

- - - -

**Morning**

"Err, guys? Why do I still have blue hair, yellow eyes, fangs, and elven ears? Not to mention still active gear?" Xander asks as he takes a good hard look at the gems in his staff that still got glowing gems in it.

The others glance at each other while Xander frowns as he recalls what kind of damage the items were capable of causing, especially a certain dagger capable of increasing his life so that it could number in the hundreds instead of decades. "Well, I don't know about the knifes, daggers, and guns, but I think the staff absorbed some of the magic." Willow muses and his eyes widen at the very thought.

"Oh my god." Xander says as it hits him that if he's still got the hair and what not, then that means he might not be... "Hey, Angel, here's a simple question for ya, am I human?" Xander asks and the resident en-souled vampire blink before frowning as he answers, "You smell... I've never smelled anything like you before."

"Wait, how can that be? I mean, he's Xander, he can't be the mystery guy here!" Cordelia says and Xander winces slightly at her tone. "I guess we could always research it." Willow says, trying to cheer them up.

"Ok, but I believe I'll need a damn good illusion spell to even look like my old self." Xander says as he adds, "After all, I believe people will start to wonder about why the blue hair dye isn't fading or why my ears are pointed when they're suppose to be rounder and less narrow looking."

- - - -

**Years Later**

"What the hell are you?!" The First screams as Alexander LaVelle "Xander" Harris gets shielded from its attempt to freeze the blue haired man's heart. "Beat's me but I know what you're going to be soon." Xander states commonly, not the least bit disturbed by the fact that the First Evil can't place his species.

"Oh? What what will that be?" The being asks with a sneer. "Dead." Xander answers simply and throws the dagger that doesn't cut living tissue at the being. Since he got the dagger, Xander had discovered just how effective it was against the undead, golems, and energy entities.

And so what was once considered invincible died and the second dagger siphoned off the remaining years that the First still had before him, it seemed that the enchantment on the life stealing dagger had strengthen over the years that it doesn't even have to be the thing to strike the killing blow or it just might be that Xander's own magic was growing and creating some kind of link with the life stealing dagger and whatever thing Xander uses to kill his enemies with.

And so as Xander walks over to pick up the dagger, he could only sigh since he had so hoped that one of the oldest beings would be able to ID what kind of being he is or if he's a mix, but at last, it seemed that he's something so unique, it hasn't been seen before.

"I wonder if I should visit London to see if any of the Watcher Council libraries remained intact." Xander muses as he sheaths the dagger. Not knowing that he's just added hundreds of thousands of years to his own life span by killing the First Evil, though it'll likely be a very long time before he would figure it out.

Light shimmers about Xander and the blue hair, pointed ears, yellow eyes, and the tattoo on the forehead seem to vanish, to be replaced by brown hair, hazel eyes, and clean face. Even the structure of the man's face seem to have altered, making him appear in his twenties instead of his teens.

And so the blind spot that is Alexander LaVelle "Xander" Harris departs the church, trying to think of other ways to discover just what he is and if he can even breed with the races around him, he even had some plans to visit this branch of lawyers that reside in LA in the near future to see if the rumors were true, that with the right price, he can speak to the very Powers That Be that see all and know all.

After all, he's been able to find all kinds of loot in demon dens and vampire lairs, especially when there isn't anyone left alive to use those bank accounts or pawn that loot at the local flee market.


	48. Halloween Episode, My Style Part 2

**I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Disgaea!**

** x 0 x**

Xander notices a simple outfit that's under the game section of the costume store composing of a red scarf, a pair of shorts, a blue wig, plastic arm bracers, pointed elf like ears, and sword. A small note hangs from it and what's written on it is:

**Name:** Prince Laharl  
**Occupation:** The supreme Overlord of a Netherworld  
**Game:** Disgaea: Hour of Darkness  
_Recommendation, trying getting a pair of girls to dress up as Etna and Flonne as they are the main vassals serving under Laharl. Prinny costumes are optional._

Xander moves that costume aside and finds that there was indeed a Etna costume behind it and a bit behind those two, a Flonne costume with a few blue penguin costumes in between the Etna costume with a plastic spear and the Flonne costume with a plastic bow.

With a smirk, Xander picks up the three costumes and makes his way to where Buffy and Willow were. "Check it out, I found us a costume theme." Xander says as he holds up the two girl costumes.

"I don't know Xander, I was kind of thinking dressing up like..." The Slayers glance over at the fancy, lace dress that hails from a different time period. Xander frowns slightly but reinforcements in the form of the owner of the shop helped talk the two girls into going with his idea.

And so, Willow took the Flonne costume as Buffy takes the Etna one. They got a pretty decent discount for buying them as a theme.

- - - -

**Oct 31st**

"Where in the Netherworld am I?" Prince Laharl demands as he finds himself in a street that seems to be overrun by hordes of tiny terrors. Within seconds, his scarf snakes through the air and wraps around the neck of one of the mini things running ramped through the street.

"Well? Answer your Overlord!" Prince Laharl demands as the little being it held up in the air by his scarf, it's feet very much off of the ground. "Don't know, sir! Just woke here!" The little monster exclaims as it tries to shrink away from him.

"Well then, in my name I hereby lay claim to this town! And as such, I order you to get your siblings under control!" Prince Laharl declares and his scarf loosens so that his newest vassal drops down onto the ground. "Will do sir!" The little monster declares and within seconds, races to carry out his order as fast as its little legs can move.

"Now to find Etna and that Love Freak." Prince Laharl murmurs as he plants a fist on his hip. And so, the young looking Overlord picks a random direction and walks off in it in hopes of finding his two primary vassals.

Etna can't help the fact that her tail almost ended up in knots at the sight of all of this candy that were on the ground in pillow cases and other kinds of containers. With a toothy grin, the demoness casually picks up one of the bags of loot and within seconds, pops one of the little chocolate bars into her mouth.

"Hey, you little brat! Drop that bag!" Etna orders as one of the little monsters pick up one of the bags of candy. When the little beastie doesn't make a move to drop the loot, a spear appears in Etna's hand and the point just under the little demon's chin.

"Now, drop the loot before Ms Etna drops you." Etna says in a very sweet tone. Within seconds, the bag falls to the ground and the little demon turns to run away in terror.

"Well, now, where am I? And, more importantly, where are my Prinnies?" Etna wonders once she's gotten her hands on at least ten bags of candy loot. _I wonder if the Prince is here as well?_ The Slayer turned Demoness wonders before deciding to whistle for her squad of Prinnies.

As minutes tick away, so Etna's ire grew. Finally, Etna snaps and pulls one of the little monster towards her before holding the tiny demon off the ground, pretty much at face level with a single arm. "Ok shorty, have you seen a squad of blue, peg legged penguins around with a big bag on their stomachs?"

"No see penguins! No see penguins at all!" The little being says as its eyes widen in terror. "Damn it all, where the hell are my Prinnies?!" Etna wonders, dropping the little demon as she places that hand onto her hip.

And so, Etna, loyal vassal of Laharl begins to stalk down the street, deciding that if she can't find her Prinnies that she'll make do with rounding up every demon, ghost, and what not that she can find to order around in absence of her squad of explosive servants.

"I don't think the owner of that vehicle would like it tipped on its side." Ex-Angel Trainee Flonne says as a swarm of smallish demons try to over turn the metal contraption commonly known as a car.

The horde pause and then they slowly turned to regard the fallen Angel. Flonne just sighs as the mini horde begins to advance towards her. Then as the pack of short demons finally begin to get ready to pounce, Laharl appears.

"Laharl!" Flonne calls out on spotting the blue hair Overlord with a big smile on her face. "Oh, it's only you, Flonne. I was hoping to find Etna." Laharl says and Flonne sighs.

_He can be so cruel at times. Oh well, at least he didn't call me Love Freak so that's progress._ The blond ex-Angel Trainee muses as Laharl adds, "Finish disciplining your minions later, we've got other things to do like finding a suitable manor to inhabit."

"But they're not my minions..." Flonne says but the Overlord either didn't hear it or didn't care. "Let's go." Prince Laharl says and with a sigh, she falls in step behind the young Overlord, leaving the horde of smallish demons alone to do as they please.

Spike stares at the blue haired kid wearing a large red scarf before vamping out to show the brat what's what, ignoring Dru's whimpering about the 'challenger of angels.' "Listen here, brat, and listen good, I'm the big bad in town. So I'm the boss and what I say goes, if you got a problem with that, well, I could always use a punching bag."

Within seconds, there's nothing left of Spike but ashes and Flonne just sighs as she shakes her head while Etna says, "Good job, Prince, although I'm kind of disappointed that he wasn't strong enough to endure a simple fire spell."

"Any of you guys got a problem with taking orders from me? Overlord Laharl?" The antenna blue hair style wearing Demon demands and once the other vampires shake their head in a negative way, Laharl laughs his signature laugh while Etna begins to direct her newly recruited minions to stare making some changes.

_I wonder how we got to a human world though... I mean, I don't remember passing through a portal to come here._ Flonne wonders but decides to go pick out a room for her to live at before deciding to take a tour of the town in order to get a feel of it.

"Err, sir?" A nervous mummy pipes in once Prince Laharl finishes laughing. "What?" The Overlord snaps, causing the mummy to cringe slightly.

"Well, it seems that this town already has a Mayor..." The mummy says as it hands over a poster with a picture of Mayor Richard Wilkins on it and an election notice. "Well, we'll just have to correct this then." Prince Laharl declares before laughing once more.

- - - -

**Morning**

"Oh... Where are we and why do I have this journal labeled 'Etna's Private Thoughts' in this loot bag?" Buffy asks while the little kids begin to cry for their moms. "I'm trying to think of why we're at the Mayor's office and why Xander's currently sitting in the Mayor's chair.

"I don't have a clue but for some odd reason, I feel very fulfilled." Xander admits from his position behind the desk, not really caring that his bare chest is revealed to all.

"We should get these kids back to their parents." Willow says as she glances at the little kids that were slightly busy crying. "Right, I'll read this diary later then." Buffy says, closing the book with a sigh.

"So let me get this straight, we all had the same dream last night?" Flonne asks as they're gathered around the breakfast table while Etna begins to curse about something.

"That sounds about right, dood." One of the Prinnies says while another one adds, "Dood, you three just fell down at the same time, dood! There were reports coming in from the Dark Assembly about some zombies also doing the samething, dood!"

"Is that so? Then perhaps it wasn't a dream." Prince Laharl muses with a thoughtful pose. "I'm going to get the route to that world! I've got unfinished business there!" Etna declares and stomps off to visit the Dark Assembly in order to open a portal to that human town of Sunnydale to get a version of her private journal back before somebody reads it.

"Dood..." The Prinnies sigh before scrambling to follow after Boss Etna, leaving Prince Laharl and Flonne alone with a large feast for breakfast.

"Well, more for me then." Prince Laharl declares and then digs in. "But shouldn't we, I don't know, go and help her?" Flonne asks.

"Feh, if she wants to take a vacation in a human dimension, then let her, just as long as she's back to do her duties as my vassal in a week or two." Prince Laharl states calmly while Flonne felt like letting her face met the floor.

"That's so generous of you." She declare in a slightly sarcastic tone, not that anyone would have realized her attempt at sarcasm. "I know." Prince Laharl says, causing a sweet drop to appear at Flonne's temple.

- - - -

**Buffy vs Dracula**

As Dracula moves to bite onto the Slayer's neck, a small flame flares up, causing the vampire to turn to ashes and allowing Buffy to break free of the hypnotic effects.

"Give me my journal, blondie! I know you have it since that's what those lawyers seers have told me." Buffy blinks before turning to stare at a seemingly human girl dressed in a very familiar way. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" Buffy Summers wonders, not the bit bothered by the spear pointing at her or by the strange penguins with pegged legs standing not that far behind the leather dressed teen.

"I'm Etna, as in the Etna who's journal you had in your possession since that Halloween night!" Etna the Demoness growls and Buffy's eyes widen, now knowing just who she's dealing with.

"Well... I gave it to Giles, who sent it to the Watcher's Council. I don't know what they did with it, we had a falling out." Buffy says and the demoness growls while the blue pegged leg penguins just sigh, "Dood..."

With that, Etna stomps off after destroying a few trees, while tempted to throw a Prinny, she knew she could ill afford to lose the little buggers until she finds a way to summon more of them. Buffy can't help sweet dropping as she realized that she's fairly lucky that Etna never asked if she read it.

With a shake of her head, Buffy decides to return home since she rather not hook up with the demoness later tonight. After all, Buffy might be good but she knew that Etna was better.


	49. Karma Good or Bad Part 3: Ranma

**I don't own Ranma 1/2 or Naruto!**

**- o 0 o -**

**o 0 O -**Sakura**- O 0 o**

"Why doesn't Naruto have to go to school?" She asks Kakashi after their Jonin instructor first asked them to meet the man in the guest room and then telling them that they failed their tests so they have to attend school. It had been shocking to say the less that the idiot of the team is the only one who doesn't need additional schooling.

"I mean, he's got that job at Doc Tofu's office in either the morning or afternoon! He lives out in that Dojo!" She adds but Kakashi just sighs.

"That doesn't change the fact that neither of you two managed to pass these tests. I have talked with both Kasumi and Doc Tofu and they have admitted to helping Naruto with his studies, even giving him minor reviews on what he's read." Their team leader tells them and she couldn't help but blink as she tries to come up with an argument only to realize that it will only be Sasuke and her going to and from school.

She glances over to Sasuke and smiles at the idea of spending a lot more personal time with the last Uchiha. _We can stay up late studying together. After all, he's been spending way too much time with that Ranma._ She thinks to herself with a frown while an inner image of herself pretty much laughing at an image of Ranma under that inner Sakura's foot saying, 'Take that, dog-girl!'

"Feh, it's not like we'll be using anything these classes teach back in our world." Sasuke states in a dismissive tone and Kakashi seems to sigh.

"Be that as it may, we need to keep the local government off our backs or they will investigate us to find that we don't show up in any records, in this world." The silver haired Jonin states. "For now, you both will be attending school while I begin to figure out how to create records with the right information so that we don't have to worry about such things for as long as we remain in this dimension."

"It's not as if we'll be able to hide our curses..." She couldn't help but point out. _Though I get the feeling that for the right fee, Nabiki would be happy to create such information. Although then we'd be paying her off to keep her from telling anyone about the forgery so we don't get arrested._ She muses with a frown as her hand moves to the pouch where a few bills Naruto had given her as spending money.

_Just when has that idiot blond had time to study while he is busy working? I mean, the rent Nabiki is charging us it pretty steep as it is._ Then she frowns slightly as she considers that and for the first time, it struck her as funny that Naruto Uzumaki is the 'bread' winner of their team.

_But then, nobody seems interested in hiring Kakashi or us to do anything. Not even as babysitters._ She admits.

"I'm sure word has gotten around about them." Their Jonin instructor says. "Just remember to take a few change of cloths in case of losing them or ruining them." Kakashi adds and she flinched slightly at the reminder of what usually happens when she is hit with cold water.

_I really should have thought that out a bit better... It's not fair that Naruto's the only one not to be cursed._ She thinks to herself as she begins to rub her left arm.

"For how long do we have to attend this school until we can go back to doing homeschooling?" She asks after glancing over to Sasuke, wondering if her love is thinking the same thing as her.

"Well... I'm not sure but I do know that you start the day after tomorrow. Kasumi will be going out to buy your uniforms." Kakashi answers.

"She doesn't need us to go along to get fitted?" She asks, not sure what to feel at the idea of the eldest Tendo daughter knowing her measurements.

"You could always head down an ask her." Kakashi muses as her teacher takes out one of his new books that the man has bought since Naruto started his job. She is rather reluctant to investigate the title of the book for fear of learning it's yet another porno.

With a sigh, she heads down stairs to do just that, only pausing at the door to glance at Sasuke for a few seconds, wondering what he has planned for today since she wouldn't mind going on a date with him today or tomorrow. _I mean, what has he been using his spending money on anyway?_ She wonders as she exits out of the guest room and towards the stairs.

"Bye Kasumi! See you later this afternoon!" Naruto calls out from the door.

"See you, Naruto." Kasumi says before Naruto leaves, allowing the door to close on its own. She watches as Kasumi then heads away from the front door to return to doing her usual tasks.

As she makes off the steps, she calls out to the eldest daughter of their host's house hold. "Hey, Kasumi? Kakashi mentioned that you are heading out later to buy our uniforms. I'm just wondering if you need us to come along to be fitted." She says to the often surreal daughter of Soun Tendo.

"Oh, you don't need to, Sakura. I've got a rough idea of your sizes from doing your laundry. I wouldn't want you get embarrassed by transforming in the mall by accident." Kasumi informs her and she fights off the need to pale at the idea of her curse activating in front of so many people.

"Oh, ah, if you say so, Kasumi." She says and Kasumi smiles softly at her before returning to do her set tasks. She watches the young woman with a pang of envy since she isn't nearly haft as talented with it comes to doing housework.

With a sigh, she glances over to the clock on the wall and then heads out into the backyard, heading for the dojo for practice since she had to stay in good form for when a certain Kuno decides to try for another round. _That woman is more then capable of putting the fear of women in anyone._ She decides privately.

Dinner

She couldn't help but glance warily at the very familiar, purple haired teen girl clinging to her teacher's side. Earlier, Naruto had shown up but took one look at the scene where Shampoo is clinging to Kakashi's side and left before said Chinese Amazon noticed his arrival. She did silently curse the fact that she hadn't managed to do the same right seeing Shampoo lower the face mask and give the Jonin a deep, passionate kiss.

_Of course seeing what's finally under said mask clearly shocked me enough to keep me from remembering to sneak away before the Amazon noticed me..._ She thinks to herself as she glancing at her glass of water before glancing over at a very nervous Ranma and Genma.

_After all, Ranma might have tossed the girl around but it was Genma who broke that pot over Shampoo's head... I wonder if that makes her Ranma's step-mother if Shampoo ever learns that Genma was that panda that knocked her out..._ She muses before trying to force herself to eat something since she had long since lost her appetite.

**o 0 O -**Naruto**- O 0 o**

"This is so not going well..." He murmurs to himself as he watches a group of people begin to make a large scene at a table a few meters away from where he's sitting. _And here I thought people from Nerima were prone to causing a fight scene..._

"Excuse me, but what is their argument about?" He asks a passing waiter, he couldn't help but notice how... nervous and fearful the man is. The waiter glances from him to the group where weapons were finding their way into the fighters' hands.

"Something about a demonic stag that's been seen around Tokyo. Now if you excuse me, I have to find a spot in which to hide in." The waiter then flees.

He blinks before glancing around to find that a lot of people were ducking under tables. He sighs and wonders if it's too late to ask for the bill before what the waiter said finally sets in. _Why am I not surprise that it only took two nights for the nine-tail demon to attract attention in this city?_ He muses with a mental sigh.

_Just what kind of fighters are they anyway? I mean, why would they want to take on a demon?_ He wonders as he begins to study them with a slight frown.

After observing the group, he decides that no, they haven't realized he's in the restaurant. _Guess that answer that._ He thinks with a slight smile of relief, though in the end, he's even more relieved when the group finally breaks apart and storm out of the restaurant with their weapons in hand.

It takes a few minutes before people began to come out of hiding. Though at the slightest noise the crowd would flinch and look warily around, half expecting something to happen. _Hopefully my dinner won't be ruined because of this episode._ He thinks as he glances off towards the kitchen.

In time he did forget about the earlier commotion with the group of Demon hunters to begin shifting through the memories of his clones. A few interesting bits of information did occupy him until a waitress arrives to, finally, take his order. He hands the menu over afterward with a smile which the young brunet returned before hurrying away, leaving him alone at his table once more.

After sorting through said memories, he begins to muse about the fact that Sakura and Sasuke will be attending school beginning tomorrow morning. It truly amuses him that the number one rookie of their year is being forced to attend a school while he, the class clown and last of their class didn't. _I wonder if I shouldn't get him a collar with tags as a gift? I mean, just to let people know he belongs to someone._

Soon enough his meal arrives and with a soft 'thank you', he unrolls the napkin and set it on his lap before picking up the chopsticks to begin to eat his dinner.

Morning

**o 0 O -**Ranma**- O 0 o**

On entering into the kitchen, he couldn't help but stare at the red and black haired kid helping Kasumi and Shampoo out in the kitchen. When the stranger turns, he finds band-aids on both of the kid's cheeks and very familiar eyes. "Yo, Ranma." The disguised Naruto Uzumaki says giving him a two finger salute.

"Ah... hi." He says and Shampoo nods in his direction before saying, "Hi Ranma! Is Airen up yet? Shampoo helping to make too, too delicious food with Cherry-boy and Nice-girl!" Shampoo beams as the Amazon gets to Kasumi and Naruto's nicknames.

Naruto rolls his eyes and says, "Name's Ataru, Shampoo, Ataru." He blinks as he realizes that Naruto was saying this more for his benefit then Shampoo's.

_Guess that explains why Naruto wasn't around much last night. Must be one expensive dye job too._ He muses as he slowly shakes his head as he turns to head for the dinning room.

"Morning Ranma." Sakura says as she yawns and stretches. He glances at the kitchen once he's sitting down at the table.

"Ataru?" He says and Sakura blinks with a puzzled look on her face. "Fishcake is going by Ataru now? Have you seen his hair?" He whispers to the pink haired girl, it seems that Sakura did get a touch up job with her own dye job.

"Fishcake... Oh? Oh!" Sakura seems to fully wake up, looking very startled at the idea that Naruto's here.

"I got tea!" Naruto says in a sing-song voice and Sakura just gawks at the former blond ninja. While Sakura tries to find her voice, Sasuke and Nabiki arrive.

Sasuke studies Naruto, likely taking in the dual color dye job, for a few seconds before grunting and moving to take a place at the table. Nabiki is her usual morning self waiting for a couple of cups of tea before fully waking up. Naruto did stick around to fill pour them some tea and just before the ex-blond heads into the kitchen, Naruto says, "Sakura? Sasuke? Just remember to head back upstairs to put on your guys' uniforms, wouldn't want you to get into trouble over that little detail."

Sasuke just ignores the ex-blond while Sakura looks alarmed, it seems that she had forgotten all about the fact that she's expected to begin attending school. Not that he blames her since a lot has happened in the two days, none the least of which is having their old 'buddy' Shampoo finally caught up with them.

_Naruto's lucky, all he had to do was dye his hair, cover his whisker marks with band-aids, and change his name for Shampoo not to recognize him. It's not going to be easy for us, not with our curses being some kind of water magnet._ He thinks as he sips his tea, his mind whirling around the last few meetings with the Chinese Amazon that's in the kitchen.

He's more then a little relieved at the fact that during their original meeting with Shampoo that Naruto managed to keep him from leaping up onto that challenge log to fight the purple haired teenager since he's fairly confident that he would have won that fight, which means it could be himself who's married to Shampoo. _Though, Sasuke did manage to force her to drop her weapons when she began threatening to kill and eat Pops..._

By the time the rest of the rest of the house hold arrives, Naruto has come in to refill the tea pot as well as adding more cups. More then a few of the adults couldn't help but stare at Naruto's new style for a few seconds before dismissing it. So Kasumi and Shampoo begin to bring in plates filled with various food.

"Nihao Airen!" Shampoo chirps on entering into the room. "We go on date later, yes?" The teen asks and then pecks Kakashi on the cheek before heading back into the kitchen to continue to help Kasumi bring out more plates filled with food stuffs for breakfast.

_Seems like somebody is going to have a long day ahead of them._ He muses as Shampoo practically sits in Kakashi's lap as breakfast begins with Naruto taking his seat.


	50. Karma Good or Bad Part 4: Ranma

**I don't own Ranma 1/2 or Naruto!**

**- o 0 o -**

**o 0 O -**Naruto**- O 0 o**

_Breakfast went fairly well._ He muses as he sits at the desk in Doc Tofu's clinic with a text book and a note book open as well as the doctor's appointment book. He flickers the pen between his fingers as he glances out the window of the clinic, waiting for something to happen.

His clones were doing fairly well even though most of the jobs they're able to find were manual labor. After all, none of his clones' identities have any references or higher schooling. He's just happy that his clones have been able to rent mail boxes since none of them have any real place of residents or need for such a place since many of his clones have managed to get where they're needed within a two hour trip on the subway to the various wards.

_Up to making twenty-six clones a morning with four in the afternoon and fourteen in the evening._ He muse to himself as he considers just how many other jobs he's working besides this one at Doc Tofu's clinic. _Only reason I'm not creating clones to go to the library for reading is I don't want to overload my brain._

Finally, he just sighs and glances back at the open text book while beginning to tap the end of the pen on his open note book while his chin rests on the palm of his other hand. The text book is a math book and he's still trying to work through these word problems while resisting the urge to flip to the back of the book to find the answer. He frowns as he stares down at his note book and muses, "Maybe I should use a pencil..."

The open page features various formulas that also been scratched out. "Need a hint?" Doc Tofu asks from behind his chair. He just sighs, he's grown use to the good doctor's ability to sneak up on people. Heck, by now, he's more then a little concern when Doc Tofu doesn't do it.

"Would you mind?" He in relief as he holds the pen for his employer to write down the formula. He's not disappointed as Doc Tofu moves to his right while also beginning to explain how to puzzle out the words which point out which formula he needs to use for it.

It's times like these that cause him to remember a certain academe teacher. Guilt flares up at the fact that he never paid Iruka half as much attention as he does to Kasumi and Doctor Tofu before he reminds himself that unlike his time in the academe, he's not in a classroom setting, giving leave for more one-on-one teaching then one-on-class fill with hyper active ninja-wanna-bees.

"You alright?" Doc Tofu asks while he recalls those private moments when it was just Iruka and himself. He flushes slightly, but isn't willing to say what really bothers him.

"Not sure, actually. Do you know anything about Chinese Amazons?" He asks the good doctor who's got a pretty big crush on the eldest Tendo sister. _Might as well see if I can't get more info about them, after all, it's been almost three months since I've read any of those books about them._

"Chinese Amazons?" The good doctor repeats, clearly thrown slightly by the subject. He nods as he waits for the man to say something that wasn't an echoing of his question.

"I know they've got some rare herbal lore and have dabbled in magic." Doc Tofu says slowly with his arms crossed over his chest. He blinks at the mention of magic.

"Well, the magic isn't that big of a surprise since they do live next to a valley filled with cursed springs." He admits in a bemused sort of way.

"Ah yes, Jusenkyo." Tofu muses with a thoughtful look. He could only imagine that the doctor is thinking about Ranma's curse at this particular moment.

"Any idea if they know of a cure to said curse?" He asks in a curious fashion, after all, he's fairly happy with his dragon curse and wouldn't want to encounter something that causes it to be cured. _I'm sure the others would be thrilled with the idea of a cure though._

"I would assume they're familiar with those curses but knowing a cure beyond using the right spring? I wouldn't know. They do prefer to isolate themselves from the rest of the world." Tofu explains and he frowns slightly.

"Guess that explains Shampoo's lack of familiarity with the Japanese language..." He muses thoughtfully. Not really caring that he pretty much gave out said information for free since the teen will likely be hanging around Nerima for undetermined amount of time. Likely trying to get Kakashi to return to China with her.

"You know an Amazon?" Tofu asks and he nods. Tofu seems to sigh. "Any idea why this... Shampoo is here for?" Tofu adds.

"Well, she did come here chasing a demonic dog-girl and troop of trained animals and her blond, fiendish assistant." He says in a dry tone. He could see that within seconds the good doctor made the connection.

"I did manage to keep Ranma from accepting Shampoo's challenge and then the girl comes down off the log to begin threatening something concerning the 'animals' of the group. I had my hands full trying to keep Ranma from attacking Shampoo while she begins to threaten to eat Mr Saotome." He says, he had known about he little marriage rule the Amazons had going and had hoped to keep the girl from following them in order to kill Ranma.

"Things happened before I had a thought to demand for somebody who spoke Japanese better then the Guide. One moment Shampoo is waving these mace like things around and a second later, Sasuke bites down on her wrist, causing Shampoo to drop one of her weapons." He continues, in his mind eye he can see the events as they unfold.

"Shampoo strikes Sasuke in the head, Sakura see this and kicks Shampoo into Genma. This sends them onto one of the benches, the village laughs and Shampoo stands up to begin beating the pig within an inch of his life but Genma wasn't going to take that." He muses while shaking his head.

"Genma dodges Shampoo's attacks, which furthers embarrasses the girl as this causes the crowd to laugh harder, which cause Shampoo to grow more enraged leaving room for a lot of error." He says, pausing for a few seconds to recall what happens next.

"Shampoo gets thrown onto Kakashi and as Kakashi scratches her to get to his book, she opens it and takes a look at what's in it." He states, even now he shivers at how swiftly Shampoo's face goes from confusion, then to embarrassment, and then into pervert destroyer.

"Kakashi did manage to save the book before Shampoo would shred it by biting her hand. Once our instructor had his book, he then leaps onto Genma and digs in his heels. I'm not sure how but Ranma manages to get Sasuke before hauling me onto Sakura's back and then we ride off on Sakura with Kakashi riding Genma." He finishes, he can almost still hear the laughter of the rest of the village as they rode out of the village, leaving the Guide behind.

"And she's been chasing you ever since?" Tofu asks and he nods. He hears Tofu just sigh. He knew that the tale sounded pretty unbelievable but that's how he remembered it happening. "And you wonder why she's after you?" Tofu mutters and he just sighs.

"I'm fairly sure we knew why she's after us. After all, she did suffer a huge embarrassment because of our various actions. It's just that we really didn't want to find out what her reaction would be if she learns that those 'animals' were really people." He says, which in a round about way explains why he's got red and black hair.

"Although the only reason she's 'living' at the Tendos is because her 'husband' is there." He explains. "It seems that if you knock her out and you are an outsider male, she becomes your wife."

"And who is her 'husband'?" Tofu asks and before he can reply a familiar shout of 'Shampoo kill!' sounds out, causing the both of them to stare out onto the street as Shampoo chases after a silver furred monkey. A monkey who's doing a very commendable job dodging Shampoo's strikes.

"Kakashi knocked her out." He says once the chase is gone from their view. "It seems they have more then a few issues to deal with though before they think of having kids though." He adds, wondering how long it'll take before they spot a reversal with Shampoo arriving with an exhausted Kakashi in human form.

**o 0 O -**Sakura**- O 0 o**

_I do believe I can see myself hating school._ She thinks as she walks down the street while carrying her book bag in her mouth. _I am not going to allow myself to be ridden by any of those kids, no matter how many carrots and sugar cubes they're offering me. **I Am Not a Horse, Damn It!**_

_I'm just cursed to transform into one, that's all._ She adds as she finally enters into the Tendo's property. She moves to go around back since the back part is usual open.

"Oh my. I'll go get the kettle." Kasumi says as the nineteen year old gets up off the floor to fetch said item. Neither of the fathers did more then grunt a greet since they seem to be very engaged in their game.

Setting her book bag down, she begins to stretch and shake her head while only snorting softly and tossing her tail around. She sighs as Kasumi arrives with a blanket and the kettle. The blanket gets tossed about her shoulders before Kasumi pours some of the slightly warmer then she would like water on her head.

"Thanks." She says as she hugs the blanket about her body. Kasumi smiles in reply as she steps up onto the porch and moves behind Soun so she can head upsides to shower and then get dress.

Dinner

"So... where's Kakashi and Shampoo?" Ranma asks as Naruto comes into the room with the final bowls containing the remainder of the food they're going to eat. She didn't know why Ranma's asking, after all, it gives them a chance to relax and not worry about her reaction to seeing them transform before said Amazon's very eyes.

"On a date perhaps? After all, they are husband and wife." She says in a waspish tone as she takes what she can from a plate before passing it on.

"Last I saw of the two, Shampoo was trying to kill our monkey of an instructor." Naruto informs them. She just sighs and hopes that Kakashi hasn't spilled the beans about their curses.

"I do hope Kakashi will find something suitable to wear on their date." Kasumi says and that kind of ended that conversation, for now at least.

"Did you guys know that Chinese Amazons are said to have valuable herbal lore? At least that's what Doc Tofu told me when the subject about Shampoo came up." Naruto says and she found herself not capable of caring about this.

"Fat load that does us." She murmurs darkly while Sasuke just grunts softly in a dismissive manner. _Its not like anything they know will help us cure our curses..._ She tells herself.

"I did not know that." Kasumi says in a manner that seems to say that the eldest daughter hadn't heard her remark at all. _Or she's ignoring it... I would bet on the latter._ She muses sourly as she eats her meal in a mechanical fashion.

"So... how was your first day of school Sakura?" Naruto inquires after a few minutes of silence. She gives the former blond her best Death Glare before returning to her meal.

There wasn't much in the way of small talk until she finally managed to excuse herself from the table to head upstairs to the room she shares with Akane to change into some old cloths to practice out in the dojo. It wasn't long before Ranma joins her and after a few minutes, the pig-tail teen begins his own katas.

Most of the taijutsu she knows are things the academe taught. She hadn't bothered to practice her taijutsu after team seven formed but ever since arriving in this strange world, she practiced because it helped take her mind off of the surrealism of everything around her. It hadn't taken long for her to also bug the Jonin enough once a week to get him to at least watch on practice session so he can help correct her form.

It wasn't long before she's repeated her katas at least four times. With that done, she moves off to the side to make room for the usual sparring match between Sasuke and Ranma. Watching the two spar always makes her realize that she's got a long way to go before she's as capable fighter as they were.

She would love to spar with either of them but knew that they wouldn't gain anything from sparring with her. _Should I ask Akane for a spar?_ She wonders not for the first time since she arrived at the dojo but kept discarding the idea since she rather not see how the youngest Tendo would react to losing to somebody younger then her.

_Well, there's always Naruto._ She muses as she considers the idea of sparring with her other team-mate. It helped that Naruto is the only one that didn't have to attend school and he would go easy on her because of the crush he has on her. _I mean, I have gotten better, haven't I? But Sasuke keeps saying how much better Naruto is... Why not spar with him?_

_'And when we trash that blond's ass, Sasuke will have to admit that I'm better then Naruto!'_ Her innerself points out and with a slight smile, she gets up to head to the house to ask Naruto for a spar.

"Naruto?" She calls out as she enters the kitchen to find only Kasumi finishing a few things. "Have you seen Naruto, Kasumi? I wanted to ask him something." She says to the eldest Tendo daughter.

"I believe he went up stairs for a soak." Kasumi tells her and she smiles as she says, "Thanks, Kasumi!"

It didn't take long before she's knocking on the bathroom door. "Naruto? You in there?" She asks while standing in the hallway.

"Eh? Sakura? You want something?" Naruto asks, likely shouting pretty loudly in the bathroom.

"I'm just wondering if you'd want to spar sometime." She explains as she continues to stand before the door.

"Really? I would have thought you'd ask Sasuke to spar with you." Naruto remarks and she sighs.

"I rather spar with somebody closer to my skill level." She decides to say in a diplomatic way. "So, how does tomorrow after supper sound?" She adds.

"Sounds great, Sakura!" Naruto chirps back and with that, she says, "See you later then."

"Bye Sakura." Naruto returns before she leaves the door of the bathroom. _That was surprisingly simple._ She muses with a slight smile on her face.

Morning

**o 0 O -**Ranma**- O 0 o**

_Huh, must have come in really late last night since I don't recall hearing him arrive._ He muses as he stares at Kakashi's sleeping form after waking the the siren call of nature. Shaking his head, he slips out of his blankets and heads to go use the washroom.

As he returns to the guest room, he encounters Sasuke as the moody preteen heads for the washroom. He watches as the door of the washroom closes before heading for his pack to get a change of cloths. His father's snorts continue to fill the silence of the room and once he has his clean cloths on, he heads down stairs and finds Sakura yawning tiredly at the table.

"Mornin' Sakura." He says and Sakura just nods. As he takes his usual seat at the table, Sasuke comes down followed by Nabiki and Mr Tendo. By the time Kasumi arrives with a tea tray, his pops and Akane have made it to the table, which causes him to glance around for the familiar ex-blond. _I wonder if Shampoo is here to help out with breakfast..._

"Is Shampoo helping with breakfast again?" Sakura asks, likely waiting for Naruto arrive. He shrugs, after all, if Kakashi is in the house why not Shampoo as well?

"I wonder if Kakashi and Shampoo spent the night at a motel? I mean, they are newly weds..." Nabiki muses and he catches sight of Akane digesting this before growling out 'Perverts'.

Both of Kakashi's students look a bit stunned at the idea before Sasuke just snorts before saying, "Before I came down, I saw our teacher in the room. No sign of Shampoo though."

He's kind of surprised that Sasuke even volunteered that bit of information since the Uchiha usually doesn't feel the need to join in the conversation. _Will other then grunting here and there..._ He muses as Naruto finally arrives with the beginnings of breakfast.

_I wonder what other surprises are waiting today._


	51. Karma Good or Bad Part 5: Ranma

**I don't own Ranma 1/2 or Naruto!**

**- o 0 o -**

**o 0 O -**Ranma**- O 0 o**

_I'm so glad I hadn't been hit by any water yet..._ He muses as some 'polite' guy gives Shampoo a kiss while Akane struggles to keep 'P-Chan' out of the guy's partner's possession. The teen pulls away while Shampoo just stands there with a blank look on her face from his angle at least.

He doesn't know why but he backs up a few steps as Shampoo's right hand moves to touch her lips. Within seconds, the lunch Shampoo was delivering is forcefully given to Akane as outrage flares up within the Amazon's eyes. He jumps as a pair of familiar weapons seemingly appears in Shampoo's hands.

"Shampoo already have Airen! Lips for only Airen to kiss Shampoo! Shampoo kill!" The Chinese Amazon commonly known as Shampoo growls while slightly uttering the longest speech he's hear yet from her.

The guy, Mikado Sanzenin, manages to dodge Shampoo's strikes. "I don't know why you're so upset. It was only a little kiss..." Mikado says while dancing(literally!) out of Shampoo's attacks.

"Shampoo is married! Airen is husband!" Shampoo shouts as the head of one of the mace like weapons causes cracks to appear on the street.

He notices a sliver of fear flicker in Mikado's eyes at the sight of the cracks on the sidewalk. _Looks like somebody's bitten off more then they could chew. He's a bit stunned at Shampoo's display, it's going to cost him._ He muses and his prediction is made true as the next few dodges Mikado were slow, showing how shaken the teenager really is.

"Give me back my PIG!" Akane shouts and he glances in that direction to find that this teenage girl, Asuza Shiratori, holding Ryoga in his curse form. _Maybe I should just continue walking on my own... This doesn't really involve me, after all._ He muses to himself, after all, he still doesn't want to get hit by some unexpected water and distract Shampoo from her... avenging.

"Ranma! Where do you think you're going? Help me get P-Chan from her!" Akane shouts and he blinks while looking slightly confused.

"But Akane, this is your fight. Don't you want to handle it yourself?" He asks, after all, the last time he interfered was when those horde of guys were trying to date her by defeating her. "I mean, you're always telling me you can handle yourself, why not do so now?" He adds, after all, he would be happy to see 'P-Chan' out of Akane's bed.

Akane's mouth hangs open slightly for a few seconds before a fiery aura erupts around Akane's body. Within seconds, a mallet appear and he's sent flying. _You really can't win with her, can you?_ He muses to himself as he lands across the street.

Once he picks himself up out of the center of spider cracks. He did notice Shampoo giving him a raised eyebrow before glancing at Akane. Without another word, he heads off to school, leaving the two teenage girls to deal with the so call Golden Pair.

Lunch

"You mean you decided to challenge them to a skating match over Shampoo's honor and P-Chan?" He asks Akane while eating his lunch in a tree. He actually felt that Shampoo had a better reason to hold a grudge against the male half of the Golden Pair.

_I'm almost glad that my curse form isn't a simple teenage girl or else it could have been me that Mikado kissed..._ He muses, still a bit miffed at Sasuke dragging him into the dog spring. _I wonder how long it'll be before I can finally head back there to search for a cure..._

"So... You two have any ideas on how to co-ordinate your routine? Or what your routine is?" He asks his intended as he pops another bit of chocolate into his mouth, after all, it wasn't his lunch Shampoo was delivering in the first place.

"What's there to know? It's just skating to music." Akane says in a dismissive manner and he suppresses the urge to roll his eyes. _I'm so glad I don't have a stake in any of this..._ He muses while Akane's friends begin to arrive to share some of their lunch with the youngest Tendo.

He doesn't really pay their conversation much mind until Kuno arrived to declare himself Akane's skating partner. He didn't really react to that announcement since his doubts about how suitable Akane is as a wife have reared their heads once more. _She really needs to make up her mind about whether or not she wants me to interfere with her personal battles..._

He does flinch slightly as Kuno is sent flying through the air since it reminds him of his own flight before they arrived at school. _I do believe I'm going to remain uninvolved in Akane's skating match._ He tells himself as he hurries to finish his lunch so he can go find a spot to practice some katas before school begins once more.

**o 0 O -**Sakura**- O 0 o**

"Ready Naruto?" She asks her ex-blond team-mate as they face each other from opposite ends of the dojo. Naruto nods and they both take up stances, it's clear that Naruto's a bit concerned about attacking her, but then, she is his crush.

After a few seconds of kind of circling Naruto, she decides to make the first move. Naruto blocks the punch and tries to flip her but she manages to keep her balance. It soon set the pace of their spar, her attacking and Naruto mostly defending and, almost hesitantly, countering.

While she mentally growls, wishing for Naruto to take her seriously, a small part of her is glad that Naruto's not since it means that she's not taking a beating. Sure, she'll be sore from this, but she likely won't have any bruises marring her skin either. Their spar ends after a few minutes of Shampoo arriving with Kakashi.

"Airen and Shampoo need dojo to practice." Shampoo says and a glance in Kakashi's direction just causes the Jonin to shrug. She did wonder if she shouldn't push the matter but a glance out into the yard reminded her of why she tries to spend as little time around the Amazon as possible.

Glance back to her Jonin instructor and Shampoo, she decides to bow out and leave the dojo. _You never know when the curse will activate..._ She mentally muses as she puts at least four feet between herself and the pond in the backyard.

"Hey Ranma. Shampoo's out in the dojo with Kakashi." She says to the current dog-girl. Ranma sighs softly while relaxing a tiff. Ranma nods in her direction as she sits down at the table as the usual teenage boy waits for some warm water.

"So Shampoo's going to have Kakashi as her partner? I would have thought since Akane and her accepted the challenge that they'd at least be partners for it." Ranma muses after dumping the kettle contains on his head, causing the teen to transform back into a totally human guy.

"Challenge? What challenge? I thought they were just going to spar..." She admits while trying to think of a reason why Akane would be involved in any kind of challenge. _I mean, she's never bothered to pick up any kind of challenge before we arrived... Well, that's what Nabiki says at any rate._

"Shampoo got kissed by the male half of the Golden Pair while P-Chan is the prize between Akane and the female half of the Golden Pair." Ranma explains. _Figures..._ She muses softly to herself.

"When is the match?" She asks as she pauses by the door. She is heading upstairs to take a shower now that her spar with Naruto has ended.


	52. Haunted Apartment Building: Naruto

- o 0 o -

**I don't own Naruto**

- o 0 o -

**Naruto**  
**Age 8**

"Ok, why are we doing this again?" Yakumo Kurama asks him as he scratches the side of his head while staring at what appears to be a house made of bones. As the older of them huffs softly, the bones unravel to reveal just a ratty looking place made out of card board boxes.

"Cause it'll be fun, that's why! You did say you want people to notice you for your skills, right? Well, I'm helping you with that! Just like I promised!" He chirps at Yakumo as he turns to look at the already taller ninja-wanna-be.

"Well... I guess using them would help get people to notice my talent..." Yakumo admits and he beams at the brunet while nodding his head. "Anyway, I think we should find some place a bit more solid for this... exhibition of my superior talents." Yakumo adds as the wind manages to knock one of the boxes off the stack.

He laughs nervously while rubbing the back of his head. "I guess we could find some place better. Some place that's already got the right mood so that all you'd need to do is focus on what's going on in the rooms!" He says and Yakumo just shrugs as she turns a shoulder to the pile of card board boxes and begins to walk down the street.

He hurries and follows her, asking, "They can't see us, right?" He glances around as they begin to walk through the market. He really felt like picking up his pace just walking through the street. _I really don't want to have another mob start up again..._ He muses as nobody seems to really notice them.

"Of course they can't, after all, I don't want it known that I'm associating with a common street-rat." Yakumo informs him in a hagged way which causes him to give her a sour look before shrugging it off. He had been called worse, though it irked him that the girl keeps ignoring him when he corrects that assumption.

"I'm going to be a great ninja one day. You're just supplying me with fresh ideas on how to make that happen." Yakumo says softly, though he's not sure if she's talking to him or not. He just shakes his head as they finally get away from the market and into a more urban place with various apartment buildings with the odd house.

"You hungry?" He asks the clan heiress as the sun finally begins to set. They had been searching throughout the village looking for the right place. The closest place that would work seem to be an abandon, run down district with tons of old style homes that were on the small size.

"No." Yakumo says before something growls like a dog causing the heiress to stop to place a hand over her mid-section. "Ok, fine, I am." Yakumo snaps as she gives him a dirty look that seems to blame him for the state.

"I got ramen back at my apartment! It's not far from here too!" He informs his older companion with a foxy grin. "We can head there and rest for a bit before trying to find the right place!" He adds while Yakumo gives him a dubious look but in the end, he takes her by the hand while taking the lead.

Within a few minutes, they arrive at his apartment building and somehow, Yakumo's hand slips out of his hand while he tries to drag her into the building. "You know... This place might be what we were looking for all along." Yakumo muses and he couldn't help but frown before trying his best to mimic her stance while looking at the building.

"Really? I just don't see it though..." He admits and Yakumo just smiles in a smug fashion.

"Trust me, I'm a girl, I know these things." The heiress informs him with a smirk and a look daring him to challenge her statement. He just sighs, he may not know much but he has heard guys mutter about how you just can't win with the 'fairer' sex.

"I guess... It's not like anybody really lives here besides me." He admits and Yakumo just flicker her hair before proceeding to walk into the building.

He watches her enter for a few seconds before following after. _I hope that not all girls are as strange as she is..._ He thinks as he moves to take the lead so he can show Yakumo his apartment, thus forcing Yakumo that he wasn't a street-rat.

- o 0 O 0 o -

**Naruto**  
**Three Weeks Later**

"I didn't know you could paint so well." He admits as he studies the mural before him, pausing in his efforts to set up a fake wooden skull he had carved and then dipped in white paint. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck raise up as the image of an Oni seems to stare down at him.

"And I didn't know you could carve decent things out of wood." Yakumo says in a waspy kind of way. "Now stop gawking and give me a hand with this!" Yakumo says and he just bobs his head as he finally turns away from the painted image to help move a stuffed Oni onto a rock that's in the center of the room.

It takes a few nudges and the use of so rope but they manage to get the stuff doll onto the rock that's been splattered with red paint to make it appear as if blood had been spilled upon it. Fake wooden skeletons litter the floor, some had been snapped to aid the effect they're going for in making the apartment seem to be a lair where Oni dwell. Bits of yellow coins and fake jewelry litter one side of the room, Yakumo will be using genjutsu to make everything within the room appear more realistic but it helps to have items to help give visual aid to support the genjutsu. Giving the genjutsu a reference in a way.

_Which is why it's taking so dang long to pull off this prank._ He mutters privately to himself. _It doesn't help that she kicked me out of my own bed either..._ A part of him points out sourly. _It's like she moved in. You would think her clan would notice when she's not spending the night in her room..._

"Are we done with this room?" He asks as he glances at the various Oni dolls and stuffed body parts that have been dipped in red paint. The floor itself had been painted gray and black before they brought in straw, old animal skins, wooden bones, and, of course, fake treasure. Though before the fake bones and treasure were added, Yakumo had used a paint brush and red paint to add dry blood splatters to add to the effect.

It had only been recently that Yakumo had revealed her mural. From the looks of things, Yakumo had used her natural talent in genjutsu to fool him into not seeing her workmanship until she finished. They were almost done with the second floor, only three more rooms and they'd be done, which means that it might be another week before they'll get the chance to pull this prank off.

_Never know, this could be worth all of our effort..._ He muses as the final touches, namely weapons, were brought in. As they finish with the room, Yakumo closes the door and then takes out a folded sheet of paper. He watches as she focuses a bit of chakra into the sheet with a very complex seal brushed on it before placing the sheet of paper onto the door, sealing the room from intrusion as well as causing a minor cause of forgetfulness to those who don't know what's within said room.

"You really got to teach me how to do that... My birthday is coming up you know." He says and Yakumo just sighs before taking the lead back to his room, after all, they both could use a minor break.

As Yakumo enters his bathroom before him, he just huffs and crosses his arms over his chest while pouting slightly at the door. Seconds later, he feels somebody behind him and when he turns to look, he suddenly found himself unable to...

He wakes to find himself on the floor. "Funny, I don't remember falling asleep..." He mutters and as he tries to recall what he's been up since morning, he couldn't help but draw a blank. He did find that he smelt of paint and sweat, which likely means he had be preparing for a prank or had already pulled on off.

"I need to have a shower..." He muses to himself once he stares off out of the window. As he begins to take off his shirt, he couldn't help but feel a bit more lonely...

- o 0 O 0 o -

**Yakumo**  
**Five Years Later**

_Why do I feel as if I should know this blond?_ She wonders to herself as she sits a few seats away from one of the ninja who helped her out just a few weeks ago. She's currently using her genjutsu skills to keep people from noticing that she's sitting there, studying the loud blond ninja who seems to familiar and yet sure she's never met before a few weeks ago.

As Naruto pays his bill, she gets up and follows after the blond as the younger teen heads off away from the ramen stand. She walks a few feet behind the blond and a surreal feeling overtakes her as the buildings give way to houses and apartment buildings until she's standing before an apartment building. _I've been here before... Haven't I?_ She wonders to herself before realizing that the blond had already entered into the building.

As soon as she enters she feels a pull at her chakra. She follows the closest feeling and finds herself standing before a door that is sealed with a family seal. "I did this...?" She muses while tries to recall when she ever visited this part of the village.

Touching the yellow sheet of paper, she then takes a hold of the doorknob and takes off the sheet before turning the doorknob. The door creaks open and it takes her a few seconds to find a light switch, though when she flips it on, she almost wishes she hadn't since it seems as if she's entered into a graveyard.

It takes a few seconds before she realizes that she's empowering an illusion and within moments, the realism of the room seems to fade, although that doesn't cause the scene to totally vanish. What grabs her attention is the murals on the walls that cause her to recall her earlier work, which seems to fit. "I must have done this years ago... But why would I seal this room?" She wonders out loud while staring around the room, looking for hints as to the reason.

In the end, she exits out of the room and after a moment's haste, reseals the room before continuing on. It takes some time but she finally has visited all of the rooms on the main floor of the building and each one had that seal upon it while having spooky insides. It bothered her that she couldn't recall anything about this particular building or reasons why she could help transform empty apartments into such spooky and slightly creepy settings.

"Naruto lives here..." She says as she finds herself before a door on the top floor of the building. She couldn't help but safe standing before the door. She moves to grab the doorknob but stops herself and then pulls her hand back. She then tries to knock but once more, the gesture seems... wrong for some reason.

_I must be nuts. Maybe I should just go..._ But she didn't and finally the door opens, causing her to come face to face with Naruto. Something finally gave and she finally recalls the time she spent in this building and in the company of this particular blond.

"What did I do now, Sakura?" Naruto asks while rubbing his head, it seems she's not the only one who had their memories block. "Err... I guess you might as well come in." Naruto says after the blond shakes himself like a wet dog.

She smiles slightly before doing just that while ignoring her pounding head. She couldn't help but find that not much had changed within the apartment other then the walls looking worst with sections having peeling paint and minor holes. "Almost five years since..." She muses as she moves to sit on the couch.

"Yea, it has, hasn't it?" Naruto echos while the blond moves to sit next to her. "Crazy... I mean, why would they... Dumb question." Naruto says the last part while glancing away.

"Yea, pretty dumb question. I was a clan heiress back then, a fairly young one too boot..." She admits.

"You're always going to rub that in, aren't you?" Naruto asks in a bemused way with a soft smile lighting up his face. She just smirks in reply which causes Naruto to chuckle softly.

"So... What do we do now?" Naruto wonders as they sit there in silence for a good twenty minutes. She hums softly as she considers a few things.

"I say we finish what we started. After all, the other rooms are still set up and it wouldn't take long to finish the rest of that floor. I believe I might be able to research a few seals to help boost my abilities over all of the rooms." She says and Naruto chuckles.

"Sounds good to me. I never did like leaving anything unfinished. I'd say five years is a long time to wait to put off a prank of this magnitude." Naruto says with a smirk of his own.

- o 0 O 0 o -

**Naruto**  
**Two Days Later**

_This is so going to freak people out..._ He muses to himself as he watches his clones each pick up a stack of fliers to put up around the village. The fliers had dates starting from this coming Sunday and all of next week for people to come and visit this 'haunted' apartment complex with the one who manages to visit each of the 'haunted' rooms to receive a small bit of cash and a shirt that reads 'I beat the Haunted Apartment Building' while the rest got a shirt saying 'I visited the Haunted Apartment Building and chickened out in the middle of it.'

"Did you send out your clones yet?" Yakumo asks once he moves to enter the rooms they're working on. He had a bunch of clones touching up the older rooms and carving whatever other props they need for the last few rooms as well as replacing a few from the other rooms.

"They're on their way." He answers as pauses to study the mural the heiress is currently working on. "I'm guessing alien world." He muses after a few minutes of studying the two moons hanging in the sky.

"Now we just need to wait for this to dry before I add any more. Now then, help me move all of these pains to that wall." Yakumo says as she motions towards the wall they made using panels of flat wood that Yakumo sealed together like she had so many years earlier.

With a sigh, he begins to take the metal handles of the paint cans while Yakumo takes the can that's filled with water and the paint brushes. He's careful about the cans since he doesn't want to worry about going off to buy replacement paint. Yakumo hums while studying the blank wall they created while he finishes bringing over the other four cans of pain and the paint roller.

"You going to add stars or other planets?" He asks Yakumo as he rubs his forehead with the back of his hand. He's not wearing his usual cloths nor his headband since he didn't want to get them dirty. He's current set of cloths consist of faded black pants and brown long sleeve shirt. He's also doesn't have any of his usual pouches on him or anything to keep his bangs from draping over his forehead.

He already has some small patches of paint on his cloths with a few dots of brown and black paint on the back of his hands. "Where are those clean sponges that I packed? I know I didn't use all of them." Yakumo says and he just gives her a blank look for a few seconds before he recalls the pack Yakumo had brought down this morning.

"I'll go get it now." He says to his friend and the older teen just nods. It didn't take him long to find the bag and instead of leaving it where he found it while just taking said items from it, he picks it up and brings it into the room, leaving it by the wooden door once he's got the sponges out of it.

"Thank you." Yakumo says before asking after a few minutes as she prepares a paint tray. "Don't you have any missions to complete? I mean, you are a ninja..."

He scratches the back of his head while he's kneeling down to stir one of the paint cans. "Well, you see, the old lady pretty much decided to force me to take a few weeks off. It seems that I bugged her a bit too much the other day..." _Which was what I was going for..._

"You'd think she'd be use to that by now." Yakumo says in a bemused tone while flashing him a smile. "Well, just goes to show you'll be around to witness our project through." The heiress of the Kurama clan says before focusing back on the task at hand, which seems to be painting the blank wall they created before the window of this particular apartment.

"Think anyone will be able to visit each of the rooms?" He asks Yakumo as he taps the stir stick on the side of the can a few times before setting it on the rim of a paint tray filled with the same black paint. He then moves a roller through the paint before handing it to Yakumo, who takes it from him.

"If anybody does, it'll be a Jonin." Yakumo muses and he just nods thoughtfully. Then he frowns as he recalls something that Yakumo had bragged about.

"Hey, didn't you say that your clan illusions can't be penetrated by either the Sharingan or the Byakugan? I mean, your genjutsu is a bloodline limit, right?" He asks Yakumo.

"I believe I might have said something along those lines a few years back. Why?" The heiress inquires with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"It's just that... well, some people might recall that I live in this building and might figure out that I'm involved. It might be a good idea to, you know, keep that information a secret until the final day?" He says and Yakumo studies him for a few seconds before she nods before returning to using the roller to blacken the wall.

"Anyway, I need you to create a few alien beasts. I got a few sketches of ideas for said critters. They're on the blue scroll in my bag." Yakumo says and with a shrug, he stands up and carefully walks towards the door to pull out said scroll.

He blinks as a neon green arrow points at said scroll and he scowls as he glances over at Yakumo. "Not funny, Yakumo... I'm not an idiot you know." He remarks to the teenage girl.

"I thought it was." Yakumo says with a superior smirk flashing his way for a few seconds. He just huffs slightly and returns to the pack to still find said hovering arrow. With a shake of his head, he grabs the scroll and unrolls it to see what kind of alien beasts she wants his clone and him to make.

He whistles at an image of a four legged beastie with a thin whip like tail and two sets of dragonfly wings. _Not sure how to pull off those wings..._ He muses before continuing down the scroll. "What kind of scale do you want with some of these?" He asks Yakumo after viewing all eleven sketches.

"Let's see, seven and ten could be four feet in height while two, five, and eight would be at least five and half feet in length with maybe four feet in the shoulder. The rest would be fine at a foot or two." Yakumo informs him and he couldn't hep but stare at the heiress at the idea of trying to set up such large attractions.

_Well, I could assemble them in the room..._ He muses thoughtfully. "Those are just guidelines, you can add or subtract from them." Yakumo adds and he hums as he rolls the scroll up.

"I'll go and get started on some of these. I'll be sure to send a clone or two up to help with the painting." He informs Yakumo, who just nods as she continues to move the paint roller over the wall.

- o 0 O 0 o -

**Yakumo**  
**Opening Day**

_We should have charged admission._ She muses at the sight of twenty-odd people waiting for them to open the doors. The groups will be divided into five to seven individuals plus the guide. They also decided to wait fifteen minutes before sending the next group after the previous group. Naruto and his clones will be acting as the guides while she follows their progress through the two floors so she can enact the genjutsus on the right rooms.

They had run into a bit of a situation concerning chakra empowering the genjutsus since she lacks the reserves to fuel them for more then eight hours. _Still can't believe Naruto has such large reserves... I doubt even the Hokage could match his chakra reserves._ She muses while standing by the door, waiting for the clock to show eleven before opening the doors.

"You sure you're up for this?" The real Naruto says as he adjusts his eye patch. The differences between the real Naruto and his shadow clones was the fact that the clones would be wearing face masks as well as having nail polish. She's not sure how Naruto manages to create such changes in the creation process but it does eliminate a step in disguising said clones.

She hums while studying Naruto's costume. "I thought you were dressing up as an undertaker." She muses and Naruto laughs softly.

"Well, I thought one-eyed vampire was easier to pull off." The usual blond ninja muses, not only is Naruto's hair currently black with purple highlights but Naruto's looks a few years old, skin looking paler, cheeks lacking the whisker marks, the only visible eye is emerald green in color, and when Naruto flashes her a toothy grin, she saw over sized canines.

For some odd reason, she couldn't help but feel her cheeks heat up as she realizes that Naruto looks fairly handsome. Shaking her head, she dismisses those thoughts to glance at the clock. "You ready? I'm opening the doors." She informs Naruto and the usual blond ninja just nods.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Naruto informs her with a sober look. She nods and as Naruto moves to stand where the tour starts while the shadow clones grow alert and straighten up.

"Welcome. Will the first seven please head over there?" She says once she opens the doors, waving towards Naruto as soon as the crowd begins to enter into the main entrance. She spots a Hyuuga moving towards said group, she's pretty sure that said woman likely had her Byakugan active for a few minutes, likely checking on her surroundings.

_Oh I'm so going to enjoy scaring you, you smug..._ She's shaken out of her thoughts while a young kid asks, "What are you dressed as?"

"Why, I'm a fortune teller." She says once she's put the door stoppers by the doors. The kid's eyes lit up before the kid scuffs at her. "There's no such thing as a fortune teller." The kid says and she says, "Well then, I doubt you'd want to know about the disappointment you're about to suffer in a few minutes."

"How'd you know that?" The kid demands and a few seconds later the kid's mother arrived. "Takuya! I told you that you're forbidden from visiting this faux!" A graying brunet says, causing the kid to jump.

As the pair leave, she heads to her booth and prepares for the first group to enter into one of the rooms. _Let's see what you're afraid of Miss White-Eyes..._ She muses as she brings the image of said Hyuuga into her crystal ball. The image is just a genjutsu but that doesn't mean it doesn't show what's really happening to the group.

- o 0 O 0 o -

**Naruto**  
**Fourth Room**

_Huh... I would have thought we'd at least make it to the sixth room before somebody vomits..._ He muses as he watches as a twenty-something guy empties his stomach in one of the pails they had stored in certain rooms, those that featured particularly gruesome scenes. _Might need to clean them every hour instead of every two hours if the next group gets one at this point too._

He did glance at the Hyuuga, wondering how closely related the older woman was to Neji and Hinata. Not that he's incline to ask her since he's not suppose to know them. He didn't particularly like the fact that they're already getting visited by a village ninja but couldn't really do anything about it other then hope that nobody will uncover the deception until at least Friday.

_I wonder if any of my friends will show up?_ He wonders as he finally opens the door to usher the group out of the room. He makes sure to leave the pail by the door before he shuts the door.

"So many bugs... Creeping out of those hives... Their jaws snapping..." The man who vomited mutters while the man's wife or girlfriend gives said man a hug in hopes of soothing the man's nerves.

"Did you wish to wait in the hall while we enter into the next portal?" He asks the couple and the couple exchange looks before the two of them standing a bit straighter while the slightly palish man shakes his head. "Alright then, onward into another dimension we shall go." He says as motions for the group to approach the next door.

The Hyuuga woman takes point after a few seconds of nobody really moving to take said position. He had to admit, he's kind of curious to see what would cause a member of the said noble clan to faint in fright or to finally act as an actual, normal person. _It's getting old putting up with arrogant people..._

Three rooms later and two members of his group have fainted. By the time they make it to the first floor of the apartment building, he's only got the Hyuuga woman who finally cracks at in the Oni room, just three rooms short of completing the challenge Yakumo and himself had laid out. He makes sure that each member of the group got the right shirt before dragging the Hyuuga clan member to the make shift medical office.

As the day progresses, they mostly received victims from won't from the ninja population, making the Hyuuga clan member the only ninja to try and pass through their haunted apartment. They also decided to impose an age limit to keep kids from younger then ten from going through it since they don't want to traumatizes those from nine and down. _Wouldn't want angry parents complaining to the Hokage or the Council about this._

It's close to midnight when the last group is sent home, leaving Yakumo and him alone once more in the big, empty apartment building. _Well, we're not alone if you count the clones..._ He muses at the sight of a clone lounging by the crystal ball while he begins to sweep the main entrance.

"We should have charge admission..." Yakumo be-mourns and he blinks before turning to look at the heiress. He raises an eyebrow at her but she seems to be too busy mourning that little detail.

"Anyway, did you want me to send a clone off to pick up some coffee or something? Or do you just want to turn in for the night? It is rather late..." He says and Yakumo yawns before shaking herself.

"I think we both need our wits about us for tomorrow. Get the clones to finish up so you can come with me back to the apartment." Yakumo says and after a few seconds, he just nods and within half a second, he's got an army of fresh clones and hands the broom over to one of them before following Yakumo up to his apartment.

"We might want to close down a few hours before midnight too." He muses.

- o 0 O 0 o -

**Hinata**  
**Friday Afternoon**

_I wonder why we're here... We were suppose to go check out that Haunted Apartment today for kicks..._ She thinks as she frets about why the Hokage would call most of the Rookie Nine and team Gai.

While she might not want to go, not after the fact that a Hyuuga had already 'chickened' out in the middle of it, she couldn't help but be a tab curious about what could spook one of the more experienced members of the Hyuuga clan when it comes to dealing with genjutsu. It's one of the reason why the challenge has grown in popularity since a member of the Hyuuga clan had failed to follow the challenge through.

_I'm sure Naruto has been loads of times..._ She thinks before getting shaken out of her thoughts as the Fifth Hokage finally finishes doing a small pile of paper work. Lady Tsunade finally turns her attention on them with a calculating look.

"I take it you have heard of the Haunted Apartment challenge?" Lady Tsunade asks and there's a murmur of agreement. "Well, we received a mission from numerous individuals who are willing to pay for a C ranked mission so they can get the rewards for completing the challenge."

She couldn't help but feel that's pretty unfair. "Will Naruto be joining us, Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asks and she did have to admit she wouldn't mind having the blond join them.

"He's on currently taking a vacation." Lady Tsunade says after a minor tick twitched for a few seconds before the Fifth Hokage calms down. _Oh..._

"Since we have three clients paying for the same mission and from what our resources tell us, the groups that go through the haunted floors range from groups of five to seven. There are ten of you total so I'll leave it up to you to form groups of three." Lady Tsunade informs them as she holds out three file folders.

Shikamaru mutters troublesome softly while Neji takes the file folders. It was later did they find out why Lady Tsunade hadn't turned the three down, after all, they were young then ten so they're unable to go through the many rooms of this Haunted House.

"I can't believe their parents are willing to pay for a C ranked mission!" Kiba shouts after the files of the three kids have been passed around the table once they're settled down. "This is so bothersome." Shikamaru mutters as they begin to discussion their course of action.

_I wonder if we should search for Naruto and see if he's willing to come with us anyway..._ She wonders as they put in their drink and food orders.

- o 0 O 0 o -

**Naruto**  
**Two Hours Later**

_Huh... I wondering when they're going to show. Though... Why do they look so serious?_ He wonders as he notices the remaining members of the Rookie Nine and the three belonging to team Gai entering into the main room.

As he watches the group of ten, he couldn't help but notice certain signs that he kind of recalls from his mission with said ninja. _Are they on a mission? But why would the old lady accept any missions in regard to a simple challenge? I mean, the clients could easily come in person..._ He muses as he watches as his friends divide into three groups and move to mingle with the rest of the members of the village, some of whom were Chunin and Jonin.

_Anko's been in eight times already._ He muses as he recalls the first time said kunoichi graced the main area of the apartment building the second day of them being open. _If anyone manages to complete this challenge, it's her._

"You going to take one of those groups in personally?" He hears Yakumo asks him and out of the corner of his eye, he finds a ghostly image of Yakumo floating a foot away from him. He hums in a thoughtful manner while he makes sure to stack the latest shirt onto the table, a table located by the entrance of the make shift medical office they set up with three clones running it.

He sighs and scratches the side of his head while a clone arrives with the six member group the clone had taken to tour the haunted floors of the apartment building. The clone is shouldering a passed out woman while a group of three teens were leaning on each other, each looking a little green. It didn't take long before he hands out the six shirts before those capable to leaving under their power did so while the rest headed into the quiet medical office.

"I'll do the last group." He decides softly while the ghostly image of Yakumo hangs in the air. With a grin, Yakumo vanishes, clearly satisfied with that answer.

Half an hour later and the first group containing some of his friends finally began their tour. He did wonder how Shino will react to the various rooms, especially considering Shino is a walking bug hive. Neji and Shikamaru seem to be partnered with Shino, which is surprising since he would have thought for sure that Shikamaru would remain partnered with Choji.

Kiba, Lee, and Choji seem to be a group onto themselves, leaving the four kunoichi as the last group. He wonders which of the two groups will be the next to take the tour. While he does respect Lee, he really didn't want to be there in person to witness Lee's fear. _My clones don't get included in the genjutsu they experience, just get their ques from Yakumo._

_On the other hand..._ He glances over to the group of girls and begins to imagine their fears, particularly his crush's, Sakura's fears. _I'm not sure I'd be able to stay in character when she faints..._ He admits to himself with a sigh.

And so, for the next fifteen minutes he debates with himself while the next group begins to assemble. He sighs softly as the rest of the guys join that one, leaving him to guide the four kunoichi. He switches out with a clone and proceeds to where Yakumo is to ask her if she had any ideas of how to keep him from shedding his disguise when Sakura reacts to the horrors within the various apartments they had set up years ago and the three more recent additions.

Yakumo raises an eyebrow and he then glances over to where Ino and Sakura were arguing about something. "Err... My crush is going to be part of the next group and well..." He say to the heiress and Yakumo gives the four a look with very narrow eyes.

"Don't worry about it, I'll help make sure they don't notice any of your flinching." Yakumo says before focusing once more on what's going on with those groups still going through the challenge. He sighs in relief and feels a bit of the tension in his shoulders fade slightly before he stands a bit straighter and does a few final duties before heading for the entrance of the challenge.

- o 0 O 0 o -

**Yakumo**  
**Fifteen Minutes Later**

_You know, years ago I wouldn't believe I'd fall for the blond but now..._ She couldn't help but blush slightly as she recalls just how much Naruto has grown. _He's not that hard on the eyes and he did try to help me a few years ago..._

She sighs softly, after all, the blond's apartment had become like a true home for her back when they were kids. _He was the only one not to be afraid of my abilities... He even suggested a creative way to display them._ She muses with a slight smile before noticing that another group requires her personal attention, something that would only require like three seconds.

_Now to learn which of these kunoichi Naruto has a crush on._ She muses, more then a bit curious as to what type of girl Naruto's attracted too. _Now then, how do I go about doing that?_

While she ponders how to go about doing so in a very low key fashion, after all, the last thing she wants is to have Naruto pick up on what she's doing. She's pretty sure that the boy would be highly uncomfortable knowing that she finds him kind of ruggedly handsome. _I wonder if I can't somehow replace his cloths with something more... suitable._

- o 0 O 0 o -

**Naruto**  
**Tour's End**

_Huh... Who knew Tenten has a fear of horses? I'm not all that surprised to find that both Ino and Sakura share many of the same fears... They had been friends long before they were rivals._ He muses as he carries a certain Hyuuga piggy back style down the stairs while Tenten manages to get Ino and Sakura to walk with a little help from the other three members of the group.

None had opted to continue on, not even the fact that all four of the girls were here on a mission seems to give the four the determination to finish what they started. Though, to be fair, none of the other Genin plus the solo Chunin managed to complete it either, although the group with Lee had entered the last room but from the memories of that particular clone, Lee had muttered something about not being able to breath and fainted. _Well, the scene in that room was an underwater theme..._

He plans to ask Yakumo about that particular incident once he's done escorting this particular group to the medical office. _Though you do have to give Lee credit, he's the first to even step foot in that room._ He muses to himself, which kind of elevates some of his guilt concerning the fact that unlike the rest of them, Lee's unable to use jutsus which means that he couldn't counter genjutsu even though Yakumo's illusions were fairly impossible to cancel.

_I mean, on one level during that mission a few weeks back she likely wanted her appointed task to fail on some level._ He muses, after all, with so many clones about, a lot of them have had time to ponder various things and that one stood out, just as the thought that he had kind of wanted Sasuke to leave the village in the likely mistaken belief that without the Uchiha around, Kakashi would focus on training him. _This self-analyzing thing is so over rated..._

Hinata finally begins to stir and within seconds a soft eep comes from the weirdish member of the Rookie Nine. "I'll let you off at the bottom of the stairs." He informs the girl with white eyes and he feels Hinata grip his shirt but otherwise doesn't move.

"Has anyone made it pass that cave with the Oni?" Tenten asks as they finally make it to the bottom of the stairs. He allows Hinata to slide off his back before he replies.

"A kunoichi with purple hair and fishnet shirt's managed to get pass, though she's never visited the final room." He says, leaving off the bit about the rest of the ninja since he's not suppose to know that information since he had been in the middle of guiding them through the rooms and they didn't met up with another party either.

"I wouldn't be surprise if she comes later tonight to give it another go. There's a bet saying that she'll get complete it before we close tomorrow while others say she won't." He says as he directs the group of seven to the table with their shirts. _It's not that I'm lying per say about the bet... My clones do seem to have created a betting pool concerning Anko's attempts. Though how they plan to pay up without money is something I'd like to see._

"I'll take a medium." Tenten says to the clone behind the table. They had been force to order more shirts the other day, he's privately glad that the merchant had misunderstood their original order or else they'd be in a bind. It didn't take long before the others give what size shirt they would like.

_Who knew people enjoyed returning again and again to scare themselves silly in this haunted apartment building? Maybe we should just keep quiet about who we are and just seal the rooms to use next year... And charge them for admission..._ He muses while helping Tenten in directing Ino and Sakura into the medical office.

He had conflicted feelings when it came to Sakura but in the end, decided to push the matter out of his mind as best as he can so he can focus on his other duties. It's not as if he won't think about what happened, particularly if his clones get bored enough they might think such thoughts for him.

_I wonder if there's any more of those sandwiches left..._ He wonders after his stomach rumbles, causing a hand of his to move to cover his midsection. His tongue moves behind his fanged teeth, lingering on his respective canines as he heads for the snack table some merchant had set up just outside of the building.

- o 0 O 0 o -

**Naruto**  
**Last Day**

"You sure you want to follow through with this? I mean, you did have some good points about just sealing the rooms and doing this again next year." He says but Yakumo just sighs.

"We originally planned to reveal the set up back then and well, we might as well finish it. Besides, if we want to do this again next year, I'll just hire you for a month and create something similar in a town or city in Fire Country. I mean, I am from a wealthy family, it shouldn't be that hard to hire you." Yakumo says and he snorts softly, but that's it, he's gotten use to the mightier then thou from his early friendship with the girl and from putting up with a certain team-mate that doesn't have pink hair...

"The last group is out of the building." He informs her, after all, Yakumo's not at her usual spot in the lobby of the apartment building, so she couldn't see if anyone is still within the main level or the first floor. The heiress of the Kurama clan just nods while sipping soup from a spoon.

As Yakumo finishes, he picks up the dishes as the teen heads for the bathroom to change out of her costume. He glances out of the window, studying the faces of previous Hokages, wondering when he'll see it again since he's pretty sure that after Sakura and Ino are done with him, the guys will likely beat on what's left before dropping him off at the hospital.

_Still, we finished what we started so that makes it worth it._ He reasons to himself, although he did wonder what Yakumo and his life would have been like if they had been left alone to complete it five years ago. _Likely won't have been this organized since I didn't know how to make shadow clones back then._ He muses.

About twenty minutes later, Yakumo steps out of the bathroom wearing a kimono. He had to admit, the color did bring out Yakumo's eyes. "Did something with your bangs, didn't you?" He asks and Yakumo smiles winningly at him, which seems to answer that.

"You sure you don't need to change?" Yakumo asks while eyeing him. He hadn't dropped his one-eye vampire disguise since morning, so it's not like Yakumo knows what kind of cloths he's actually wearing.

"Don't worry about it, after all, if it's not something you like, I'm sure you'll wrap me in an illusion with better cloths on." He says in a half joking manner, after all, he wouldn't put it pass her to do just take. Yakumo just nods, which likely means she had been thinking of doing just that.

He opens the door and then offers the heiress his arm. Once Yakumo takes they step out into the hallway while the door closes behind them. While he's unsure if Yakumo has her illusion in place since he sees her in her kimono, he figures he'll find out as soon as they approach the crowd waiting out on the street. His clones had finished the platform just before they arrived on the main floor of the apartment building.

The clones guarding the doorway stood straighter as they approached and then they opened the door, allowing Yakumo and himself out of the building. He couldn't help but notice more then a few familiar faces among the crowd gathered before the apartment building and the platform. The murmuring dim of the crowd slowly subsides as Yakumo and himself ascend onto the platform.

He did swallow slightly at the sight of old lady Tsunade standing at the front of the crowd with Shizune who's holding Tonton. The pig seems content in Shizune's arms although the same can't be said for the small group of Hyuuga standing on Tsunade's other side. He couldn't help but note that three of them look really, really old.

_I wonder if they're here to lodge a complain or something..._ He thinks as the crowd quiets down as Yakumo drifts from his side to stand a foot before him. He watches as some among the crowd stare at him for a few seconds while Yakumo holds up her hand which finally causes the crowd to become silent.

"For the last week we have held a challenge here at this apartment building. A challenge that seems to simple and yet not at the same time." Yakumo says to those that have assemble before the site of the challenge they laid out last week that started Sunday.

"May have braved the rooms though only a small handful ever managed to come so close. One even managed to view the last room only to faint." Yakumo says and a soft murmur erupts for a few seconds before quieting down. "His name is Rock Lee and we have decided to award him with this small trophy." Yakumo says and Lee whoops loudly before suddenly appearing on the small platform to accept the wooden trophy he had carved and painted last night.

"Yosh! Truly my youthful flame have been rekindled!" Lee shouts while fire seems to flare up around Lee's body. "This is for you, Gai!" Lee adds and Yakumo sends him a questioning glance, it's clear that his partner didn't know what to make of this display of Lee's.

He just shrugs and moves to tap Lee on the shoulder. "If you would?" He says softly and Lee blinks before nodding, the flames vanishing before his friend gets off of the platform. Yakumo relaxes a tiff as he hands her the plaque he created after Anko's fifth visit.

"Another award we would like to hand out is for to one Anko Mitarashi for the most attempts at completing the challenge. Today we witnessed Ms Mitarashi's nineteenth visit this week." Yakumo says as the purple haired kunoichi moves through the crowd to receive her award.

A few members of the crowd clap politely as Yakumo hands the plaque over to said kunoichi. Anko just smirks before heading back down into the crowd with her award. He did wonder what Anko had planned for said plaque but doubts he'll have the guts to ask later.

After all, the moment of unmasking is coming up soon. He felt familiar fluttering in his midsection with his mouth being kind of dry. He does mask his unsettled nerves while Yakumo begins to speak once more.

"I'm sure many of you are wonder just who we are since we've never given out our names." Yakumo says, pausing to glance around the crowd for a second or two. "I believe it's time for our unmasking." Yakumo says and with that, he releases his Henge while Yakumo releases her genjutsu.

The crowd pretty much grumbles at the sight of him while most seem to be a bit confused as to who Yakumo is. He notices the alarmed looks certain members of his circle of friends had on their faces. Most of the crowd wondered how he talked such an 'innocent' girl to help him with this prank.

Sakura and Ino looked ready to skin him alive while Yakumo seems to frown at the reactions the crowd had concerning him. Finally a loud noise seems to echo through the street, he's pretty sure Yakumo's responsible for said 'sound'. "If I might continue." Yakumo says in an icy tone, he couldn't help but wince as he's been subjected to very similar tones plenty of times.

"It seems that you all know my partner and good friend Naruto Uzumaki." Yakumo says while some of the crowd murmur in agreement. "I doubt many of you know who I am." Yakumo says and a few people shift, clearly not liking Yakumo's tone.

"I am Yakumo Kurama, head of the Kurama clan." Yakumo informs the crowd and more then a few look a tad surprised while the old Hyuuga elders seem to be stunned by this revelation, likely finally getting why none of their clan could see through the illusions set up in the apartment building.

"Now then, I believe it's time for you all to see what's within those rooms without Naruto or I empowering the genjutsus placed on them." Yakumo says and with that Yakumo moves to walk off of the platform. He's about two to three steps behind her, not sure what to make of the sudden icy demeanor.

- o 0 O 0 o -

**Hinata**  
**Sometime Later**

_Why would Yakumo help Naruto with this? They only just met a few weeks ago..._ She wonders as she finds herself sweep along with the some of the crowd as they follow Yakumo and Naruto into the building.

Most of the crowd had decided to disperse, no longer interested in how the challenge had been set up. "You alright Hinata?" Kiba asks her while Akamaru whines softly.

"Just... surprised." She says and Kiba nods in agreement. "Yea, who knew Naruto would be up to his old tricks, eh?" Kiba muses and she mentally sighs, after all, that's not why she's upset about.

"Well, the brat did top himself this time." Anko muses and a quick glance over at the special Jonin, she found Anko grinning in amusement as they followed a few feet behind Lady Tsunade, the Hokage's aid, her father, and clan elders.

"How long have you been planning this prank? Since you made Genin?" Tsunade asks Naruto and her crush glances backwards.

"Oh well, I was eight when Yakumo and I started this. We had like three rooms to go before it was complete but we got interrupted and kind of forgot we had these rooms waiting to be used." Naruto explains and that seems to cause a bit of a stir.

"I had placed special seals on the rooms before we moved to decorate the next room. Couldn't have people finding out until we were ready." Yakumo adds as they finally come to the first room.

Her stomach turns slightly at the sight as she recalls vividly what lies behind. As the door opens, Naruto moves into the room and turns on the light to reveal a not so scary place, well, not as scary as she remembers it. Her gazes turns to the walls and found familiar scenes painted upon their surfaces.

"Who created these dummies?" Tenten inquires while the teen pokes a finger at the Samurai's seemingly metal armor. She did have to admit that they must have hired an expert carver to create them since they captured a lot of detail.

"Naruto's very talented with a knife." Yakumo says with a grin while Naruto just looks a tad embarrassed. "He did carve that trophy and plaque among other things." Yakumo adds and she turns to look at the plaque that's being carried by Anko.

"It's not as if I always turned to pranking to relieve my boredom when I was younger." Naruto states, revealing something she's sure few ever found out. "Besides, I had to remove the original two because of fungus. Guess I didn't put the varnish on the pair." Naruto says while picking up what seems to be a metal sword.

"Where did you get this paint? It gives them a fairly decent metallic look." Shizune says and Naruto replies, "Got it from some merchant five years back. Got a really good deal on it too. Still got about fifty un-opened cans in the basement, didn't need to make many weapons as props later on."

They soon moved onto the next room and like the first, without the genjutsu active the room lacked its previous scariness. Though it still gave her goosebumps. And so the tour continued, each room seemed familiar and yet wasn't really with little facts coming from the creators of the project about how they did what and why.

She still couldn't believe that the two had been that talented when they were younger. It also gave her a slightly better understanding of how far Naruto's willing to go on a project he clearly enjoys. She's pretty sure her teacher is also getting a new glimpse of her old student too, after all, Yakumo had a hand in all of this, it's hard not to notice the murals each room displays along with the wooden props.

The last few rooms did give them a better look at how much their talents had grown over the last five years. "How did you manage to make it so... scaly?" Ino asks as they arrive at the first of the three rooms as the much paler blond strokes the navy blue monster that seems to be the center piece of the alien room.

"Made a plaster mold and then poured homemade plastic into the mold, then glued the sections onto the pieces before assembling it all in the room. It took time but well worth it for the feel of it." Naruto says.

They would finally arrive at the most impressive room of the lot and she couldn't help but see why Lee would faint upon entering the room. "It's like being underwater..." Tenten muses as they move carefully around the fake coral reefs Naruto and Yakumo had set up on the floor.

Thin wires hold a brightly colored sea snake with frills upon it hangs in the air while a head of a long necked creature hangs on a part of the wall that features its painted body. Pebbles and sand cover the floor that didn't feature parts of the fake coral reef. A few brightly colored fake plastic and wooden fish were laying around the reef, a few perched in segments of coral.

"So... How do you plan to get all of this out of here?" Kiba wonders which causes Yakumo and Naruto to blink before glancing at each other. "We never thought about it, after all, I'm the only one living in the building..." Naruto admits, she had already known that but it seems that none of the others had known.

"You mean this whole building has only you for a renter?" Tenten asks slowly and Naruto nods. "Not even the apartment manager lives here?" Tenten inquires and Naruto shakes his head once more.

"Never met the manager or the owner. The old man Third had arranged for me to live here and had taken care of most of the bills too." Naruto admits.

She noticed that the 'adults' of the group glance at each other while Yakumo begins to explain where she got the idea for the hanging head.

- o 0 O 0 o -

**Yakumo**  
**Later That Night**

"I wonder what the old lady wants to talk about tomorrow morning..." Naruto muses from his position at the table. She had decided to give cooking a try, so she's making eggs and rice, although she did have to bully Naruto into sending a clone out to buy said food stuffs.

"Might be about how you tricked her into getting vacation leave." She muses with a slight grin as she stands by the frying pan, waiting to the yolks to harden. She's not sure how to tell when the rice would be done.

"I didn't twist her arm to get it! I just was really, really earnest about getting a high ranked mission is all." Naruto says in his defense and she chuckles softly.

"So, you have any idea of how to clean those rooms?" She asks the blond with really bright yellow hair. Naruto just sighs and replies, "I'm working on it, although if you have an idea, I'd love to hear it."

"I might have an idea, though how well it'll work..." She just shakes her head and Naruto nods in understanding. A comfortable silence descends upon them, she doubts she's the only one replaying the events of the day.

"You think Tenten's going to try moving into the building? She seemed pretty interested in the fact that I've got a whole building to myself." Naruto says as she manages to turn off the stove after getting the eggs to drop onto a plate.

"Well, you do have to admit that the village does have some housing problems after the invasion." She points out and Naruto nods. "Though I think our next project should be fixing this apartment up. I mean, I think it would be warmer in here if that hole is patched up." She says as she gestures to the growing hole that's beginning to give them a glimpse of over hung pipes.

"I didn't know it's gotten so bad..." Naruto admits as she walks over to the table with the plate filled with eggs. "I'll remember to get you a book on how to fix it." She promises and Naruto chuckles in a sheepish fashion, it seems that idea of learning how to fix that hole from a book never crossed the blond's mind.

_I wonder how long until that girl finally tells Naruto her feelings..._ She wonders as she moves to check on the rice. It hadn't escaped her noticed the way that particular Hyuuga had been looking at Naruto and she's not sure how to deal with a rival for Naruto's affections but she's got this feeling that she is on the right track to winning Naruto's heart.

_I highly doubt that Pinkie will return his feels any time soon._ She muses with a slight smile. _None of the girls he knows seem to feel any attraction to him with the exception of the Hyuuga girl. So I've got plenty of time to lay the ground work of Naruto and mine relationship._

**The End...?**


	53. The Rising of the Moon Part 1: Digimon

**I don't own Digimon.**

- **o 0 o** -

**Takato**

Even without the moon shining down on him, he can feel it raise. Pain begins to rack his frame as his muscles begin to alter shape, a crack sounds after a few seconds signaling that his bones were beginning to be reshaped. A sense of power begins to overwhelm the pain as he lays on the ground just as fur begins to sprout out from his skin.

Finally the transformation is done and he sighs in relief. It takes him a few seconds for him to grow accustom to his new senses. _It's always a shock._ He admits thoughtfully as he gets to his feet.

He glances at the pile of cloths and at the strange device that he received after his mauling from a ShadowWereGarurumon, long before Digimon began to become news. He sighs as a bunch of what ifs and could have beens creep up to the forefront of his mind, at least until he gives himself a shake as he moves to work on the tunnel, a task that keeps his mind off of such wishful thoughts.

_Now let's see if I can't expand my 'lair'._ He muses to himself, just happy to have a task where he uses his massive strength, even if it's on a useless task.

**= - ) T ( - =**

He spots a familiar green Digimon hiding in a tree and moves to avoid Terriermon as he tries to complete his homework as he races to get into the building. He hears something fall a few inches to his right but doesn't pay it much heed, especially as muffled cursing reaches his ears. "I'll get him one day. . ." The partner Digimon reassures himself.

_Not if I can help it, dog._ He muses in a distracted manner, too busy trying to scribble down his formula for his last math problem.

He notices a red head girl, commonly known as the Ice Queen, arguing with a brunette, also known as the Digimon King, about something. "Excuseme,pardonme." He says as he swiftly moves to tip toe by the two to his left.

"Watch where you're going, you goggle-head!" Rika shouts as he manages to get through the door. a shout he didn't pay much mind too since he's busy with his homework to care.

He gets to the library to sit at one of the tables. Once his math homework is on the table top, he slings his book bag onto the chair before heading to pick out a book for his English book report. _Hopefully I won't be call on to read it today. . ._ He thinks hopefully.

**Rika**

She sighs as some teen vanishes into the school building, totally ignoring her shout. "Just who is that guy anyway?" Ryo asks her and she shrugs, her argument with forgotten with the intrusion.

"No clue, though he has good reflects." She admits and only pauses as she hears Jeri calls out.

"Hey Jeri." She says with a slight smile at the sight of her friend and fellow Tamer.

"Terriermon seems to be in a slightly foul mood. It seems he missed his target again." Jeri tells her as they begin to continue towards the doors of the school.

"And just who is his target?" Ryo asks and Jeri giggles before answering, "The same person since Christmas, Takato Matsuki."

"Who?" Ryo and her ask at the same time. Though she privately, she's slightly impressed that this Takato character managed to evade the rabbit's tricks.

"An old friend from elementary. He changed after spending three weeks in the hospital, he got badly mauled by something one night. We never found out what attacked him either." Jeri admits with a sigh.

"He hasn't told anyone about it? I mean, he must have seen whoever mauled him." Ryo muses and Jeri just shakes her head.

"It seems that he doesn't want to talk about it and nobody really blamed him. Even now he carries the scars from it." Jeri tells them.

After a few minutes of silence, they part ways, each heading off to their respective locker.

**Terriermon**

He glances down into the classroom below, eyeing his very elusive prey. _Takato Matsuki. . . your time is has come! You have been a willy opponent but there is no escaping from my tricks now!_ He thinks, mentally chuckling evilly.

As he brings the straw to his lips, he pauses in his chewing of a small bit of paper, taking a moment to savor this very special moment. A moment that does cause him to feel slightly sad that months of pursue of this one teen has finally come to an end.

As he points the straw end through the grid, he intakes and . . .

His eyes widen as the teen he set his sights on reaches down to pick up his neighbor's pen, the spit ball passes the seat and hits . . .

He gulps and quickly moves to the side of the air ducted. "Maybe she didn't notice it." He murmur and then he cringes as he hears Rika snarl his name.

"On second thought, perhaps now is the perfect time to do an in depth study in the life and times of Takato Matsuki, the prank evader." He murmurs before he flees through the air duct, making a note to find a tight spot where Renamon can't get at him.

**Rika**

She felt something hit her in the lower back and has she reaches down to pull down her shirt, she finds something wet and white there. As she looks around, she spots a straw wedged in an air duct grid and put two and two together.

"Terriermon!" She snarls and finds the kid behind her blinking owlishly before turning to follow her gaze.

A sigh causes her to glance at the guy behind her and it seems as if it's the first time she's seen him. Red hazel eyes with slightly tanned skin that has spiky bangs of brown hair that seems to be shoulder length. Her first thought is, _Cute._

Then a minor a-hem causes her to glance at the front once more. She feels her cheeks heat up but fights it down as she struggles to keep a blank look on her face. The teacher studies her for a few seconds before the instructor continues on with the lecture.

Not that her mind remained on the lecture that's happening, no, her thoughts began to consider her reaction to the teenage boy sitting behind her. It kind of startled her for some odd reason and she spent the rest of the class trying to figure out what it was about him to cause her to think that he's cute.

**Takato**

He suppresses a yawn as he moves to find a spot to have lunch. He could only imagine where Terriermon is hiding but he's fairly certain that Rika would be dealing with the digital dog during lunch, giving him some breathing space.

He perks as he feels something move in the hallway, a flash of yellow seems to shimmer for a few seconds before it vanishes. It takes him a few seconds to realize that he just glimpsed the elusive Renamon, partner to Rika, also commonly known as the Ice Queen and the Digimon Queen.

For a few minutes, he stands there, imagining what it would have been like to be partnered to a Digimon. Two have helped save two worlds but with a sigh, he shakes his head, dismissing those thoughts because he can't afford to get close to anyone. He rather not end up as a lab specimen thank you very much.

_Doesn't mean I can't dream, now does it?_ He admits as he finds an unlocked classroom to eat his lunch in. It didn't take long before he takes out his stretch book and begins to sketch the image of a crimson dino with a hazard sign on its chest.

**= - ) T ( - =**

"I'm home!" He calls out as he enters through the back door. Once his shoes were off and he has slippers on, he heads up to his room after grabbing a cheese bun out of the day old pile of bakery items.

"Welcome home, son." His father calls out from the front of the store.

Once in his room, he glances at the clock before dumping the contains on his desk. He sorts through his homework for his notes for his book report that's due today. Picking up the book, he begins to skim through it from where he left off.

It takes him about forty minutes to complete his book report for his English class before picking through his homework pile until he hears his mom call out that someone's on the phone for him. He couldn't help but be a bit puzzled about that since it's been a couple of years since he had anyone he would call a close friend.

Curious but also wary, he heads down the stairs to see who's calling him.

As he picks up the phone and says, "Hello?"

_"Takato?"_ He hears a familiar voice say over the line, it takes him a moment to place the name.

"Jeri?" He asks and she hums in confirmation. "It's been a while, huh?" He muses, very much puzzled as to why she's calling him.

_"Well, I guess it has, I don't suppose you want to hang out to catch up? Like go to a movie or something."_ Jeri suggests and he could swear he heard something coming over from the end of the line, like someone is moving the phone with something muffling the sound.

He glances at his Digivice to check the time. "Maybe at a different time, I've got something to do tonight. I guess I'm free tomorrow." He admits into the phone, not sure why she's calling him out of the blue but deciding to at least find out what's going on.

After exchanging a words, the line dies on Jeri's end and with a sigh, he glances at his Digivice before moving to get a few more bun to eat before heading out for the tunnel to spend the night.

_Girls, I get the feeling I'll never understand what goes through their mind._ He thinks as he tries to eat about a dozen buns before he heads upstairs to start one of his homework assignments.

**Rika**

"I can't believe you did that!" She hisses at Jeri, more then a little glad to have cut the conversation between the two short.

"But this is the first time you've shown interest in a boy! So of course I'm going to help you connect with him." Her friend and fellow Tamer says while they watch Leomon and Renamon spar in the garden of her house.

She can't help but huff slightly with a frown marring her face. _I should have expected something like this to happen after our conversation at lunch._

"So does that mean you won't come?" Jeri asks her, snaping her out of her thoughts.

"Fine, I'll come, if only to get a feel of the guy, just don't expect it to be love at first sight or whatever." She tells Jeri with her arms crossing over her chest.

- **o 0 o** -


	54. The Rising of the Moon Part 2: Digimon

**I don't own Digimon.**

- o 0 o -

**Terriermon**

"Geeze, he doesn't look like much, does he?" Impmon muses as they watch an exhausted Takato jog through the park. He's not sure why Impmon decided to tag along but he decided he could use the company.

"If he's so tired, why is he out jogging?" He wonders as he watches the teen stumble out of sight, likely heading home.

"Ah humans, who knows what drives them to do half of what they do?" Impmon muses from his position of leaning on the tree trunk. He huffs slightly but had to admit that the imp's musings had some credit to it.

"Well, let's follow him. I'm here to study his habits after all." He tells the virus before leaping off the branch and gliding down to the ground.

Once his feet hit the ground, he takes off running, confident that Impmon will follow since the Digimon had invited himself along for this trip.

**Takato**

With a yawn, he unlocks the door and enters before shutting the door and locking it. Sliding the key back into his pocket, he takes off his shoes before heading up stairs while carrying them. He usually leaves one pair out and locks his bedroom door before sneaking out through his window to head to the tunnel to spend the night.

Using another key, he unlocks his bedroom door and before doing anything else, moves to shut his window to the balcony. Once that's done, he puts the shoes he came in with in their usual spot before heading to have a shower to help him fully wake up.

Once that's done, he takes a few minutes of just laying on his bed before moving to get dressed. A glance at the mirror reminds him that he'll need to make a hair appointment to get it trimmed once more, something that he usually needs done after the three nights of transformation into that hybrid form between a Digital werewolf and being human.

Once dressed he begins to run his fingers through his shaggy head of hair while standing before a mirror. After a few seconds, he manages to get it close to how he wants it before beginning to pack up his homework into his book bag.

He glances at the clock on his Digivice before leaving the room. He doesn't lock it since that would cause suspicion with his parents. He manages to grab a pear and his pre-made lunch, once he finishes off a small glass of milk, he heads off to school at a dead run once he's sure that his book bag isn't about to fall off his shoulder.

Like yesterday, he makes it into the building and heads straight to the library to work on some of his newer assignments. He's just glad that the last night signaled the end of his three night stay at the tunnels and his 'den'.

**Rika**

She looks up and watches as a teen walks into the library. It takes her a few seconds to realize that this teenager was the same one that had been sitting behind him as well as that one that almost ran into Ryo and her yesterday morning. _So that's Takato Matsuki huh?_

She watches as Takato pulls out geology homework. It takes her a few minutes to give herself a shake and returns to doing her Biology homework, trying to ignore the boy who seems to be very good at causing her gaze and thoughts to drift towards him.

About fifteen minutes after Takato arrives, everyone begins to pack up their stuff so they can go to class. As she's about to head out of the library, she bumps into Takato. As she turns to regard him with a carefully controlled expression on her face, she notices how Takato's eyes widen as he realize who she is.

"Sorry." Takato murmurs as he pulls away to allow her to pass. She turns to hide a frown, she couldn't put her finger on it but something seems different about Takato today, something that seemed to have changed overnight.

Just before she moves out of the way, she turns to look at the teenage boy and says, "You're Takato Matsuki, right? Jeri said something about wanting to hang out today."

She watches as the hazel red eyed boy stiffens slightly with his eyes widen, the looks reminds her of a deer caught in the headlights.

"Err... yea, I think so. Why?" Takato asks in confusion.

"Just wanted to make sure." She says before she frowns. "Is your hair usually that shaggy?" She asks as an after thought.

"I plan to get it cut on Thursday." Takato tells her and with a nod, she turns away from him to head off to her class.

She couldn't help but be glad that none of the others had been around to watch that little conversation between Takato and herself. _Ryo and his 'fangirls' would be teasing the heck out of me while Jeri goes googoo about my 'crush' on that goggle-head._

**Henry**

"Have any of you guys seen Terriermon?" He asks his fellow Tamers. "It's not like him to stay out of trouble this long at school."

"Maybe he's after Takato? I mean, that's who's he's been after since Christmas, right?" Jeri muses and he frowns as he considers this.

"Which one is he again?" Ryo asks and he had to agree with Ryo on that one, he doesn't seem to recall anyone by that name.

"He use to be good friend of ours before he got mauled. After that he just kind of distanced himself from everyone. Then when Digimon started showing up on the news, he started looking sickly, which is kind of a bummer since he used to be totally into Digimon." Kazu explains and he blinks, but didn't see how that reaction is out of place since plenty of people had been panicking about it and it only picked up with the arrival of the D-Reaper.

"Well, it sounds like it was a common reaction back then." Ryo muses and he nods in agreement.

"I guess, but that doesn't explain why he became so distant all of a sudden and especially before anyone even began reporting on Digimon appearing in the real world." Kazu says and he sighs.

"You know, he could have been mauled by a Digimon." He muses and everyone looks at him in surprise and puzzlement.

"That would have had to before Juggernaut was activated, opening up a way for the Devas to come through." Rika muses from her seat next to him. Kazu, Kenta, and Jeri all look thoughtful as they thought on this.

"That's kind of a disturbing thought." Kenta admits and his partner nods in agreement from his position on Kenta's left shoulder.

"And it would explain why he refused to talk about what mauled him." Kazu says with a frown.

"Maybe we should change the subject. I doubt Takato would want us trying to bug him about it after all this time." Jeri suggests and he could tell that the suggestion got adopted fairly quickly.

And so the conversation moves onto other, safer topics.

**Takato**

_Well, this is a new one, that dog hasn't tried to prank me all day._ He muses as he walks home to take a nap before he meets with Jeri and Rika around seven. He couldn't help the ill feelings about the whole hanging out thing.

As he's about to walk through the gates leading into the street, Terriermon's human partner, Henry Wong, stops him. "I don't suppose you've seen Terriermon today?"

He blinks in surprise before answering, "I was wondering where he was since he hasn't tried anything today."

Henry begins to frown and he couldn't help but feel a sense of impending doom. "He's been gone the whole day." Henry muses, likely more to himself then for his benefit.

"Well, I guess he'll show up soon. He kind of strikes me as the type who can't help but be center of attention." He admits and Henry blinks before nodding in agreement.

With a nod, he turns away from the Tamer and heads home, wondering just what kind of trouble he's about to face soon.

**= - ) T ( - =**

"Takato, what have we told you about bringing home pets?" His mom says as he's switching out of his runners and putting on a pair of slippers. He pauses and gives his parental unit a puzzling look.

"Huh? I didn't bring home anything, why?" He asks and his mom blinks before explaining, "Well, there's been all sorts of sounds coming from your room today."

"I don't know why but I think I might know who it might be." He muses with a sigh. As he walks over to the phone, he asks, "The school phone book is by the phone, right?" His mom nods and moves to take some stuff out of the oven.

After a quick phone call, he walks up the stairs, he makes sure to do so slowly and with as much stealth he could muster. As he approaches his room, he pauses to listens as best as he can. Soft snoozes greet him and with a frown, he walks to his door frame and opens it.

_Well, you don't see that everyday._ He muses as he finds his room looking like a mini disaster occurred; various cloths, cards, drawings, and books are scattered about the floor, his desk, chair, and bed. He leans on the door frame with a soft smile gracing his face at the sight of three Digimon passed out on his bed.

The green rookie is the one he expected, the white one was an iffy one but he's a bit confused about why the purple would be in his room. _Terriermon, Calumon, and Impmon._ He names them with a sigh before scratching the side of his head.

_Well, hopefully Henry will be here soon to pick up his partner and perhaps take the other two away as well._ He admits, although a part of him couldn't help but wonder if they're on to him and that Terriermon's been tailing him for more then just pulling pranks on him.

_I'm getting paranoid aren't I? They can't have put it together, I haven't allowed myself to appear out in public since I found that tunnel and the room off to the side._ He tells himself as he remains leaning on the door frame, trying to think of reasons why Jeri would call him and that Terriermon's only after him because he managed to evade the various pranks the green Digimon has tried to use on him.

He only came out of it as he hears his dad call his name.

- o 0 o -


	55. The Rising of the Moon Part 3: Digimon

**I don't own Digimon.**

- o 0 o -

**Henry**

"I can't believe you broke into Takato's room! I think it's time that you leave the poor guy alone, Terriermon." He tells his partner while carrying the green rookie in his arms before him. As he shakes his head in disbelief of the lengths his partner is willing to go to just to prank one teen.

"Momentai, Henry, momentai! It's not as if I stole anything or ruined anything in the kitchen." The long eared digital dog says.

"Terriermon, that's not the point! You been bothering him at school since Christmas! It's not the end of the world if you don't get to prank one Takato Matsuki, Terriermon. It's time you leave the poor guy alone." He tells the rookie.

Then with a sigh he adds, "I can't believe you brought Impmon in to help you too. You do remember what his idea of 'fun' was before the D-Reaper, right? You shouldn't tempt him to return to his old habits."

"Oh come on, Henry! I almost had him yesterday! I'm sure I'll get him if you give me one last shot!" Terriermon whines but he's already decided to stand firm on this.

"Just no, Terriermon, no. From now on you're to leave Takato Matsuki alone. You had your chance and now it's time to turn your sights onto something different. You're becoming obsessed with this guy, Terriermon. So not another word about pranking Takato Matsuki, got it?" He says and glances down at the top of Terriermon's head.

"Ah, Henry..." Terriermon whines but he just sighs.

"Just let it go, Terriermon. Enough is enough." He says softly.

**Rika**

"So Henry and Terriermon aren't going to make it?" Ryo asks and she nods.

"It seems Henry's decided to put his foot down on Terriermon's obsession with pranking Takato." She tells Ryo in a dry manner as she watches Jeri in a match with Kenta.

"Boy is Henry going to regret that." Kazu muses from his position next to his partner, Guardromon.

The other Digimon are hanging around in a bored fashion, MarineAngemon resting on one of Guardromon's shoulder plates, Renamon resting on a branch of a tree, Leomon and Cyberdramon are busy staying alert for intruders like news reporters.

"I'm sure he's up for the challenge or he wouldn't have forbidden his partner from pranking Takato." Kenta says in support of Henry.

Before the conversation could continue, Cyberdramon growls deeply and within an instant, everyone reach for their D-Arc. Seconds later, they only find a single teen coming towards them and within seconds, everyone relaxes once they got a better look at him. Although Cyberdramon seems to tense as Takato continues to get closer.

"Hey Takato! Glad to see that you made it!" Jeri calls out as Kenta and her pick up their discarded hands.

"Hi." The new comer says as a greeting, Takato's hazel red eyes glance over the group until they land on a very tense Cyberdramon.

"Don't mind him, he's usually like that." Ryo says as the Digimon King moves to shake hands with Takato. Takato gives the helmet Digimon a nervous glance while a slightly frown graces the guy's face.

"Are you sure? I mean if he really doesn't like me I'll go." Takato offers but Ryo waves it away.

"Trust me, it's fine. He's just the loner type is all, doesn't do too well in a group." Ryo assures the group's visitor.

Giving Cyberdramon a passing glance, Takato allows Ryo to bring him towards the center of the group. Jeri flashes Takato a grin before focusing once more on the game going on while Ryo plays host by formally introducing Takato to their partners.

She watches as hints of awe flicker across Takato's face with each introduction. _Well, that's better then most people's reactions._ She admits privately to herself.

"And then there's us, although I believe that Henry and Terriermon won't be making it today because of what happened at your house." Ryo says and Takato nods as he moves to get a better view of the card game going on.

"I never thought... Huh." Takato muses with a thoughtful look before it gives way to an embarrassing one.

"Didn't think we still played, huh?" Kazu says and Takato nods as he moves to sit down a bit apart from them.

"I guess this means you didn't bring your deck either, huh?" Kazu asks and Takato sighs.

"I haven't touched them since I stored them in one of my desk drawers." Takato admits looking kind of uneasy about it.

"How long since you actually played?" Kazu asks with a touch of disbelief, it seems as if the visor wearing teen couldn't believe what Takato's told them.

Kenta and Jeri both seem to be surprised by this as they were both starting in stun surprise at Takato. Takato stares intently at the ground and she traded looks with Ryo. _It's as if he just told them that the sky is pink and the clouds are made out of whip cream._ She muses with a frown but getting the feeling that Takato must have been a very avid player once upon a time.

_Maybe that theory about getting mauled by a Digimon isn't as far fetched as I thought._ She thinks as she watches Kazu, Kenta, and Jeri slowly recover from this shocking revelation about their former friend.

**Takato**

_Well, that was a bust._ He muses as he walks home about an hour after he arrived at the park. _Hopefully, I won't be asked to hang out again, not after this evening's disaster._ He thinks as he kicks a rock out of the way as he travels through the street without a destination in mind.

_The way they looked at me, as if I suddenly grown two heads... I guess whatever connection I had with them really can't be repaired._ He admits with a sigh.

He blinks as he finds himself stopped before a very familiar entrance way. With a glance around, he climbs over the gate and walks into the entrance way of the tunnel. He leans on the railing as he stares down the tunnel.

The familiarity of the tunnel helps to relax him from his encounter with three former friends and their team-mates. After a few minutes, he straightens and heads out of the tunnel to head home to get some sleep. He'll worry about his homework later, for now, he just wants to rest in preparation for tomorrow.

As he exits out of the door, he pauses as he feels a sudden breeze kicks up for a few seconds but with a shake, he puts his hands into his jacket pocket and towards the gate that he needs to climb over so he can head home.

**= - ) T ( - =**

He couldn't help but feel the tension of the last few weeks lighten now that he's in a secure location. As he undresses, he tries to really pin point who out of the Tamers bugged him the most since that little hang out the day after his last transformation night.

_Well, at least Henry's been too busy to do much other then keep track of his partner then to join them in trying to press for details of my mauling._ He thinks and with a frown he couldn't help but add, _And why are they trying to bring that up? It's not as if they seem to care until after that disastrous meeting._

As he finishes undressing, he pauses for a few seconds to stare down at his assortment of cloths. _I wonder if I can't talk mom and dad into allowing me to finish high school with Kai. If they're on to me, it might be wise to leave the city for a while. I'm sure I can find a 'haunted' cave or something to transform in._ He muses as a sudden thought of finally getting out of this tunnel and away from the 'lair' that he's building.

He is forced to snap out of his thoughts as a familiar sensation occurs within his body. As he falls onto the floor, his bones crack and shift into new position. Seconds later, he's fully transformed and with a sigh, he gets to his feet.

He pauses as a new scent reaches his nose and causes him to frown. Dropping down to the ground to see if he can location more of it. He finds that it's a fairly old scent one that's about a week old, one that hangs around the door, which causes him to frown as he considers what this could mean.

After a few minutes, he glances at the pile of cloths and within seconds, he picks them up and places them a few feet into his 'den' just in case somebody decides to visit this room tonight.

_I believe I should start looking for a new place to use._ He decides as he continues to move more into his 'lair'.

**Henry**

"Where are we going?" He asks Terriermon who's following Impmon.

"Well, it seems we got a Digimon that's been carving up the tunnel." Terriermon says and Impmon nods.

"We think this guy only uses the tunnel for one week out of a month. Likely migrates between hide outs so's not to attract attention. We think he'll be here tonight or here in a day or two." Impmon says and he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this reasoning.

"How'd you find this place anyway?" He asks and the two Digimon glance at each other.

"Well, I followed that Takato kid check it out after hanging out with yous guys. He spent a few minutes in the tunnel before leaving. It wasn't until I hear yous guys talk about him getting mauled did I figure that it might have happened there, in the tunnel. So I checked around until I found this room and on entering it,guess what I saw?" Impmon says.

"What did you see?" He asks as they arrive at the locked gate.

"The back wall totally destroyed and it looks like something pretty big and strong digging some kind of cave. I didn't got far into it but it's been worked on recently from some of the dirt that's littering the floor. I even saw some claw marks on the solid wall." Impmon tells him.

He glances over at Terriermon and the green rookie nods in agreement. "Impmon told me and a few days later, I visited the place and what ever kind of Digimon dug it, it was a canine. Although I did catch Takato's scent in the room too. So either Takato's got himself a partner or this Digimon has been threatening him do keep silent about it being around the city." Terriermon says.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to check it out." He admits and Terriermon flashes him an approving grin.

And so, he climbs over the locked chain fence and falls to the ground. Catching the pair before they head to the door. "Hey! Takato's visited about an hour or two ago!" Terriermon declares before he's even openned the door to the tunnel.

"You sure?" He asks and Terriermon says as he taps his nose, "The nose knows."

_Maybe I should have left a message with the others about this._ He thinks as they walk down the stairs.

Once more the two Digimon take the lead and after about twenty minutes of walking they arrive at a door. As he opens the door, Terriermon says, "Ah oh."

Impmon creates a ball of fire and walks into the room. "He's here and Takato's here too." Terriermon says and as he reaches for his D-Arc, the sound of scratching stops.

A soft snarl seems to echo out of the large hole before a pair of glowing eyes stare out of the hole. Before he could say anything, Impmon fires the fire ball at the edge of the cave and as it explodes they all get a good look at the Digimon.

_Oh sh-_ He thinks as the wolfman type Digimon howls as it leaps out of the hole.

- o 0 o -


	56. The Rising of the Moon Part 4: Digimon

**I don't own Digimon.**

- o 0 o -

**Takato**

On hearing voices out in the tunnel, he begins to move towards the opening while running his left set of claws along the wall of the den. His nails snag on something and he begins to scratch at the area to try and correct it.

As the door opens, he hears a very familiar voice say some his name and glances out into the room once his hand is free. With a soft growl he walks move towards the opening of his den.

Before he knew it, a ball of fire hits the ground not far from him and he howls out in surprise as he leaps into the room and glares at the two Digimon and the human.

He feels his ears flatten against his skull as he shows off his pointed teeth, hoping to scare the group out of this room. Impmon moves quickly and rapidly fires off a few fireballs at him. Two of the fireballs hit his right hand and he back hands the purple Digimon into the wall as he sucks on his right hand while trying to fend off Terriermon.

Suddenly suddenly he's in pain and glances to the wall to find Beelzemon standing there with a gun pointed at him. Once his right hand is out of his mouth, he howls in pain as his left hand moves to cover the gun shot wound as he drops. He slowly reaches for his Digivice and pockets it in the rugged jeans that usual appear after he transforms.

"That's enough! We might need him to find out where Takato is." Henry declares as the teen moves to stand between Beelzemon and him.

He everything seems to be crashing down and he panics. As fast as he can he bolts to move out of the room. Henry tries to stop him and he scratches Henry while still holding his side, pushing the Tamer into Beelzemon.

"Henry!" Terriermon cries out while Beelzemon shouts out, "Get your hairy ass back here, you mangy wolf!"

He keeps running down the tunnel, even as he trips, he runs away while still clutching his side. _I will not become a lab specimen!_ He thinks as he races down the tunnel, fleeing from a life behind steel doors and one way glasses.

**Henry**

"He got you good." Terriermon muses as he uses ripped stripes to bind the scratches he received from the black wolfman Digimon.

"I don't think he tried to do it, he just wanted me out of the way." He says as he tries to tie a knot on the make shift bandages.

"Yea well, other then some dirty cloths there isn't anything else in that cave he dug out. I even found a hole where he's been dumping the dirt." Terriermon tells him and he glances at the assortment of cloths resting behind the rookie.

"They've got Takato's scent all over them; well there's wolfy's scent on them too." His partner admits and he sighs.

"I wonder if Beelzemon caught up with him..." He wonders as he takes out his D-Arc and begins to push some of the buttons until an image of the black Digimon appears.

"No data? How can that be? It's not like this Digimon is a Deva or something!" Terriermon shouts and he gives his partner a wary look as the hologram vanishes. He couldn't help but frown at the screen of his D-Arc before he takes out his cell.

"I just hope nothing's wrong with Takato." He admits with a sigh as he listens to the phone ring. _Although, I highly doubt we'd want to find a naked Takato Matsuki._

**= - ) T ( - =**

"Go away, Terriermon. I don't feel too good at the moment." He says from his position of laying face down on the bed.

"Ok ok, shhs, I'm going!" The green Digimon says and just as the door finish closing, he let's out a sharp cry of pain as something within him seems to... to... _shift_. Unbearable pain follows this sudden feeling.

Soon the room is filled with beeping as his D-Arc begins to act up as he tries to get to his feet but his balance seems off. Suddenly something cracks and he finds himself once more on the bed as his body rebels against him.

His cloths suddenly seem to dig right into his body. He screams out in pain and the computer he has in the room begin to act out. His vision swims as his cloths finally rip apart at the steams.

"Henry? Henry!" He hears Terriermon cry out and he glances at the door before he arcs his back as he gets a look at himself in the computer monitors that rest on the desk.

At the sight that greets him, he suddenly regrets looking at them as the sight that greets him. Then as something begins to replace the pain, his D-Arc finally glows and a beam of light hits him.

Everything seems to explode and as he feels the ground under him, he shakes his head as his senses try to overload him. As he glances down at himself, he finds white fur covering him as well as a pair of rugged pair of green jeans on him. He whimpers softly at the sight of his partner and as he nudges the rookie Digimon, he hears someone scream.

He snarls at the sound as he puts his hands over his ears and as he looks up, he finds Suzie standing there. He stops snarling as Suzie's screaming increases in volume. He cringes and begins to walks backwards, he trips over the bed and finally, he flings himself at the window.

He amazingly manages to land on the street below without any injury. As cars try and swerve around him, people are beginning to recover from their shock and after glancing around, he leaps over a car and lands on all fours.

_Well, now I know why we didn't find Takato in that 'lair'._ He admits as he tries to keep to the alleyways. _ But for now, I believe I'm going to try and survive the night._ He adds as he pauses to take a breather by a large trash can.

**Rika**

"What did this Digimon look like?" Ryo asks Suzie while she examines the destroyed window and a bit of the wall. The green rabbit is resting on the bed with Lopmon attending him.

"Fairly tall, white furred wolf Digimon had been crouching by Terriermon when I came to stand by the door." The kid says before she frowns. "I began to scream and it then snarls at me, then on seeing me, began to back away until it throws itself at the window. Once it was gone, I ran to check on Terriermon before I phoned daddy's work."

She sighs and turns away from the opening and begins to glance around the room, she bends down to each a ruined stripe of shirt. _Didn't Henry wear something like this at school today?_ She thinks as she picks it up.

"No blood." She muses softly before straightening and looking about to make sure that none of the other pieces contain any traces of blood.

"I think he's coming too!" Lopmon says and they gather around the green rookie.

"Henry... I can't believe it... Then the light..." Terriermon says and she couldn't help but frown while Ryo asks, "What about Henry? Did you see the Digimon do something to him?"

"Poor Henry... It must have hurt..." Terriermon trails off as he once more slips from consciousness to unconsciousness.

"That... didn't explain anything." She states and Ryo just sighs.

"Well, hopefully Cyberdramon and Renamon will be able to take it down." Ryo says and she sighs.

"There's something that we're missing. First there's a black furred wolf type and now a white one. I mean, why would Henry's shirt in tatters but there isn't a trace of blood? Why didn't it attack Suzie? If it had just finished off Henry with Terriermon in the room, why not do the same to Suzie?" She wonders and then after a few minutes of silence, both of their D-Arcs beep.

Once the pair of Digivices are before them, two different holograms appear with two similar looking Digimon appearing in the picture. In her screen is a white wolfman Digimon and a quick glance at Ryo's shows a black wolfman Digimon.

"That's the one that Henry and them must have encountered." Ryo says which causes her to nod in agreement as the black furred one snarls at Cyberdramon and she notices the color of this one's eyes.

"That's the one I saw!" Suzie says, causing her to look back at her own viewing hologram.

"Honey yellow eyes." She muses softly as the white furred one seems to be looking for an escape route. "He's not looking for a fight." She states.

_"He's fearful, not an attitude you expect from a killer."_ Renamon murmurs and she nods in agreement.

"Try talking to him first, see if he won't come in without a fight." She suggests before shooting Suzie a minor look to keep her from saying otherwise.

"What could be on that ship that would interest him?" Ryo wonders and she turns to stare at Ryo's imagine just long enough to watch as the black wolfman gets hit by one of Cyberdramon's attacks, right in the lower back.

A splash is heard and the black furred wolf Digimon doesn't break surface. "Circle around, Cyberdramon. And if he breaks surface, don't kill him, we need to see if there are others." Ryo orders through his D-Arc but she doubts that the ultimate will comply, not when Ryo's not there to stay the dragon's hand.

- o 0 o -


	57. The Rising of the Moon Part 5: Digimon

**I don't own Digimon.**

- o 0 o -

**Henry**

He couldn't help but pace about in the room he's been ushered into once he followed Renamon to Hypnos.

After Renamon left and those guards stand before the door, he tried to relax but he couldn't suppress the urge to do something. _Which explains why Takato dug into that wall._ He muses as he paces around the room, glancing at the camera up in the corner every so often.

He growls softly as his fingers twitch whenever he glanced at the table or at the clock. He's just so bored! He also wonders why they've haven't come in to try and interrogate him, but then, they might be after Takato.

Thinking about that teen, he could only hope that nothing has happened to him. _He's gone through enough. True, he did infect me but he had just gotten shot by Beelzemon..._ Then he pauses in his pacing to frown as a new thought begins to bloom within his mind.

_I wonder just who infected him with this... virus? And why did my fur suddenly change color? Did my Digivice alter the virus when that light hit me? If it did, then why couldn't it eliminate the virus?_ He wonders for a while before he just sighs heavily before noticing that it's almost six am.

As he's about to get up, he felt a bit dizzy. He shakes his head but the only seems to cause the dizziness to increase. Suddenly the air gets knocked out of him, causing him to fall onto the floor as a large crack echo.

He then rolls on his back as he tries to draw breath but it doesn't work and he feels as if he's strength is being drained. His vision swims as pain fills his mind and then, he finds himself breathing quick, swallow breathes.

As he moves to rub his temples, he finds that his arm has returned to normal. He just stares at them for a while as he finally gets his breathing under control.

**Rika**

She feels her face redden as she realizes that she's staring at a naked fellow Tamer. "I think someone had better send him something to wear or something to cover himself with." She muses as she turns to look at some place but the monitor depicting her team-mate.

"Do you realize what this mean?" Kenta says and she frowns as she turns to look at the glass wearing teen.

"That Beelzemon shot _Takato_ in that room. That _Takato_ is the one to have drowned in that river front." Kenta stresses and she suddenly felt cold at the thought.

"Which leaves us to try and explain to his parents about how their son died." She whispers.

It didn't take long before she schools her expression but within her, she feels a lot of guilt at her part in causing Takato's 'condition' to be exposed.

"I'm going to go inform Henry's dad that we've found Henry." She says after shaking off her guilt for the time being.

Kenta just nods and she leaves the room to give the news in person.

**Takato**

He continues to cling to the side of the ship's haul for as long as he's able. He's not sure whether to be glad that he's still beastly looking in daylight hours.

_But then, I've been like this since I ran out of the tunnel. I haven't transformed back to human that first dawn and I still haven't._ He admits as he glances at the dawn.

He shakes his head as he tries to consider if he should climb up onto the deck or just remain where he is, with his head about a foot above the water's surface.

_I hope this is the right ship..._ He thinks as he decides to take a short nap, after all, clinging to the haul is slightly tiring but he's confident that his grip on the metal haul will remain doing so.

_Just hope that nobody notices me hanging here._ He muses to himself from his position at the back of the ship.

**Henry**

The door opens about twenty some minutes after he reverted back to his human self. He couldn't help but think the whole experience was surreal, although it doesn't explain how his hair seems to have grown longer then it should.

_Though why would it would affect my hair..._ He muses and snaps out of his thoughts as the door opens.

"Dad?" He says and his father nods.

"Rika suggested that when I come down that I bring something so that you can cover yourself in." Janyu says as his father tosses him a sheet.

He catches it as he realizes that he is indeed naked, that his cloths had fallen away from him during his transformation. Hastily he wraps the sheet about his waist while his face burns with his gaze fixating at a point by his father's shoes.

"We're going to have to run a battery of tests. Hopefully we'll discover a cure." Janyu says and he glances at his father.

"Any word about Takato?" He asks as he looks up into his father's face.

"We believed he drowned." His father tells him and he felt as if someone sucker punched him.

**Confidential Report**

**Subject: Digital Lycanthropy**

_'Various test have confirmed that Henry Wong is a Digital Lycanthrope. During testing it has been revealed that through the saliva the hybrid virus is passed from one human being to another human being. On another note, it seems that injecting samples into a Digimon doesn't effect them.'_

_'The body of Takato Matsuki has never been recovered so no study can be made of the originator of this virus. It is theorized that unless Matsuki's body is founded that there can be no complete cure for this Digital Lycanthropy even though Henry Wong's Digivice did seem to install a few lines of vaccine codes before Wong fully transformed. Because of this, it is decided that a study of the original codes that Matsuki would have possessed that we would likely yield a cure.'_

_'Studies on the virus have proven that a Digimon of the Garurumon line is likely the one to have mauled Matsuki. This would explain the coloration of Matsuki and Wong's coats. The coat coloration is reminiscent of the differences between Garurumon of the vaccine and virus types. Without being able to study Matsuki, we are unable to confirm if Wong is of a lower Generation or on equal standing with Matsuki.'_

_'During physical tests it has been discovered that when transformed, Wong possess a Digimon's inability to be harmed by weaponry of a non-Digital source. It is unknown if this would be pass down if Wong's saliva is used to create more Digital Lycanthropes.'_

_'Military has decided to close this study until which time Takato Matsuki's body could be recovered.'_

**Takato**

He frowns after reading the soaked file that had washed ashore in a cheap tin box. He feels guilt at what he transferred to Henry but he felt very vindicated that he had been right to flee that night.

"What you reading, Takatomon?" Guilmon asks and he turns to smile softly at his created partner, one that he created after his Digivice touched a blue card about three months ago. He's still not too sure what to make of the red Digimon, especially since the Digimon seems to believe that this isn't what the world is suppose to be like.

"Just an old file, boy. One that's truly out of date." He tells the inquisitive rookie as he closes the file, the rest of the information's ink has run so he couldn't read much of the file, causing him to puzzle out bits on his own.

Guilmon hums thoughtfully before looking out at the ocean. He glances at the tin box and notices a few more files within it. He takes out the paper and then tries to dump the water out of the tin before putting them back in.

"Well, we should head back, Kai's likely has dinner ready." He says and Guilmon nods.

"Oie dokie." The red rookie says in his child-like tone.

With the box and documents likely dating back about six to seven years, they headed away from the beach as the sun begins to get lower in the sky.

"Do you think we'll ever hook up with the Tamers again, Takato?" Guilmon asks him after a time.

He shrugs as he replies, "Maybe, but don't expect me to leave this island. I rather not end up in a lab so they can figure out how to 'improve' their Super Soldiers so they don't degrade into blood thirsty machines of destruction."

"Sounds fair." Guilmon chirps and he couldn't help but shake his head at his partner.

- o 0 o -


	58. Same Destiny, Different Worlds: Digimon

- o 0 o -

**Don't Own Digimon!**

- o 0 o -

Tai Kamiya

_The world has gone crazy._ He thinks to himself as he slowly walks through a park as he follows his sister, although to be honest, he doesn't recall Kari being that... pale last time he saw her. Then with a sigh, he thinks with a slight frown, _Maybe this is all a dream? I mean, I was laying on that bench waiting for Matt and Sora to show so we can catch that film... I mean, how else could I wake to find myself in a park with Kari standing over me?_

Nodding his head, he decides that this all is just some kind of dream as he finally catches up with Kari, who's standing just outside a group of kids who seem to be using some kind of devices to do battle with each other. He couldn't make out what shape the toys were since there were quiet a bit of kids blocking his view, even though he's a fifteen year old. He hears Kari sigh softly and glances towards his younger sibling, he couldn't help but raise a questioning eyebrow at the young preteen, not that Kari seems to notice that he's studying her since it seems as though her focus is more inward then outward. He glances away after a few seconds to see if he can't spot a familiar face among the players and the crowd, after all, he wouldn't mind seeing TK or one of the other younger Digidestine.

"You want to get some ice cream or something?" He asks Kari after moving closer to her side. The question seems to startle his sister out of her thoughts so she can turn to stare at him with a hint of surprise.

Kari doesn't seem to trust her voice so she just nods and with a slight grin, he guides her towards a vendor. He fishes around for his wallet he manages to pull out his Digivice from one of his pockets until he finally finds some loose change. He pockets the white device before counting out the amount needed to pay for the two cones. It's about then did he realizes that he doesn't have his jacket, which contains his wallet, but as he's about to say something, he pauses to consider a few things before just shrugging it off, after all, this is just a dream, right? He'll likely wake up to find himself on that bench with either Matt or Sora standing over him, waking him so they can finally see that movie.

"Thanks Taichi." Kari says and he just grins at his sister. "No problem, it's what big brothers are for, right?" He says and Kari smiles slyly at him before they walk away from the vendor with their ice cream cones.

"So, how's school?" He asks as they walk down the paved paths, one of which seems to be taking them to a fountain. _This dream is turning out to be fairly ok._

"It's been going ok, I guess. I got a English project due at the end of the month." Kari says after glancing his way, almost a bit surprised that he'd be interested.

"Anything exciting happen recently?" He inquires and it continues on like this as they ate the ice cream and cones while walking throughout the park. He's kind of surprised at some of Kari's answers, particularly as he subtlety inquires about her 'boyfriends', AKA the almost one sided rivalry between Davis and TK. He didn't press those kinds of issues, deciding that it's just some part of him that's indecisive about which of the two he would prefer Kari to date.

_This is a pretty good dream._ He decides as they sit down next to a tree trunk after a quick stop to the drinking fountain to wash their hands using said water.

o_)-(_o

Hikari Yagami

_Something is different about Taichi..._ She couldn't help but think as they sit under a tree. _He didn't even try to get into the center of that match to get a better view of those battles. He showed a lot of interest in my life, tried to tease me about having a pair of boyfriends..._ She mentally lists, glancing sideways at her elder brother, wondering if she liked the change or not and how it came about within a short nap on the grass.

With a soft sigh, she glances away from Taichi to look about, almost half expecting to spot one of the Saiba to show up, causing Taichi to revert to his usual self to go chat with them and forget that she's with him. Not that she didn't like her either of the two, it's just that, at times it felt like the two were her brother's stalkers considering how often they bump into the pair of siblings while trying to have sibling bonding time. There were times when she believes that Rei and Taichi were a real couple based on how they behave together, not that she ever screwed up the courage to ask Taichi if they were going out in the girlfriend/boyfriend fashion.

_Although, that could be why Neo always show up within minutes of Rei and Taichi meeting..._ She muses as she leans back onto the trunk of the tree to stare up at the leaves growing on the tree. Her imagination kind of running wild about the 'romantic' moments that could occur between the two. It got really creative at the thought of Neo getting added to the equation...

"You ok? You look like you're burning up." Taichi says, causing her to snap out of her thoughts to realize that her brother is giving her a worried look. She couldn't help but feel her face burn deeper as she realizes where her thoughts had been just moments ago.

"I'm... fine." She manages to stutter out and Taichi just kind of frowns, but finally sighs. "Really, I am." She says a bit firmer as she tries to control her embarrassment.

"Well... If you're sure." Taichi finally relents after searching her face for a few seconds, which causes her to be a bit startled that he let it go and very relieved that he let it go. _Well, that was close, at least he didn't try and take my temperature thinking that I'm coming down with something..._ She muses.

"It's getting late. Maybe we should head home." She says after a half an hour.

"Wonder what we'll be having for supper. Hopefully not liver sticks." Taichi muses as he helps her get up off the grass, she giggles at the thought as they walk away from the spot, it didn't take long before she takes the lead. _This was a great afternoon, wish we could have another like it._ She thinks to herself.

o_)-(_o

Taichi Yagami

"Why am I in a mall?" He couldn't help but wonder out loud to himself after being forced to vacate the bench because of a mall guard. He also didn't recall wearing a jacket to the park but he's wearing one now and it feels as though his wallet is within one of the pockets too, not that he's going to pull it out just to check it out.

After walking around, he finds a spot on the railing and leans on it to look down at the main level. He blinks as a familiar looking preteen weaves between the various crowds below while in the company of a white hat wearing preteen. As the familiar preteen turns to give him a better look at her face, he suddenly growls as he realizes that his baby sister is currently in the company of some boy. With protective instincts kicking in, he glances around as he comes up with a route in which to get to the pair and to, hopefully, scare off the punk who's acting way too familiar with his kid sister.

_I might not spent a whole lot of time with Hikari but that doesn't mean I'm going to let some punk manhandle her!_ He thinks while another part of him couldn't help but wonder when his sister got a wardrobe upgrade since it's fairly rare to see Hikari in such brightly colored cloths since she always seemed to prefer earth tones. For a moment a thought of all this being a dream crosses his mind but he decides to reflect on that later, like after scaring the preteen punk away.

"Hey Tai, how's it going?" The hat wearing punk says, seeing him as the two preteens were about to enter into a shop. "Did you get Matt's E-Mail?" Hikari asks him and he glances at his kid sister, finally noticing a few changes that pretty much confuses him since he's never seen Hikari look so... so healthy.

"Ah... No." He says, kind of bewildered at how... out going his sister seems, which kind of contrasts his image of Hikari. "You're not on a date, are you?" He asks, glancing between the two, noticing that the kid with the hat has blue eyes and apparently dirty blond hair from the few strands that escape the white hat.

"Tai..." Hikari groans, clearly embarrassed while the guy blinks, clearly looking surprised that he would ask and embarrassed that he did indeed ask that. "I've told you this a hundred times already, I'm not ready to date and I don't need you to help me pick who to date either." Hikari says and he notices that the hat wearing preteen looks a bit bemused at the way the conversation is going while he's a bit bewildered at how Hikari's acting since he could never recall them ever having a conversation like this before he woke up in this mall.

_Never mind the fact that she's out with somebody her age..._ A minor part of him remarks. "Ok... No need to bite my head off." He says taking a step back.

"Anyway, have you hear from Izzy today? He seems upset about this freak phenomenon that's suppose to have occurred around noon and again around midnight." The preteen guy says, changing the subject which was more then fine by him since he's at a lost at how to deal with Hikari at this particular time.

_Izzy? Must be a friend of his._ He decides as he asks, "What kind of phenomenon are we talking about?" As he follows the two into the store, it's not as if he has any real plans for today, although he is suppose to hang out with Hikari today at the park... _Might as well do so here in this mall. And just maybe this whole thing will slowly make sense._

"Nothing dangerous according to Gennai, just some kind of dimensional phenomenon that should correct itself when midnight rolls around. Not that Gennai really said anything about what kind of things this phenomenon affects or if they're dangerous or not." The guy says, he couldn't help but wonder why the guy seems to be so comfortable around him since he is Hikari's protective older brother.

"What do you two think of this?" Hikari asks after looking at herself in the mirror while holding up a dress. "TK? Tai?" Hikari asks, finally giving him a name to go with the blond.

"Kind of perky, isn't it?" He asks as he recalls a minor scene Hikari had made when their mother brought something similar a year or two ago.

"What's wrong with perky?" Hikari asks him with a minor raised eyebrow and he couldn't stop himself by saying, "Didn't mom get you something like that a while ago? I seem to recall you complaining about how perky the colors were."

The two stare at him for a few seconds, which causes him to wonder if what he said was out of line. "Tai... Are you feeling ok?" Hikari asks and he frowns since that's usually his line to Hikari.

"I'm pretty sure I'm good." He says and Hikari studies him with a serious look on her face. As Hikari is about to say something, a beeping occurs and his sister puts the dress onto the rack while TK takes out what appears to be a hand held computer.

"Who's it from?" Hikari asks and TK glances to look up at him while answering, "It's from Izzy, he says that Tai's Digivice signal can't be located in Japan."

o_)-(_o

Taichi Yagami

_Ok... I'm pretty sure I'd remember having class with Izzy's double..._ He admits to himself as he watches as the short teen red head think about something while leaning against a tree trunk. Although he's a bit annoyed at this particular kid, Davis, is currently bugging Hika... his sister's double, Kari. He did glance over to TK, wondering if the blond is going to set Davis straight but so far, it's a no go, although he's a bit impressed with how Hik... Kari's not caving in to the dating offers(though he privately would love to take the kid aside to have a minor 'chat').

_How could my double give that guy his goggles?_ He wonders, sure, Davis had the energy but he's not too sure about Davis' other qualities. _I'm fairly sure I wasn't that bad at that age when it came to asking for a date. I'm pretty sure I accepted no as an answer..._ The fact that none of the others seem to see Davis' behavior as abnormal he couldn't help but find very telling.

He glances over to one of the new kids, a young boy named Cody. Studying the kid and more importantly, in his mind, his partner Upamon, who's currently napping in Cody's lap. True, Upamon isn't the only Digimon at the meeting, but Cody, and Izzy, had been among the first to arrive after Kari, TK, and him have arrived.

Davis and Ken, with their respective partners, had arrived in the company of Ken's girlfriend, Yolei and Hawkmon. According to TK, Matt still couldn't make it because of Matt's sudden band meeting, although Sora is on her way over, though she's stopping to pick up her own partner, Biyomon, and that Gabumon is arriving with Sora. Joe had arrived to examined him if only to make sure he's fine and then hung around, although the older teen took out a book to read while waiting.

He did feel a bit of a pang as he realizes he'll unlikely meet the doubles of Neo, Rei, and the others. He almost feels like pulling Kari over and never letting her go if only because she's familiar. And anchor to help ground him in a very violent storm raging about him, more then willing to drive him beyond his comfort level.

"Sorry I'm late!" A new voice pipes in and he snaps out of his thoughts to turn to regard the newcomer. "Hi Sora. Thanks for coming." Kari says in a warm tone.

He blinks before looking away from Sora to size up the two rookies, he couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight of the Gabumon since Gabo had become a very good friend of Zero and his. He couldn't help but compare how calm this particular rookie is. He couldn't help but suddenly miss Gabo, suddenly very much aware of the fact that he'll likely never hook up with any of his friends who live in the Digital world.

He comes out as a slightly concern voice asks, "Homesick?" It takes him a few seconds to realize that Kari has somehow approached him while he was busy feeling depressed.

"He just reminds me of Gabo..." He admits in a soft voice, his gaze already drifting towards the fur wearing rookie, one who's talking with DemiVeemon, Hawkmon, and Wormmon since Upamon is napping on Cody's lap. He feels a slight comforting squeeze on his shoulder and he swallows while blinking rapidly, trying to fight the tears that were welling up in his eyes.

"Gabo... He was a Gabumon?" Kari asks, likely following his gaze and he nods. "Yea, he was Zero and mine guide during most of our adventures."

"Wouldn't Zero know his way around? I mean, Zero is your Digimon partner, right?" Kari asks him and he nods.

"Yea but, I raised Zero, short for Zeromaru, on a V-Pet. You know, one of these?" He takes out a latest V-Pet, one which contains one of the latest Digimon that has been released, a Renamon. It had been a gift from Rei for his fifteen birthday, after all, when they had returned to the real world, he had decided against buying a new one, so he had been without one since he was eleven, not that it didn't stop him from doing some tutoring in the way of the V-Pet.

"That... looks disturbingly like the original Digivices." Kari says as she frowns while studying the moving bit image of a humanoid fox.

"Is that your Digivice?" TK asks with a few of the others coming to circle him to get a look at his V-Pet.

"It's a V-Pet." He says and explains, "It's a virtual pet that's popular back home, it starts out as an egg once you pull out the tab, and then depending on how you raise the fresh Digimon, the little guy Digivolves into various Digimon types. Your win ratio in Battling also determines what kind of advance form the Digimon takes."

"Interesting... Is that really a Digimon in there then?" Joe asks and he blinks before nodding slowly. "It likely is. One of the reason why I didn't want to own another one of these. I didn't want to replace Zero, I guess. But, well, Rei did get me this one as a birthday gift, so..." He shrugs weakly, not sure why he suddenly feels guilty since he hasn't done anything wrong.

_I would have given it to Hikari but she's very uninterested in these things._ He thinks, he suspects it's because he pays such things more attention then her. Which causes him to glance over toward Kari, wondering, suddenly, what kind of relationship his double has with Kari.

"Do you mind?" Izzy asks and he shakes his head. He hands the V-Pet over to Izzy and watches as the red head walks over to his pack to take out a lab top computer. Most if not all of the group follows to see what Izzy has in mind.

"Does your sister have one?" Kari asks and he shakes his head.

"She's never been into them, though that could be my fault." He admits finally after much consideration about whether or not he should keep it to himself, but then, it's likely only natural for Kari to wonder about Hikari.

"How so?" Kari asks him, curious about how something like that could be his fault.

"Well, I've always been into it. Ok, maybe obsessed would be a better description." He admits, scratching the side of his head, flushing slightly under Kari's piecing gaze. _She's definitely a lot more confident then Hikari. Must be because she's gone on her own adventures._

"You've ignored her, haven't you?" Kari asks and he felt very guilty as he nods. "I was only eleven at the time of the adventure, then around twelve, I was kind of all geared up hoping to see if we'd return, thirteen I began to mop, fourteen I started to accept that I likely won't, and now... Well, I find myself not only with a new V-Pet but in a different dimension where Digimon seem to be able to travel to the real world." He says.

"You mean you don't have a Digivice to open up Digi-Ports into the Digital world?" Kari asks and he blinks as he answers, "Our Digivices vanished as we journeyed back to the real world and we also didn't receive our original V-Pets devices either."

Silence fell between them, he couldn't help but feel a tad envious about their ability to open these gates to the Digital world. But mostly, he felt his usual feels of frustration at himself for not being there for Hikari, that maybe, just maybe, if he had paid Hikari more mind that perhaps his sister could grow into someone like Kari. He's not blind, after all, he could tell that Kari's got a fairly large group of friends, even if those friends only encircle those who are also partnered with Digimon. He can't recall the last time Kari's ever had a friend over or been invited out that wasn't about finishing a school project or something.

"Ah... Tai-Taichi? I think someone wants to talk with you." Davis calls out, causing him to jerk slightly, he had forgotten that Kari and him weren't alone. He gets up and, a quick glance over to Kari, walks over to where the others were group about the computer. Joe moves out of the way as does Gabumon and Biyomon and at the sight of a yellow furred fox with white bell wearing purple gloves, he couldn't help but feel his jaw drop at the sight.

"Hello Taichi." The humanoid fox says.

o_)-(_o

Kari Kamiya

"Hello Taichi." The Digimon on the screen says to her brother's double.

She blinks as Taichi seems to have blacked out, which does concern not just the strange Digimon on Izzy's lap top but almost everyone. "That could have gone better." Yolei muses and she sighs, but then, unlike her, none of them knew that Taichi hasn't had any interaction with Digimon since he was eleven.

"Hello, I'm Kari. Who might you be?" She asks, the fox Digimon sounds... feminine and she found it hard to think of a... girlish Digimon being partnered with her brother... or his double.

"I'm Renamon, although he has called me Sora since I was a Fresh Digimon." Renamon says, although she swears she saw a flicker of amusement in Renamon's golden eyes. "I must say that you do look remarkably like Hikari." Renamon adds.

"So Kari's double goes only by Hikari?" Davis wonders and the yellow furred Digimon on the computer screen nods.

"And he goes by his full name too..." Sora muses.

"Wonder what they got about nicknames?" Joe wonders and she sighs.

"How... I mean, you're just... there!" Taichi manages to say, clearly not aware that his mouth seems to have a direct line to his brain.

"Well, it was pretty tricky but doable. You were right, the code within the V-Pet reflected that of a Digimon, only a bit watered down since the gadget couldn't store all of the data bulk. It is just a child's toy. I think that when these Digimon within the gadgets 'die' they're actually getting downloaded into your Digital world, allowing for a new Digimon to take their place as an egg." Izzy says, clearly excited about this discovery.

"Well, that sounds a heck of a lot better then what I've been envisioning happening." Taichi admits, clearly relieved at the picture Izzy is painting them. "It kind of explains why MetalGreymon... I wonder how many other Digimon use to belong to Neo..." Taichi muses softly with a distant look.

"Anyway, I think with the right parts and with some help from Gennai, we might be able to turn this into one of our Digivices, complete with gate program to operate Digi-Ports. I should have it done before midnight." Izzy says.

"I don't suppose you could install an instruction book? I know somebody who's fairly handy with computers." Taichi says and Izzy nods.

"Now if you excuse me, I'll go get started. I'll leave the computer with you since Renamon will remain on it until I've made the necessary upgrades and installed the right programs." Izzy says as Izzy stands up once the little gadget is taken out of the holster, leaving the computer in Taichi's arms.

"So... What kind of adventures have you had in the Digital world?" Davis asks as Taichi sits down, the computer moving onto his lap.

"Well... It all pretty much started..."

o_)-(_o

Tai Kamiya

He couldn't help but pause before the various picture that featured him with a group of strange kids, one of which seems to be confined to a wheelchair. He just shakes his head and continues to undress so he can take a shower. It seems that their parents had to leave since a grandaunt ended up in the hospital, leaving him along with Kari for who knows how long.

"You want to rent a movie off of the TV later?" He asks Kari after he exits out of the room with only a robe around him. Kari glances his way before nodding.

"You can pick too, how does that sound?" He adds and Kari nods, as she turns away from him, he couldn't help but wonder why she looked so startled and surprised.

_I'm not that much of a TV hog, am I?_ He wonders as he enters into the bathroom. As he stands before the mirror before the sink with the robe still wrapped around him, he couldn't help but notice that the bathroom seems to be decorated in a different manner, much like the rest of the apartment. He starts into the mirror, though he does think this is all just a dream, there were minor things that were slowly causing him to doubt that this is all a dream.

_But what could it be if not a dream?_ He wonders to himself but nothing answers him. With a sigh, he just shakes his head and begins to derobe after turning on the water, waiting a few seconds for the show to kick in.

_If this is still going on tomorrow, then I'll start worrying about it. Until then, I'll just leave it be._ He decides, hoping that everything will go back to the way it was come tomorrow.

o_)-(_o

Hikari Yagami

As she slowly stirs from slumber, she could seem that somebody is currently awake since she could hear the sounds of something scrapping against something else. Slowly memories of the previous evening come to her, causing her to realize that that someone had to be her brother, Taichi since their parents had left to go visit a grandaunt. The sounds finally causes her to get out of bed and once she's at the door, she does indeed catch sight of Taichi standing in the kitchen, cursing softly while trying to salvage a pancake.

"Taichi?" She asks, a bit confused as to why her brother didn't just go out for breakfast, which has long since become a habit of his over the years. "What you doing?"

Taichi pauses in his efforts to look at her, she's a bit startled by the emotion that seems to radiate from her brother's hazel brown gaze. "Making breakfast since there isn't any sign of our parents." Taichi says.

_But you were there when they..._ She halts that train of thought, after all, that would only confirm her private theory that aliens had abducted her brother, leaving her with some kind of double for a time.

"I wasn't myself yesterday, was I?" Taichi asks her and she just nods, biting her lower lip since by the time bedtime had arrived, she had kind of wished that the double of her brother would remain since the alien double had been friendly and clearly willing to actually act like a sibling.

"Well... I had a unique experience yesterday myself. And somebody during that time seem to believe quiet strongly that I should have told you about what happened when I was eleven, even though you might not believe me about it." Taichi admits and she just kind of stares at her brother, oh she knew that something had happened back then but Taichi had been very tight lip about it. She walks over to the counter and sits on one of the chairs, more then a bit interested in the story that her brother seems to be finally willing to relate.

"Well, it all started when I entered into that D-1 Grand Prix." Taichi begins and she mentally ate bit of her brother's story as he continues to make pancakes. While some bits were harder to believe then most, like the idea that there's a parallel world that consists of Digimon and that while in that world Rei had walked about on her own two legs, other bits actually made a heck of a lot of sense since she never did know how Taichi met up with the so called Alias III.

As they finally got around to eating the pancakes, Taichi finally got to the end of his story. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, she asks, "So... Did you revisit the Digital world yesterday?"

"No, I didn't, although if Izzy did manage to pull it off..." Taichi trails off before shaking his head. "No, yesterday I visited a different version of our world. One that not only had Digimon but allowed for those chosen to open up gateways that take them to their Digital world."

"So... The you I was with yesterday afternoon was your dimensional double?" She asks and Taichi nods.

"Let's just call him Tai, since he does go by that nickname and it's less of a hassle." Taichi says and she nods. "And while you spent the rest of the day with him, I spent it with your double, she goes by Kari by the way, and their friends. One of whom managed to take my V-Pet apart to upgrade it while Sora was on his lap top." Taichi pauses and she couldn't help but wonder a bit more about Kari.

"What was Kari like?" She asks and Taichi smiles slightly.

"Well, healthy for one. It seems that she got better after her first set of adventures in the Digital world, which occurred when she was eight. She wasn't the only eight year old of that group either. A young blond named Takeru, or TK, was there too." Taichi informs her and she couldn't help but feel a bit envious of the healthy bit.

"I'm hoping taking you to the Digital world will have the same effect on you, even if you are a bit older." Taichi muses and it takes it a few seconds to realize just what her brother had said. "Can you create a...?" She asks and Taichi smiles.

"Let's finish eating and get a few things, then we'll try it out." Taichi promises her.

"But what about your friends?" She finally asks after a few minutes of silence.

"Well, considering a lot of things, I believe I owe you this. Just a trip between the two of us since if Izzy did install those instructions on the device, the others will be more then capable of visiting the Digital world without needing me to open the gate." Taichi explains and she nods as excitement flows through her at the idea of going somewhere that only a select few have gone before.

"You'll tell me about their adventures? Our doubles' I mean." She says after putting her dishes into the sink.

"Don't see why not." Taichi admits and she hugs her brother before heading off to her room to get dress as well as to pack a few different sets of cloths just in case something happens.

o_)-(_o

Taichi Yagami

"Digi-Port Open!" He says while standing behind Hikari once he manages to find the program that Izzy and the others had not just shown him, but drilled him into locating, which had taken only about five minutes to find it within their world's network.

A bright light engulfs Hikari and him, he feels more then sees Sora joining them, he hopes that Sora and Hikari partner up but even if they don't, he's sure that given time, his sister will find a Digimon, it need not be a Gatomon though, after all, Tai is partnered with an Agumon and himself with a Veedramon. As they fall onto the grass in a dog pile way, he could only wonder what kind of adventures await them.

o_)-(_o

Tai Kamiya

"So that's what happened..." He says, more then a little relieved that what happened to him hadn't been some kind of enemy plot.

"So... What do you want to do today?" He asks Kari after finishing up his bowl of oatmeal, their parents in this world had left this morning to go visit that grandaunt instead of last night. "I'm sure you'd like to try and finish your shopping venture." He adds.

"I was thinking we could maybe go to the movies or just spend the day together." Kari admits and he blinks before raising an eyebrow over at his kid sister.

"Sure, why not. How does a picnic in the Digital world sound to you?" He asks Kari and she just smiles.

**The End**


	59. The Amazing Adventures of PantherBoy:HP

- o 0 o -

**I Don't Own Harry Potter**

- o 0 o -

_Well, what now?_ Void of the Realm, Realm for short asks within his mind as he stands before the body of the latest villain he's faced since last summer's 'vacation'. He just sighs and with a swing, the deep red blood flies from Realm's blade before sheathing the sword.

He feels the sword length once Realm is back in position on his back. He couldn't help but stare at the giant horned and spine covered jaguar. He moves forward and with a sharp yank, he removes the gold and jade amulet from the corpse and within seconds, the body begins to dissolve until only a human skeleton remains. He stares at the bones for a few seconds before glancing at the amulet in his black fur covered hand, his claws extended slightly.

With a shake, his body reforms into that of his human self once he's pocketed the amulet into his belt pouch, he's gotten into the habit of wearing one since he acquired Realm, which happened when he was in China at age six. Him becoming a Leopard-man occurred at age five when his 'dear' uncle arranged for him to visit Africa.

He smiles as he recalled his first magical summer adventure and how he defeated the supposed immortal African Sorceress known as Queen La, ruler of the city of Opar, a city inhabited by magically curse group of men who have been transformed into human/leopard hybrids. A curse that was created after Queen La spent a few decades studying the curse of the Werewolf. The Queen had managed to recreate some of the elements of the curse when she developed the Leopard-Man curse but the big difference as that she could freeze those affected in that hybrid state as well as rob them of their ability to talk human languages, which pretty much forces them to only have animalistic vocalization of the animal they almost resemble.

"I figure we do what we usually do once the villain has been killed." He says out loud in English as he glances around the large, open chamber.

_Find the treasury and kick it back until the last week of August before returning to your 'loving' relatives?_ Realm muses within his head and he just hums in agreement.

"So, any idea where this guy would keep the vault?" He asks his partner of four years, he did turn ten just two days ago after all. "After all, you're fairly decent when it comes to locating treasure, Realm."

_I can't believe that Qilin even left me with you..._ Realm sighs and he just rolls his eyes but waits for Realm to finally say something in relations about the previous subject. _There's a secret passage behind that relief concerning the feathered serpent._

"Thanks Realm." He says and it didn't take long for them to arrive within the chamber filled with not just gold, silver, jade, and other precious things but also with wads of bills and crates that were likely filled with illegal things like guns, bombs, and drugs.

"I think the paper money is likely all we need for the rest of this trip. Ready to teleport the rest out of here? Might as well leave the Black Market stuff though, like usual." He says and within seconds, Realm does so.

It didn't take long before he's stuffed his pockets, knapsack, and belt pouch with the paper money that ranges from local currency to other country currency like the US and Euros. "Now then, let's see what kind of room we can get now. I'll see about getting a room with a working TV too, for you Realm." He promises the magical sword.

_You better... I always miss out on my soaps because of your summer adventures. Would it kill you to actually put your foot down and decline whatever vacation your 'family' arranges for you next year?_ Realm asks and he shrugs.

"It depends on where they're offering to send me. I mean, you're telling me you didn't enjoy our time in Tokoyo? I thought you enjoyed it cause of the fact that the hotel room came with a working TV." He says.

_How about the fact that the owner planned on sacrificing my magic and your soul to awaken that eight-headed mythological serpent dragon?_ Realm remarks.

"Hey! It turned out alright." He says, remembering that particular adventure of last summer.

_Only because the man didn't know that he had to also find the dragon's missing eight heads..._ Realm states dryly and he shrugs, he couldn't argue with that. _There are times when I wonder if purifying that bit of dark soul was such a good idea considering how unconcerned you've become since then._

"Tat, and then you'd complain about how depressing I make my life to be." He muses as he walks out of the hidden temple, heading for the dungeon to free the rest of the tourist group who were being held so they can be sacrificed come the evening eclipse. The 'riest' had thought to make a snack of his fears before savoring to feast on his body only to learn find out that not only wasn't he afraid, he wasn't really human to boot.

_Makes me glad that I'm not human anymore or else I'd be easy prey to the magics these guys employ to control their victims._ He thinks to himself, true at one point he had been highly distressed at the fact that he truly was a freak of nature like his relatives have always told him but now, he's glad to be different since he's come to view normal to be boring.

_There are times when I wish you were just like my previous owners._ Void of the Realm says, likely picking up on his musings. _For one thing, our partnership would have been much briefer._

"Well, excuse me for not losing some of blood every time I do battle with you in my hand or have you preform magic." He retorts softly as he leads the tourist group through the maze of stone passages. The 'riests' underlings wouldn't be back until an hour before the sun begins to set, so they don't have to deal with minions trying to keep them from escaping.

_I still can't wait for the day when somebody manages to bind me to themselves, nullifying our pact._ Realm informs him but he just shrugs, although he kind of dreads that day since he has come to consider Realm to be his best friend.

"You're just pissy because I won't use you to try and conquer the world like most of your notorious owners." He remarks in a whisper, glancing backwards to see if anyone has noticed that he's talking to himself. _'Its not like you ever succeed in that, you know. Sure, you help unite China, Russia, and even India but none of them ever got to be ruler of the whole world.'_

_It's not my fault that they never believed me when I informed them that there's more land beyond their respectively known lands._ Realm informs him in a defensive manner.

"We truly owe you our lives. Tell us, what is your name?" One of the older members of the party asks him.

"Huh? Oh, I don't usually give my name out but I guess you can call me James, it's the name I use during summer vacation at any rate." He says, it's kind of a habit by now to use his middle name when on adventures since James sounds a heck of a lot more impressive then his first name, which is Harry.

On another note, he never gives out his last name since he rather not have people hounding him once he leaves the country. The last time he had told somebody his last name they maimed it into giving him the nick name Potty.

"James...?" Another asks, clearly wanting a last name to go with that name.

"James Smith." He says and with that, a lot of people congratulate him by using either James or young Mr Smith. He makes a mental note to use a different name once they return to the closet city, which wasn't Mexico City but some place he likely couldn't dream to pronounce if he ever remembered the name.

_We could head to Mexico City._ Realm points out and he nods as they climb into the various tour buses that had been forced off the main road and escorted here.

o - T - o

**Beginning of the Last Week of August of 1990**  
**Dursley's Home**

"Hi uncle, I'm home! Did you miss me? Also, the cab driver is waiting for you to pay him by the way." He says as he walks into the house once his uncle opens the door wider to see the cab he called to return him to Privet Drive from the airport.

He hears his uncle sigh, but does head out to pay the name while he takes his luggage up the stairs to the small bedroom that use to belong to Dudley so his cousin could store his growing collection of broken toys and books.

"You survived I see." His aunt says after coming out of the kitchen and spies him heading up the stairs. He just smiles and nods, he's sure that Realm would have commented about this 'quaint' display of a family reunion.

Once he's in his room, he sets down the suit case on the floor before moving to lie down on the bed. He's kind of exhausted from the plane ride back to his country of birth. He had been busy enjoying his spending spree during what remained of his trip to Mexico, particularly the sight and sounds of Mexico City.

What money he didn't spend he donated to local shelters and churches once he's purchased his first class ticket to return to the UK. After all, his relatives were always hoping that he'd die during his time on summer vacation that they never bother to purchase tickets for him to come home. Not that he cared since he's more then happy to find his own way back to Privet Drive through means of magic transportation, which had been how he returned home after his defeat of Queen La, to returning home viva first class plane rides.

With a sigh, he sits up and moves to take Realm out of his belt pouch. Within seconds, the magical sword returns to its usual five foot state. With that done, he lies back onto his bed and allows his exhaustion to win, causing him to drift off to sleep, trusting Realm to keep his relatives from entering into his room to try and liberate what expensive souvenirs he bought during his time in Mexico.

o - T - o

**Two Weeks into Summer of 1991**  
**Local Park**

"I'm starting to think they haven't gotten in contact with that travel agent to see if they can't sent me to my 'certain' death." He admits to Realm as he practices the martial arts that Realm has been teaching him in his dreams.

He only regrets that he couldn't practice in his other form. But then, it is one of the more practical threats he has hanging over the Dursleys since he's not willing to follow through with his various threats of bodily harm. He felt dirty enough making them, he would loath to follow through with them, which kind of means he's bluffing about biting the lot of them to see if they'd turn into Leopard-People, which would make them freaks, something that the three would do anything to avoid.

_I sadly have to agree with you on that. Which brings up why they haven't since it's long since become a routine for them to find some villain looking for young magical children for various schemes and rituals. Ones that are more then willing to pay handsomely on delivery of one such child in their clutches._ Realm admits and he's sure that if the sword could visualize a face, that face would be sporting a frown. _I highly doubt it's because of them gathering some kind of reputation in said circles because of your heroics._

"So... you think they have given up on the pursuit? Or that something is about to happen here in the UK that will, hopefully, do me in without them putting any kind of effort into it?" He muses after a few minutes of him going through a series of stances consisting of punches and kicks.

_Now I'm dreading remaining around here. Maybe instead of relying on your relatives to arrange a trip, you can make the arrangement, like, I don't know, some place in China or Russia..._ Realm suggests and he rolls his eyes, not at all surprised that Realm wants to return to that part of the world, which would likely have somebody who'd be able to bond with Realm, allowing the sword to leave him.

"Forget it, you know I don't have the money and no, I'm not going to sell any of that real treasure we've collected since we partnered up. That's going to wait until I'm legal and goes to pay for my higher education or to invest so I don't have to work ever." He informs Realm in a firm voice.

Then a soft hoot causes him to pause and he glances upwards to find an owl circling overhead. Within seconds, the owl drops what's in its beak before flying off. He manages catch the letter in midair and while holding Realm.

He raises an eyebrow at the address on the front and with a glance at his surroundings, he turns the thick letter over and using a finger, slices through the wax seal featuring a badger, lion, eagle, and snake on a coat of arms. He skillfully takes out the contains and skims through the introduction before moving onto the list of items he's expected to purchase before the school year begins.

"Huh, I wonder how long they've been watching us." He wonders with a frown. "This could be some kind of trap, too."

_Well, they didn't leave a return address so whoever they are, they're not too bright. Heck, they didn't even give you the location of the school._ Realm points out and he nods as he rereads the first part.

"Might as well keep it regardless." He says as he folds the letters back into the envelop before putting it all into a jean pocket. With that out of the way, he returned to practicing his martial arts with Realm having to correct him a little bit when it comes to some of the newer stuff.

o - T - o

**July 31, 1991**  
**Privet Drive**

He jerks as something heavy lands on the front door. He couldn't help but blink rapidly before glancing to the alarm clock to see what time it is only to find it's barely 5 am in the morning. He couldn't help but groan as the sound repeats itself.

"What a birthday..." He mutters after glancing at the calender once he's out of bed. He moves to where Realm is resting and skillfully swings the leather straps over his head, allowing the magical sword to rest on his back.

He walks out of his room just as his uncle unlocks the door while already ranting about how this better be important since it's bloody five in the morning. His uncle's ranting halts and as he comes down the stairs, he spies the reason why his uncle has stopped mid rant.

"Oh dry up Dursley!" The giant of a man declares in an accented tone. He watches as his uncle backs away from the door, looking pasty white as the visitor bends slightly and twists his body to walk through the front door. He sizes the man up and knew that he had the advantage because of the fact that man is too big to effectively do battle in the house.

"A friend of your's uncle?" He asks after the visitor glances about the living room. Uncle Vernon gives him a dirty look but glances fearfully out the door, he figures his uncle is likely wondering if any of the neighbors are up at this hour.

"Harry? Harry! Well, look at you, you are the spitting image of James! Though you got your mother's eyes." The visitor says and he just stares at man, kind of surprised to learn his father's first name was James, not really sure if he should be offended that his middle name is the same as his father's first.

"And you are?" He asks as he moves to stand with the wall behind him. "No offensive but it's kind of early and people are... were trying to sleep. So if we could wrap up whatever business we have..."

The giant of a man blinks, clearly surprised at his manner. "Err... Oh, I'm Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of keys of Hogwarts." Rubeus says. "I'm here to take you to get your school things."

"I can't help but ask, how did my name get submitted to attend this school? I don't remember filling out an application to said school." He states to Rubeus.

"You mean you never told him?" Rubeus thunders at his uncle and he blinks before glancing over at his overweight uncle. He watches as his uncle backs away, almost looks like the man is trying to disappear into the kitchen but had second thoughts about that course of action.

_Oh like you should be surprised they'd keep secrets from you._ Realm pipes in as his uncle tries to defend their silence in whatever matter concerning this Hogwarts place. From the looks of things, their early morning visitor has finished wringing out his uncle and begins to murmurs to himself, from the gist of it, it sounds like Rubeus couldn't believe that he's ignorant about who he really is.

He rolls his eyes at that, already doubting that whoever Rubeus thought of him, it likely highly outdated. After all, he doesn't recall ever making mention about any of his adventures to anyone, and Realm isn't in any position to inform anyone, nor used his actual name.

_Makes you wonder where this people were when your 'loving' relatives shipped you off to Africa. I mean, if they're so interested in seeing you attend this school, they could have spared some time to insure you're capable of attending their school._ Realm muses before adding, _Of course that is if there really is a school for you to attend._

"Just take him and be gone!" His aunt snaps and Rubeus looks startled.

"Can I at least change into something that includes a shirt?" He muses, not all that surprised that his relatives are offering him up once more. It's about then does Rubeus notices what he's wearing.

"Err, sure, don't see any harm in that." Their visitor admits and he couldn't help but roll his eyes as he heads up the staircase, his aunt and cousin moving quickly so he doesn't accidentally brush up against them.

**Gringrotts Wizarding Bank**

"No weapons beyond those carried by Goblins are allowed to be carried within the bank, wizard." One of the guards at the door says, practically spatting the word wizard. He cocks his head to the side as he calmly studies the Goblin in decorative armor.

"Like you lot can take it from me." He finally states after some minutes. He watches as the pair dismiss his statement, likely thinking he's incapable of using Realm in a fight.

"Like you can use it where it matters wizard." The guard says and he grins as he crosses his arms before his chest.

"Well, I can only say I hope you have your will made and filed cause it'll be your funeral, green-skin." He counters before Hagrid, it's the name the half-giant prefers, could say anything.

"And who do you think you are? Author Pendragon?" The other guard snips in.

"Oh no, I've got a very good idea of who I am. I'm Harry James Potter, the only one to survive the Killing Curse, you ignorant viking wanna be. Dubbed the Boy-Who-Lived, and I'm fairly confident that I'd live through any kind of fight we'd get into." He states, the viking comment comes from the fact that they had what appears to be bull horns grafted to their metal helmets.

The reaction from the pair of guards were mixed as surprise, disappointment, curiosity, and then unimpressed with a hint of dismissal. "Don't matter, the sword." The seconds guard says and he pauses as Realm agrees, for a few seconds at least.

With a shrug, he unsheathes Realm and holds the hilt to the first Goblin guard and when the guard touches the hilt, lightning crackles and within seconds, the guard is sent flying into the stone wall behind him, leaving an indent in the stone part of the door. The second guard takes a step or two away from him when he offers Realm's hilt to the guard.

"I thought so. The sword comes with me into the building." He says and finally enters into the bank, ignoring the minor crowd of witnesses as none stopped him. A minute or two, Hagrid follow suit, he's pretty sure that the half-giant was rethinking reasons why Realm is actually with him.

A few new guards popped out of the back rooms of the bank as he stands in the building, taking in the sights of it before finally heading for one of the free tellers. The Goblin glances from the hilt of his sword to the entrance before addressing him, "Your key."

He takes it out of the pocket he had placed it in when Hagrid had given it to him during their breakfast. After all, was fairly early in the morning and the half-giant had admitted that most of the shops in the alley don't open until at least ten thirty, which meant they spent quite a few hours in one of the twenty-four hour coffee shops, something which surprised Hagrid since not even their bank is open twenty-four hours and seven days a week.

"I also wish for all my bank statements going all the way back to my parents' deaths and I want a list of everyone who's had access to those vaults. I also would like to tour any and all vaults connected to my family." He says to the teller, the Goblin hadn't yet masked the look of startlement and surprise as he spoke.

_I'll be damned if I leave any money within a mile of these creatures. Bet they get robbed by foreigners and other beings on a yearly bases. Likely cover those up too._ He thinks as he recalls the enchantments Realm had reported to him while he had been standing on the floor before approaching this teller.

_You know, we could always rob them blind. Wouldn't be that hard considering you're an unknown being to their charms and from what I've seen from your memories about your kind, I would say that it seems to be natural for you to have a form of resistance to any magic thrown in your direction. Wouldn't hurt to see what kind of magic they use on these bank vaults either._ Realm muses.

_'I'm not a low life thief, although, I wouldn't mind setting things up so we could do that. After all, my family might still have enemies who run in higher circles. It would be nice to get them where it would hurt the most.'_ He tells Realms while Hagrid finally adds something about taking something from another vault, a task Dumbledore had given the half-giant along with the task of picking him up to get his school supplies.

With that done, the Goblin teller called for a lackey to take them to their vaults. He did catch the look of greed the teller had when the Goblin looked at his sword. He could only guess that he'll be offered money for it at some point in the future, likely when his luck was bad.

He found that attitude to be mildly amusing since he knew that unless one was born human, they'd never be able to use Void of the Realm. After all, he hadn't been transformed into a Leopard-Man... Leopard-Boy until he was about five years of age. _Try Panther-Boy since that's what black leopards are called._ Realm pipes in.

They completed Hagrid's task first and while he waits int he cart, Realm reports what kind of magic the magical sword could find on the metal door. He had been kind of surprised that only the metal door had any magic on it, it seems that other then a minor expansion spell casted within the vault, but the stone, the very bed rock of the bank weren't enchanted with any hint of magic.

_'We could cut right into the rock around the door and, as long as we don't disturb the metal door no alarm will sound?'_ He asks Realms, pretty much summarizing what Realms has told him.

_I could see that working. Although I would suggest entering into a vault and then cutting into the sides, that way they won't know what to check for when examine the outside of the vault. I think we could cover the holes with some kind of enchantment so we don't have to cut into the walls more then once._ Realm remarks as the cart begins to move.

Once they finished visiting the vaults that belonged to his family, and having Realm send the contains of the vaults where the sword sends the usual treasure they liberate from villainous lairs, he receives a few volumes of bank statements. He watches as the Goblin vanish, highly amused and satisfied by completing its task. He frowns before asking Realm to place an expansion spell on his back pack so he can have his arms free once more.

Once that's done, they leave the bank, although the new set of door guards did give him heated glares. "So, where to next?" He asks as they walk down the steps of the bank.

"Well, Flourish and Blotts is where most students purchase their school books. Though, I don't suppose you own a trunk?" Hagrid asks and he shakes his head.

"Might as well pick one up now then, maybe one pre-enchanted with a shrinking and expanding spell." Hagrid muses, likely recalling the stacks of files the Goblins had given him. "After all, students aren't allowed to cast spells outside of the school. Not until they're seventeen at least." Hagrid explains and he raises an eyebrow at that, wondering what's the point if they restrict your ability to practice magic outside of school.

_Might want to pick up a book to see how they know. I might be able to find a way to block their monitoring spells._ Realm supplies.

_'You just don't want me to reply on you for magical support.'_ He muses to Realm as they enter a shop that displays book-cases, bed posts, tables, chairs, desks, dressers, and other wooden things. He left the talking to Hagrid as he moves to study some of the wooden animals that were on the counter. Most of the animals were what he expected which were deer, cats, birds, a fox, but what did draw his attention were the carvings of Unicorns, Gryphons, winged horses, wyverns (he thought they were wyvern since they only had four limbs, a set of which were wings), and a few others he didn't have names for.

"Like them?" A younger man inquires, likely coming from the back room. He nods while taking a few seconds to study the teen.

"Your dad?" He asks, waving a hand over towards where Hagrid and the graying man were looking at various styles of trunks.

"Great-Uncle actually. Parents were killed during the war." The teen admits and he sighs.

"Didn't sound much like a war since wars usually involve two countries. Sounds like they were terrorists considering how they preferred to spread fear. I mean, they pretty much tagged the site of their attacks, wanting to draw attention that they could do that again then anything else." He says to the teen.

"Tagged?" The teen inquires and he answers, "Left some kind of agreed upon image by the site of the dead. It's also used by gangs tag buildings and what not to mark out their territory."

"Ah." The teen says, though it's likely the guy found that to be surprising. "Hogwarts?" The teen asks and he nods.

"I'm home schooled, uncle doesn't want me to attend Hogwarts, not with Death Eater kids walking about the place like they own it. Heck, Dumbledore even got a 'reformed' Death Eater there as Potion Instructor." The teen explains, the brunet is clearly disgusted at the thought of one of these Death Eaters teaching kids.

"So you're allowed to use magic at home then?" He asks and the teen nods.

"Of course, be kind of pointless seeing as I'm being school at home." The teen explains. "My uncle's responsible to make sure I 'behave' but then, as long as I'm not in the muggle parts nobody cares when I do magic. Though it is polite to not do it in public."

"So only those that live in the muggle word are monitored for breaking this law?" He asks and the teen nods. He hums thoughtfully as he considers that, whatever guilt he might have felt preforming magic at Privet Drive gone.

"Nice sword, you a half-blood?" The teen asks him and he frowns.

"My mom was born to muggle parents. From the looks of things, my dad was born to an old family. I guess that would make me one." He admits.

"Orphan?" The teen asks and he nods. "Killed by Death Eaters too?" The teen asks once more and he answers, "No, but the head honcho actually."

"I see." The brunet says before grinning while adding, "You know, I like that; head honcho that is. It's down right disrespectful and so much easier to say then calling him You-Know-Who or the Dark Lord."

"Could use Dork Lord, you could pass it off as somebody not hearing you properly." He admits with a bemused grin and the brunet laughs after giving him an approving look. It's clear that he made the right kind of impression on the teen.

"You're a clever one, mate." The brunet teen says and he just grins.

The moment passes as Hagrid and the teen's Great-Uncle return to the counter, the graying man mentioning that the trunk will be ready in an hour or two's time. With that, he waves bye to the teen before leaving the store with the brunet waving back.

Once back outside, Hagrid then leads him to the common shops where most Hogwart students purchase their things. He did buy a small library worth of books along side his course books, after all, it wouldn't hurt to know the laws of this society and its history of development along with what he could find on various fields of magic. It would do well to know what to look for when facing off against future enemies. He did get a discount by signing a few unsold defense books, books that the owner will likely sell at a small fortune considering how famous he seems to be for something he can't remember surviving.

They then went to Pottidge's Cauldron shop followed by Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, a place where he purchased large orders of ingredients so he can practice at Privet Drive once he learnt that potion making isn't monitored in so called muggle sections of the UK. He also purchased a book on potion safety when he spotted the book on a shelf by the counter, kind of surprised that it wasn't listed on his school list.

While at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, he inquired about what kind of material used for school robes and how a Hogwarts house crest gets magically set upon the robes. He also inquired about what kind of spells they had for resizing his existing cloths, if he left it up to his relatives, he'd be only wearing his cousin's cast offs. Cloth shopping had long since become something he did pretty much automatically after killing the villain of the summer using the villain's own money.

His questions to at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions hadn't been answered, which lead him to believe that he'll have a devil of a time searching for the spells he inquired about since these clothing shops had likely made sure any books detailing said spells were 'lost', likely buying up the complete inventory before destroying them while squirreling a few away for personal use.

He did look at a few other stores that didn't sell anything he needed for school. Although Hagrid did make sure he toured through Magical Menagerie and Eeylops Owl Emporium, not that he was really interested in owning a pet, even if it's a bird used as a post-man.

With that, they returned to pick up his new trunk and at once, he begins to load the majority of his purchases into it, with the exception of those books not listed on his school list and none of his potion supplies since he plans to begin practicing making potion.

"Err... I know I'm forgetting something." Hagrid mutters and Hagrid then lists what's on the list, he saying check when needed but when they arrive at wand, he admits he doesn't have one.

"You're not a proper wizard without a blooming wand!" Hagrid says and with that, they head to Ollivander's Wand Shop. He isn't alarmed when the owner appears behind them, although Hagrid did, to his private amusement.

"And you must be Harry Potter." The man muses, eyes glancing to Realm's hilt and then to his forehead, something which a lot of people had done during his time in the alley. "I see you had that scar of yours removed."

"I'm told it contained something foul by the one who removed it." He states calmly and the elderly man frowns before stating, "I can't sell you a wand."

Hagrid explodes yelling, "But he's to go to Hogwarts! He's got to have a wand! What kind of wizard doesn't own a wand?"

"Perhaps you would like to use my fireplace to speak with Dumbledore." Ollivander says after a few seconds of listening to Hagrid's rant. The half-giant nods and heads behind the counter, heading to where Ollivander had waved Hagrid.

"You might as well show me what you really look like, all I can make out is you're something similar to a werewolf." Ollivander states after a few seconds.

"That's fairly close." He admits and making sure to take off his runners and socks. Once they're off, he shifts into the form of a hybrid of a leopard and a human, gaining the illusion of an extra foot.

Surprise and interest flicker within Ollivander's eyes. He returns to looking human as he hears something landing in the back room. He gets his runners on, stuffing his socks into his pockets as a wizard arrives, one that could be called a classic wizard with the exception of the clashing bright colors.

"Good day, Harry." The likely color blind wizard says before turning his attention to Ollivander. "Hagrid has informed me of some difficulty considering young Harry's purchasing of a wand."

"As I've said, I can not sell Mr Potter a wand. From what I can tell, the boy already seems to be bonded to one." Ollivander states and he raises an eyebrow, curious to know if the shop owner is talking about Realm.

"I've never heard of a sword acting as a wizard's wand before." Hagrid rumbles softly, likely recalling the event with that Goblin guard.

"Oh no, the sword doesn't... can't be a stand in for his wand. I'm fairly confident that young Mr Potter knows what I'm talking about. It's not often that a wand transfers its loyalties to another." Ollivander says and he suddenly realizes what object similar to a wand he once used.

"I suppose I could try and owl those in possession of it." He admits, butting in when it looks like Dumbledore is about to recover to argue something. "Perhaps I'll purchase an owl after all since I don't want to bother any of you for one." He adds, he could only imagine what kind of spells exist to allow one to track a letter and he rather not allow anyone to learn of Opar's location.

He's already moving for the door and out of it before Dumbledore could recover. It didn't take long to arrive at the Eeylops Owl Emporium and walks up to the counter. "Which of these owls has been here the longest because nobody is interested in purchasing them and you're thinking of getting rid of?" He asks the cashier, the girl behind the counter just stares at him before pointing to the only Snowy Owl on display.

"I'll take it at a discount. Don't bother with a cage, but I'll purchase a perch." He informs the part-timer behind the counter and the girl just sighs but doesn't argue.

Once he's got the perch and change, he opens the cage and offers his arm to the owl. "Go find something to eat since you've got a long trip ahead of you once I find paper and a pen or pencil." He says after carrying the white bird a few feet from the shop.

The owl studies him before opening its wings and climbing into the air. By then, Hagrid arrives and they head to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. It didn't take long for him to dig around his back pack for paper and a pen. He writes a short letter to Akin, another who lost his humanity during the same ceremony he did(which almost made them brothers), asking about the wooden staff that Queen La had used when preforming the ceremony, the same that he had gotten his hands on about a week later to vanquish her.

He folds it and puts Akin's name on it as well as Opar. Once outside, his latest purchase comes flying down, landing on his out stretched arm. "Stick around for a reply from Akin and remember to rest up before returning. I'm located on Privet Drive in Little Whinging, Surrey." He informs the Snowy Owl as he takes some string and ties the letter about the owl's leg.

The owl glances from the letter and then to him before tensing up. He pulls his arm back a bit and then kind of quickly, raises the arm with the owl on it. The owl leaps off within seconds of his arm raising far enough in the air, he watches the owl circle a few seconds before heading south, towards Africa.

_Just to let you know, your owl is a girl._ Realm informs him and he makes a note to go through girl names in order to find a suitable name for the owl.

**Author Comments**

Guess this is consider a Creature!Harry and maybe overpowered Harry considering he's also got Realm. Although I plan for Harry to have difficulty with spell casting because he's using a staff as well as the staff being more in tuned to going through different steps to produce the desired result. As I see it, being resistant to magic would also make it a bit harder for Harry to 'grip' it since there's a kind of buffer powered by his own reserve of magic that's always around him, screening the background magic and any magic Harry himself would release.


	60. The Time Weavers

**I Don't Own Digimon!**

- o - 0 - o -

BlackGuilmon

Sleep evades him so rolls from his belly to his side before opening his yellow eyes. It was the fifth time that day that he finds himself unable to sleep and so yet again, he crawls out of the cave he dug with his own claws to escape the heat and being spotted by flying Digimon looking for Digimon to load data from. He rather not be forced to find some meaningless fight just because somebody wanted to load him. It just really annoyed him for some reason, he's fairly sure that he should know why but like sleep, the answer eludes him.

So before he exits out of the small den that he dug, he takes a few seconds to sniffs for Digimon before moving his head out of the tunnel to survey the surrounding area. Not seeing anyone around, be it up in the air or ground level, he hauls the rest of his body out of the hole. Once out of the dirt tunnel, he gives himself a shake before stretching to his full height.

With a snort, he turns eastward as he spies some pink rolling data moving about on the ground. He doesn't feel threaten from the pack so he turns southward for a few seconds, trying to decide in which direction he should wander in. His ears flap as he hears something giggling over top of him, a small swarm of Digi-Gnomes seem to appear out of nowhere and they circle over head.

After studying them for a few seconds, he dismisses them from his mind, they never harmed any Digimon before and doubts they'll start with him. So he decides to head westward, towards the river that flows through the rocky bank. He could use a drink and he might find some fruit floating on the water's surface.

Once more, his ears flap as the Digi-Gnome's chatter alter by a few notes but otherwise, he doesn't react to their presence as he trots confidently towards the river. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see that the Digi-Gnomes have formed a V formation with him at the head of it. Their continued presence means that there wasn't any other Digimon in the area or else they would be flying higher up in the sky. Which was pretty comforting in his opinion.

After a while the scent of water reaches his nose and he speeds up to reach the river to get a drink of cool, refreshing water for his parched throat and to maybe fill his empty belly. He hadn't eaten since the drought started and he can already tell that the river has shrunk once more. His ears droop slightly at the sight as he slows to a walk as he comes within sight of the river bank.

Before climbing down to take a drink, he takes a few sniff along the bank to see if there were any recent visitors. The Digi-Gnomes circle overhead, chatting away in that sing song way of theirs with some hints of purring. He moves to the edge of the rocky bank and stares down at the trickle that the once mighty river had been.

"Hmmm. . ." He hums as he tries to see a way down without causing him to turn his back to the sky but in the end, he just leaps down and lands with a thud on the wet sandy ground. He moves to the edge of the river and begins to drink, trying to keep his mind off the colour of the water as he does so.

After a few minutes, he finishes drinking his fill and he pulls his head back to study his surrounding before he begins to ascent the rocky bank. Digging his claws into the rocky bank, he pulls himself up as he continues to dig his white claws into the rough rocky surface. By the time he makes it the the top of the out cropping, he's panting and, ironically, thirsty once more.

As he stands there trying to get his breathing under control, the Digi-Gnome begin to circle him. Their chatter sounds worried and he can't help but blink at them before cocking his head to the side as he studies them with a hint of worry in his yellow eyes. He felt a lump hit his mid-section as he begins to feel uneasy as more Digi-Gnomes begin to circle him, the level of his unease keeps increasing until he sighs.

"What's wrong?" He asks in a gruff voice, he rarely felt the need to speak but for some reason, he felt that he needed to voice that question. Within seconds he finds himself moving in a north eastern direction until they happen upon some kind of energy portal.

Within seconds of arriving, the Digi-Gnomes abandon circling him to circle the tear and in time, an image of a young human being attack by a tall humanoid figure that's blue with what appears to be gills around the neck. A large axe manages to hit the orange Digimon, a Patamon he IDs without thinking, and within seconds there is an egg where the Patamon had been, then as a tear opens up under the egg, he sees red and the figure advances towards the human boy.

For the first time since he can remember, he was beyond angry and he leaps into the energy gate without a second thought. He does note in pass that the egg that once was a Patamon pass by him on his way towards defending the young human.

"Pyro Grenade!" He bellows and a purple fire sphere hits the figure in the chest. He bites the back of the human's back pack and pulls the child away as the Digimon off some kind of dart out of the tip of the axe.

Carrying the child a few feet from the unknown Digimon, he puts the child down and moves to stand between the human and the Digimon. He feels and hears himself growling as he stands in a protective manner before the green clothed human. "I won't let you touch him!" He snarls furiously at the humanoid Digimon.

The figure looks slightly uneasy but the Digimon's facial seem to become firm as the known Digimon. "Your funeral then, _rookie_!" The Digimon says and begins to take a stand with the axe moving form the left hand to its right.

With a war cry, the Digimon charges towards him and with a cry of, "Rock Crusher!" He charges forward. His right arm crashes through the axe. He tackles the Digimon and bites down the unknown Digimon's right shoulder as his arms move to pin the Digimon to the ground.

They roll around on the ground until a punch to the side of his head causes him to let go of the shoulder to yelp in pain. As the Digimon tries to punch him once more, he bites down on the left arm and this time uses his left claws to scratch the Digimon's eyes, causing the offending Digimon to yelp in pain. Though he was tiring, he refused to give way to this strange Digimon who seems intent on harming the boy.

In the end, something happens and suddenly a rush of energy flares from his chest outwards to the rest of his body. The Digimon's eyes widen and once he lets go of the arm, he bellows, "Virus Breathe!"

At such close range the other Digimon couldn't help but get a face full of the mist and begins choking within seconds of breathing it in. As he gets off the Digimon, the humanoid Digimon moves to his knees as he continues to cough. With eyes like yellow diamonds, his left arm glows slightly and one Rock Crusher later finds the unknown Digimon vanishing into little bits of data which he absorbs without delay.

That done, he turns to face the human that he saved.

- **x** -

TK

The day had started like usual since his brother took some swan boat to see what's across the lake, he got up, moved the large leaf that Tokomon placed over him like a blanket, yawned as he rubbed the grit from his eyes as he sits up right, and waking Tokomon up. He casted his usual worried glance out at the large before getting up to go find some berries for breakfast. By the time he was done using the restroom, he couldn't place his finger on it but some how, they weren't alone.

First they met with DemiDevimon who talked about proving himself by heading out over the water to find his brother, Matt. Though after a bit the blue cloth wearing flying ball of a Digimon arrived but not alone. Some tall humanoid Digimon leaped out of the water and began to swing an axe around.

Within seconds, DemiDevimon vanishes over the lake while leaving Tokomon and himself to the unknown Digimon who began to look highly pleased with himself, he even had this odd glint in his eye as the Digimon points the tip of his axe at him. To say that by the time one could say fight, Tokomon Digivolves into Patamon and a Boom Bubble later causes the dart coming out of the axe to land off target, namely little old him.

Sadly, his partner wasn't much of a match for the unknown Digimon and one axe swing later causes him to lose Patamon again. As the egg passes through a portal and gateway opens and out comes this large black Digimon with red markings that launches a purple fire ball at the Digimon before pulling him away from the unknown Digimon.

He's still in shock and numbly watches as the pair of unknown Digimon battle it out. The black dino or baby dragon breaks the humanoid's axe and then they wrestle around in the dirt until finally, the black Digimon breathes out some kind of mist and the larger Digimon begins to choke. Once the black Digimon gets off of the humanoid one, a few seconds after the Digimon starts to cough, the black one's hand glows and destroys the humanoid Digimon's head.

Instead of breaking apart and an egg appearing, the humanoid Digimon breaks apart into what seems to be a mist and then that mist goes straight into the black Digimon.

As he stares numbly at the Digmon's back, the Digimon turns around to face him, staring at him with his yellow eyes.

"... Thanks, I guess." He finally manages to stutter out and the Digimon takes a step towards him, his black scaly head cocking to one side as a hint of concern enters into the black Digimon's eyes. As the muzzle of the Digimon comes towards him, he holds his breath for a few seconds as the Digimon sniffs him, which was kink of ticklish.

The Digimon pulls his head away and he lets go of the breath he had been holding. "Boy you're big." He says as he gets to his feet. He hastes to reach out to touch the black Digimon, not sure what to make of the red marked Digimon who just showed up and savaged his attacker.

In the end, the Digimon moves his muzzle into the palm of his hand to which the large Digimon hums slightly, his eyes closing slightly from the contact. "So, what kind of Digimon are you?" He asks as he feels more sure of himself.

"I'm a BlackGuilmon." A gruffish voice says with a hint of childishness. "BlackGuilmon? That's a mouthful! Err... I don't suppose I can just call you Yami?" He asks and the Digimon now nicknamed Yami just hums as he shrugs slightly.

After a few minutes of silence, Yami stomach growls and he chuckles nervously, completely off balance here without Patamon here to support him. "You're friend... I'm sorry I wasn't able to come in time to save him." Yami finally says softly with a great deal of sorrow evident in his voice and in his eyes.

He blinks, kind of stunned by that confession and his expression soften as he addresses the likely virus Digimon. "I'm sure I'll hook up with him again. All I need to do is find his egg." On hearing that, Yami flinches slightly.

"I met the egg halfway through the gate. He's likely in my world while I'm here in yours." Yami explains and he blinks a few times as that sinks in. "Then we just need to find the others and maybe one of them knows of a way to get you home and to have Patamon's egg returned to this world. If not one of them, then maybe Gennai will know what to do." He says as confidently as he can and Yami nods in thoughtful agreement.

Once more Yami's stomach growls and this time Yami just sighs. "Boy do you sound hungry." He says with a slight giggle while Yami straightens as he puts a hand over his mid-section with a sigh.

"I haven't eaten anything since the drought began." Yami admits with a hint of embarrassment coloring his tone. "Really? How long as the drought been going on then? A week?" He asks and Yami looks thoughtful before replying, "I believe it might have been four months by now, maybe even six. I don't know, I don't really keep track."

He can't help it, he just stares with wide eyes as he tries to wrap his head about the fact that Yami hasn't eaten anything for so long. "How come you look so healthy then? I mean, if I went that long without anything to eat I'd be skin and bones!" He exclaims and once more Yami shrugs as he answers his question, "It's common for Digimon to go so long without food, as long as we don't think we need food, we don't get hungry, or thirty."

He can't help but shake his head as he then begins to move his green hat since it's gotten loose slightly with all the stuff that's been going on. "Well then, let's get some berries into you, and fast since I rather not find myself as the main course!" He declares and Yami snorts but waits for him to take the lead.

Unknown to the pair of them, an observer watches as they walk through the forest looking for a more fuller berry bush for Yami to eat from.

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

As TK walks in front of him, he can't help but notice how short the child's legs were and frowns before an idea pops into his head. "Why don't you climb onto my back, I'm sure you're not that heavy." He suggest and TK pauses and then gets this thinking look on his face before the boy nods in agreement.

"Can't hurt." TK declares and he lies down on the ground to allow the child to climb onto his back. TK grabs onto his shoulders as he stands up. It takes a few seconds for him to get use to this weight before he starts walking once more.

Other then stopping ever so often to allow the young boy to stretch and get rid of his cramps, they did made better time then they expected as within a few days and following a well worn path that seen a lot of Digimon if his scent of smell is correct, which it generally is. It wasn't long before the scent of food reaches him, causing him to drool slightly as he picks up the pace.

"Hey look, there's Gomamon!" TK shouts as a small white Digimon with purple marking gets tossed out of the door. "TK? TK! What are you doing here? And who's this? Where's Patamon?" The smaller Digimon asks after rushing up to greet them.

He moves closer to the ground to allow the boy off his back and then stands up once again as TK begins to answer the water loving Digimon's questions. While slightly confused as to why there was such a place like this in this world, it wasn't long before he enters into the building, heading straight to the back to raid the place of food since he figures they need a lot of food for their coming journey away from this place.

"Hey! What are you doing back here?" An egg type ultimate Digimon demands a he gives the higher level Digimon a blank look that screams 'What do you think I'm doing, idiot?' Though it wasn't long before he notices that he's not the only rookie Digimon in the kitchen and that the Digimon was with two humans that were older then TK, though one kind of seems to be related to Digimon.

"Get our of here, you! Only workers are allowed back here!" The egg Digimon bellows but once more he ignores him as he heads straight for the fridge as his stomach growls. The two humans seem mildly amused by this so they don't make a move to stop him.

It's not long before he's eaten most of the vegetables and fruit from the fridge while the egg Digimon keeps huffing and puffing. As he studies the eggs within the fridge, half formed ideas of what he can make with them flutter within his mind.

Before he doesn't anything, he hears TK's voice call out on seeing the two humans and the other rookie Digimon. "He's with you? Then I'm charging you for the mess he's making in my kitchen." The egg Digimon declares and takes a few menacing steps towards the young blond, causing him to forget about the food to focus on the now visible enemy Digimon that's trying to threaten his charge.

"Back away from him." He orders in a very frosty voice as he turns to face the egg. "Or what? You'll beat me up?" The egg Digimon declares mockingly and he growls while he notices that the older blond clenches his fist while the Gabumon says, "Matt..."

"Don't make me laugh! Like you can ever hope of defeating me! The great Digitamamon!" The egg Digimon declares with a laugh that only made him mad, after all, he wasn't going to let anything happened to the boy even if means challenging an ultimate level Digimon.

"Rock Crusher!" He snarls out and the egg Digimon closes his shell, though he's proud to see the egg get sent through the wall behind the boastful Digimon while Gomamon manages to move TK out of the way. "TK, Gomamon! Over here, hurry!" The one called Matt shouts.

He's already slashing at the egg's surface and already his claws were causing grooves to appear in the ultimate level Digimon's rock hard shell. After all, he's sure to digging, be it through soft dirt or rocks. As long as the Digimon doesn't do anything beyond hide, he's fairly sure that he could break through the shell's tough surface.

As he's about to do another Rock Crusher, something wraps around his one arm. He turns and finds a Weedmon trying to stop him. A Pyro Grenade later and all that remains of the Weedmon was a Digi-egg.

As he's about to resume his task of cracking open Digitamamon's shell, he hears TK cry out in alarm. "We're not finished, not by a long shoot!" He growls before racing to the back to see what's going on back there.

He blinks as he finds yet another unknown Digimon attacking the group, only this time the two rookies weren't anywhere in sight while a Garurumon and an Ikkakumon, the two rookie's evolved forms battling against leafy humanoid Digimon.

Seeing that the two champions had everything under control, he moves to be by TK's side while glancing into the dinner every now and again. "You know, remind me to teach you how to behave in dinners, Yami. It was kind of rude to head straight into the kitchen instead of to a table." TK says, likely trying to lighten the mood.

He shrugs, for some reason, he just knew that this was going to end in a fight even if he had used his manners. Though for some reason, he kept looking expectantly at the elder blond. It was kind of confusing, really why that he haves this feeling that Matt needed to do something, something important but the what escapes him.

As Digitamamon comes out of the dinner, the egg Digimon pauses to take a look at the leafy humanoid Digimon then at the two champions before glancing at him. "DemiDevimon owes me big time for this." The egg declares and he snorts in derangement at that statement while TK says questionably, "DemiDevimon? What did he do to you? I mean, besides bring this guy here?"

"Are you saying that the rookie brought that creature here?" The egg growls while Joe and Matt blink in confusion. "He brought the one that deleted my partner and I think that one opened a portal for Yami here to come through." TK admits, he doesn't feel the need to correct the boy, after all, from the look of things here, they didn't have Digi-Gnomes so they likely would doubt in the beings existence.

"So that little rodent paid me to keep those two here just so he can summon that thing here?" Digitamamon bellows while Matt pales as if he's been hit. "You mean you kept making up charges to keep us here?" Matt yells out in outrage and the egg Digimon snorts. "Of course I was! DemiDevimon kept arranging 'accidents' for your friend here so I have a valid excuse to keep him here, and you when you showed up."

_Why do I get the feeling that this is old news for me?"_ He muses as he watches as a symbol begins to glow on Matt's chest. "Garurumon Digivolve too..." The light fades as the Digivolvution process finishes and the new and improved WereGarurumon declares, "WereGarurumon!"

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

They waited by the docks that night as TK told the other four about what happened that caused him to show up. He watches as Gomamon brings back another fish for their supper. Since Tsunomon didn't have any limbs, let alone hands and the older humans were busy making plans, it was up to him to spear the fish and set it by the cooking fire.

As Gomamon slips back into the water, Joe says, "Just great, now we got somebody new to worry about. Why can't this be easy? Wasn't defeating Etemon enough?" He turns away from the cooking fire to stare blankly at the glass wearing human.

_For somebody with such a heavy bag, the least he can so is fill it up with useful stuff like fruit or even some herbs._ He thinks as Joe begins to talk about how easily they could have been injured in today's battles and how there weren't any hospitals around to prevent that. He could tell that Matt's already agitated enough without needing to hear what Joe has to say.

"Well, now what are we suppose to do? We're not exactly a team right now, not when all of us are scattered while we were searching for our fearless leader." Matt says. "Maybe things will look better in the morning." He decides to say something since it's clear that they all had a trying day.

The in-training Digimon seems to sigh while giving him a grateful look. Though the older humans seem to be surprised by the suggestion. "I think Yami's right. We might as well get a good night sleep before we decide on what course of action we take." Gomamon says after dropping the fish that was in his mouth on the bank with a paw over it.

"I think that sounds reasonable, what about you Matt?" Joe asks and Matt sighs before nodding. "I guess it wouldn't hurt." Matt declares as he spears the fish with a stick before setting it by the fire.

"I think that might be enough fish." Joe decides after counting the number around the fire. "You sure? I mean, you know..." Gomamon gives him a pointed look while he pretends that he didn't hear that.

"I'm fairly sure that he can make due with ten of those fish." Joe says and Gomamon shrugs while giving him a measured look. "I guess..." Gomamon says with a sigh, clearly having doubts about how much it takes to feed him.

"There's a good twenty fish there! How could you not say that's not enough?" Matt wonders and he just knows that Gomamon just gave the elder blond a dry look. He feels Matt's eyes on him, sizing him up before Matt says, "Oh, err... I can see why you're concerned."

He hears TK stifle a giggle as he picks up one of the unused sticks to poke the fire. "I think I'm going to get more fire wood." Matt declares and within seconds TK joins his elder brother. He spares a look in their direction, sniffing before returning to cooking the fish while Joe decides to lie down on his back.

"So, Yami, what kind of Digimon are you?" He hears Joe asks. "I'm a BlackGuilmon." He answers, he just knew it was going to be a long night.

- **x** -

Tai

"Can't you make this thing go any faster?" He hears his partner ask for what seems to be the tenth time since the sun set. "Can you get any louder?" He counter in irritation before checking his Digivice and sure enough, they were getting closer to those three dotes.

According to his Digivice, it was three am and he's sleep deprived, he's legs were getting tire, his butt was aching, and they were both pretty hungry. "Hey! I smell a campfire!" Agumon says and he sighs in relief.

"Finally!" He declares as his partner and recent source of annoyance hums his agreement. While he would love to speed up, he doubts that he could keep up that pace for long so he keep kept peddling steady towards the direction Agumon is pointing in.

After about forty minutes, they finally make it to shore and he would have leaped off the swan boat and raced towards the three red dotes if it weren't for one tiny little fact. His entire body was aching and he was TIRED!

With a heavy sigh, he allows Agumon to take the lead as he slowly follows his slightly more energetic partner. As he approaches the fire, he can hear some soft snoring and he can't help but smile as he ID who's snoring.

Before they got any further towards the camp, somebody growls and a large lump of blackness moves, getting to its feet to face them. "Who? What? Huh?" He hears Joe say sleepily, waking at the sound of growling.

"Yami? What's wrong?" He hears Joe ask and he calls out once he's got a good view of who's all among the group, "Hey Joe! Who's that and where's Tokomon?" "Tai? Tai! Thank god you're here! Where were you? What happened to Etemon?" Joe asks, it wasn't long before the rest of the others were roused from their slumber and within seconds more wood is added onto the fire while he finds himself getting a very good view of who Yami is.

"Is he a rookie or a champion?" He asks Matt after he answered their questions as he notices the way the large black Digimon kept studying him and Agumon.

"We think he's a rookie, though he did recklessly attack an ultimate level Digimon called Digitamamon." Matt says while TK leans on Yami's right side. He yawns before rubbing his eyes.

"I guess I can hear your side of things later. Right now I'm bushed and wouldn't mind some shut eye." He says and Matt nods with a sympathetic look fixed on his face.

"By the way, Tai. How did you know to come to this side of the lake?" Joe asks while Matt and him exchange duties. "Oh that? I found some note on the seat telling me that what I seeked was on the other side of the lake. Pretty helpful, huh?" He says and Joe nods in agreement before they both rest on their back.

It didn't take long before he finds himself fast asleep.

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

As Matt leads the way through the mountains, he can't help but be on alert as something within him tells him that they might be in danger. It's been a few days since they split up with Joe, Tai, and their partners going one way while Matt, TK, Gabumon, and himself went the other way.

He perks up as he hears a yelling coming from up ahead. His ears flap as Gabumon also perks up. "I think somebody's in trouble up ahead!" Gabumon says to Matt as he hums in agreement.

"If you're sure." Matt says before they put on speed. It takes them a few minutes and they find a large red insectoid Digimon called MegaKabuterimon battling against a large rock dragon Digimon with a gun for it right arm.

A short red haired human seems to have a dart in his hand while looking worriedly at the battle going on before them. "You can do it, MegaKabuterimon!" The human calls out and Matt glances to Gabumon. "Right!" Gabumon says and takes a few steps towards the fight then the other rookie begins to glow.

"Gabumon Digivolve too..." As the light fades, revealing a four legged Digimon with white fur with blue stripes declaring to the world, "Garurumon!"

With his Digivolution complete, the canine Digimon joins the fight while he moves to stand protectively behind TK. "It's too bad you can't Digivolve, I bet you'd beat that pile of rocks, Yami." TK says after the battle rages on for a few minutes. He hums in agreement, not taking his eyes off the rock Digimon that the other two were having trouble defeating.

As the rock Digimon notices the other humans beyond the red head, the Digimon manages to back away from the other two Digimon to take aim at TK. As the gun fires, he grabs TK with his arms and pulls the boy out of the way of the dart while Garurumon takes the time to bite down hard on the gun arm of the rock dragon.

"Enough already!" MegaKabuterimon shouts out in annoyance and within seconds the ultimate Digimon roars out, "Horn Blaster!" The attack hits the Digimon's head, causing it to crack for a few seconds before the rock Digimon falls backwards.

"Wolf Cry!" Garurumon bellows, the sonic waves causes the head of the rock Dragon to burst and within seconds the Digimon breaks apart into data particles. "Well, that's unusual." TK says and he can't help but ask, "How so?"

"Well, usual Garurumon uses his Howling Blaster, I mean, he only has one attack, right?" TK asks him as he lets the boy drop to the ground. "I have three attacks, I know Garurumon has six attacks, and MegaKabuterimon has seven attacks." He says and Matt looks surprised while TK just says, "Oh."

Within seconds MegaKabuterimon and Garurumon glow and within seconds a Motimon and Gabumon appears. "Motimon!" The red head shouts as the human races towards the in-training Digimon.

_How odd, do they always return to their in-training or rookie forms?_ He wonders as he cocks his head to the side as he watches as Matt walks up to the new human. "Hey Izzy, guess you got attacked too by an unknown Digimon, huh?" Matt says, kind of stating the obvious.

"Well, to be honest, I hadn't expected to encounter anyone when we exited out Vademon dimensional hole." Izzy says before the red head notices him. "Looks like that's not the only new Digimon I get to encounter today." Izzy says dryly and Matt turns to look at him before nodding in agreement.

"Yea, that's Yami, according to him, he's a BlackGuilmon. He's kind of replaced Patamon until we figure out how to send Yami home while having Patamon send here." Matt explains and within seconds the one known as Izzy circles him, clearly studying him.

"I thought Digimon don't do names?" Izzy wonders and TK puffs out his chest as he replies, "Well, saying BlackGuilmon is such a mouthful so I figured I'd call him Yami and he didn't object to the name."

"So, what do you plan to do with that dart?" TK asks while Matt takes time to survey the area. "I want to examine it since I think that what it contains is meant to affect humans since the Digimon didn't try and use it against either of the Digimon." Izzy explains and he hums as he recalls the first encounter with such an unknown Digimon.

"Well, I think we're in the clear." Matt declares as he walks over to join the majority. Izzy is careful with the dart and wraps the point up so they don't accidentally poke themselves with the point and find out the effects first hand.

A few seconds later, some kind of hologram appears and he doesn't give it much mind as he finds himself distracted as something scratches at the back of his mind but it seems that it refuses to make itself clear. As he closes his eyes and focuses on whatever it is, he finds an image of a human wearing yellow goggles with hazel reddish eyes and a red version of him with black markings. For some odd reason, he suddenly felt hollow inside and once the picture vanishes back into the blackness of his mind, he opens his eyes to find the rest of the group heading off.

It wasn't long before he's pacing behind TK as they walk towards some unknown destination.

- **x** -

TK

He finds himself in what appears to be a bakery. Grey shades shaped like humans move about the shop with one behind the counter. He hears a familiar hum and he finds Yami standing right behind him, an odd look in Yami's yellow eyes.

"Where are we? Are is this a dream?" He wonders and Yami moves towards the counter. Yami's hand touches the counter's surface and he moves to follow his current partner.

Yami heads into the back and he hastes slightly but he follows since he's curious about why they're there. In the kitchen there were two grey shades that seem to be working there. Yami stands there for a few minutes before Yami heads towards the stair case.

"I'm not sure we're allowed up there." He informs Yami but Yami just hums before continuing so he follow after the Digimon. They soon enter into a hallway and Yami keeps walking, as if knowing where he's going which was kind of strange.

Yami stops before a room with an open door. In the end, he manages to squeeze pass Yami to take a look inside. He walks into the room that seems to belong to a human kid.

He does notice an Agumon figurine on a book case and on the desk top was a note pad with a drawing of a red dino with the name Guilmon written on it. "Weird..." He says and as he reaches to touch the pad of paper, everything fades black and suddenly, he finds himself being shaken by his older brother.

"TK? TK! You ok?" Matt asks him worriedly and he can't help but blink before rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong Matt? I was having the strangest dream of being in a bakery..." He asks tiredly while Matt raises an eyebrow.

"Oh yea? What were you doing? Pigging out on cream buns?" Matt asks jokingly and he frowns as he tries to recall the details of the dream.

"Well, Yami was there and we explored it until we got to this kid's room. There was something on the desk that I was reaching for when you woke me up." He tells his elder brother.

"Oh well, come on or you won't get any breakfast." Matt says and he nods as his brother heads to join the others. He turns to look over at Yami as Yami seems to be staring intently at the ground.

"It was a dream, right?" He wonders and Yami blinks before turning to look at him. "Maybe." Yami replies and he sighs before getting up as his stomach growls about the lack of food.

As they head off, he can't help but turn to face Yami who seems to be staring up at the sky with an odd expression in his eyes. "Come on, Yami! The others are leaving already!" He calls out to his new protector and Yami blinks as the black Digimon nods in agreement.

Within seconds, Yami and him caught up with the others as they head for Gennai's lake.

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

"I see, can I see this dart that you kept Izzy? I want to examine it in more detail and maybe come up with an antidote." The little old man says and the man holds out his hand while Izzy brings out the dart he got from the encounter with a rock dragon Digimon.

"Does that mean you know of a way to get Patamon out of Yami's home reality?" TK asks the little man though he doubts the Digital man known as Gennai has any definite way to return him at this moment in time. He looks at the map resting on the wall as the old looking Digital man answers, "I do know of a way to return Yami here back to his world and to get Patamon back, but I'm sorry to say this but that way has been blocked off for a while now."

"But I do believe I have something that might allow Yami here to Digivolve. It dropped out of a gate much like the one that Yami described, I even heard the giggles that sound like wind charms and when I looked up, it dropped on the ground in front of me." The little old man says, his turns to look at the man when he described the giggling.

"Giggling?" He hears Sora question softly. He flaps his ears as at the sight of the device that Gennai has in his hand.

"A D-Arc..." He says as his vision mists over as another image over laps this golden one, for a moment he saw one that was red instead of gold. "D-Arc you say? Mmmm, well, here you go, TK. I'm sure you'll use it well." Gennai says as hands the device over to the young blond.

"Wow, I wonder how it works." TK says and as he turns to look at Agumon, who was trying to steal some food from Tai's plate.

Within seconds the D-Arc begins to beep and within seconds a hologram of Agumon appears. Izzy reads off the information that the D-Arc is displaying. "Agumon, a vaccine attribute Digimon of the rookie level. Reptile type who's attacks are Pepper Flame, Claw Attack, and Spitfire."

"That's a pretty useful function." Izzy says as the hologram vanishes and the rest of the group hum in agreement while Agumon tries to look innocent while Tai notices that some of his food has vanished.

"Yes, I agree, that would be a useful function for a Digivice to have." Gennai muses. He looks down at his own claws, unsure why he felt so hollow...

= **V** =

Later that evening, he heard somebody get up and on seeing that it was Izzy, he closes his eyes and tries to go back to sleep. _Hope it doesn't take too long for the upgrade..._ He muses as sleep takes him.

- **x** -

TK

He watches as Tai punches the iron gate one last time. He had mixed feelings about what just happened though it takes him a bit to realize that Yami wasn't with the group. "Where's Yami?" He asks Gabumon and his brother's partner takes a look around before pointing at the stone pillar a bit at the back.

Nodding his thanks, he runs towards the large rookie to see what's caught Yami's attention. "So, why are you over here? I mean, everyone's over there, by the gate." He asks after staring at stone pillar for a few seconds.

"We're missing something... We need the things that fit here." Yami says in a puzzled tone and frowns as his ears droop slightly.

He can't help but blink before scratching the side of his head. Before he gets the chance to say anything though, something decides its the perfect time to attack. "Crimson Claw!" A newly arrived Devidramon roars.

He screams as the attack comes closer and he hears the attack connect with something, make that with someone. "Yami..." He says in awe as the black rookie holds onto the Devidramon's claws.

"TK!" He hears Matt call out but he can't take his eyes off of Yami as the rookie tries to push the arm away. The evil champion Digimon growls before sending Yami flying through the air.

"YAMI!" He calls out and tries to run to the fallen Digimon's side. _Please no, not now, not to him, not after what happened to Patamon!_ He cries out mentally.

Within seconds he finds himself pinned to the ground while the others were trying to get their partners to Digivolve but it seems that they're all exhausted. "TK? TK!" He hears Yami cry out.

He moves his head and finds Yami getting to his feet, he can't help but noticed that the symbol on Yami's chest glowing slightly. Yami begins to growl and with a snarl the smaller Digimon charges at Devidramon. "Rock Crusher!"

The attack slams into the arm pinning him down. The larger black Digimon cries out before back handing Yami into a wall. The Devidramon turns his back on him to deal with Yami.

He can't help it, his tears flowed freely as a sob. _It's like with Devimon all over again. Please, somebody, anybody, do something!_ He screams within his mind as he wipes his tears from his face.

A familiar glow erupts from his Digivice and then his new Digivice begins to glow as his original one's light dies down. "Blackguilmon Digivolve too..." An egg of light surrounds Yami and within a few seconds later, the egg breaks apart to reveal a really large black Digimon with red marking.

"Blackgrowlmon!" The new and improve Yami snarls with some steam coming out of his nostrils. Grey hair frame Yami's head while odd blade like extensions were around his wrist.

With a snarl the two black champions charge each other, Yami lashing out with his claws as Devidramon tries to slam into Yami. As the two exchange blows, he stares in awe at how big and furious looking Yami is as a champion level Digimon.

"Black Bite!" Devidramon growls and Yami growls, "Dark Blade!" The blade like extensions on Yami's wrists move into position before glowing. As Devidramon tries to get close to bite Yami, Yami slams a blade into Devidramon's left shoulder while Yami's other hand slashes at Devidramon's eyes, causing the Devidramon howl in pain.

"Black Exhaust Flame!" Yami snarls and within seconds, a stream of flame shoots out of Yami's mouth, engulfing the injured Devidramon. Within seconds a Digi-egg hits the ground as Yami roars in triumph.

"Yami?" He asks and within seconds the champion Digimon turns to regard him. Yami cocks his head to the side, an unsure expression in the champion's eyes. "TK?" Yami asks and then within seconds Yami returns to his rookie form with a confused look in his eyes.

"We won?" Yami asks and he just nods, though he did wonder what caused such a strange reaction in Yami when he was a champion.

- o - 0 - o -

TK

He kept glancing at the other room where Yami's currently holding up in as Tai and the other talk with Gennai about their failure to get through the gate when Myotismon opened the gate to enter into the human world and about how odd Yami had acted after finishing off the Devidramon.

He's more worried by the fact that Yami seems to be more withdrawn then usual. He bites his lower lip as his need to stick around to hear what Gennai's thoughts are on their situation to his wanting to go comfort Yami.

"I think Yami needs you, TK, I'm sure the others would understand if you head off to talk with him." Gabumon says softly and he's startled for a seconds before nodding in thanks to the fur wearing rookie.

He slips out as the others wait for Gennai to return with something. It wasn't hard to find his Neo-partner as Yami's curled up in a ball in a corner.

"Yami?" He says softly once he's within a foot radius of the large rookie. Yellow eyes move to look at him though the Digimon didn't say anything, he figured that the movement was an unspoken 'What?'

He sits down as he says, "Do you want to talk about it?" Yami's eyes flicker away from him before the black rookie moves to put his arms under his jaw.

"I didn't recognize you when I saw you." Yami answers softly, his eyes were down cast. "Well, we haven't really gotten to know each other, so, it could be, you know, that." He replies.

"I'm not sure that's the reason." Yami states softly. "Then what do you think the reason was?" He asks as he leans forward.

"I think the problem is that I'm a monster." Yami replies. He blinks before scratching the side of his head as he tries to think of something to say.

"Why'd you think that?" He asks after a few minutes of coming up with blank. "I heard a girl's voice call me one while I was looking down at you. That expression... It cut deep into me, it _hurt_ seeing that look on your face." Yami states with a pain look in his eyes.

He looks away, he couldn't help but admit he was kind of scared as Yami roared on defeating the Devidramon. "It was pretty frightening to see you standing there, roaring over your victory over Devidramon. It didn't help that you got so big! Like in Greymon big!" He tells Yami.

"But what really scared me was the look in your eyes when you heard me call you by your nick name. I thought you forgot about me." He adds as he looks down into his lap, he can feel tears well up in his eyes.

His body shakes as some of his tears escape his eyes and land on his hands. "I couldn't stand it, seeing Devidramon beating on you when you couldn't really defend yourself! It made me remember what happened with Devimon again! I just lost Patamon and I was about to lost you!"

He sobs slightly and after a few minutes he feels something pick up his chin, he finds himself looking into Yami's face. "Don't cry, TK." Yami says softly as Yami's eyes gleam with tears as well.

"Yami!" He cries as he charges forward to hug the black coloured Digimon. He feels Yami rub his back as he cries into the black rookie's chest.

Unknown to the pair, Tai and Matt watch from the doorway for a few seconds before they move away from the doorway.

- **x** -

Yami

As the castle rumbles and breaks apart, he can't help but stare intently at the Agumon card. He has this minor desire to grab it and stuff it into a pocket or something, which was kind of weird since unlike the others, he wasn't very concerned about this Tai picking the right card.

In the end, Tai picks the Gomamon card and one Izzy puts it into the slot, the iron gate begins to open. As the group's cheering is cut short, he makes sure to pick up TK before racing straight towards the opening gates.

TK doesn't squirm much as they race the gauntlet of enemy Digimon trying to prevent them from reaching the glowing gate way to the human world. The other Digimon all Digivolve to deal with different opposing Digimon trying to block their path.

He's the first to make it through the gate and within seconds, he feels...

"Yami?" He wakes to hear TK standing over him, looking down at him. "TK?" He asks and finds that his voice has undergone a change in pitch as well as his surroundings.

"He's so... so... cute!" Mimi declares and within seconds he finds himself getting hug by the pink wearing member of the Digidestine while he tries not to faint from dizziness.

_I think I'm goin' to hurl!_ He thinks as he finds himself in the air as Mimi spins around.

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

"So, how come you're red with black markings instead of black with red markings?" TK asks him as they walk towards Highton View Terrace.

"I'm a Gigimon, as far as I know, they only come in one colour." He says as he wishes that he was on the ground so that he can try and catch his tiny tail.

Though a small part of him notes that if he caught it in his teeth, it would hurt but the larger part of him didn't care since he didn't want to sit still at all.

The joys of being an in-training Digimon.

"I don't ever think I'll ever get this stain out of this shirt!" Mimi complains yet again and almost everyone sighs on hearing Mimi complain about it for the eighth time since they got off the school bus.

"It's your own fault, you just had to spin him." Sora reminds Mimi as they wait for the light to change.

Before anyone could say anything, they watch a police car pull up and shout at them about some kind of monster loose. He stops trying to draw his name in the air with his tail as he looks on as the others decide to check it out.

_Huh, I wonder why this feels familiar... Mmmmm... I wonder if I can talk Matt into making some Guilmon Bread later..._ He wonders as TK carries him into a dangerous situation with a Mammothmon.

So with a look of concentration, he tries to recall what items they would need to make Guilmon Bread. Not giving any mind to the battle that's approaching.

- **x** -

TK

He sighs as he notices that Yami has drifted off to sleep while they wait for a subway train. He can't help but compare Yami as an in-training Digimon to when he's a rookie Digimon.

_He sure is energetic and more talkative as Gigimon then when he's Blackguilmon. Though, why is he acting so different? I mean, none of the other Digimon act so different between their two forms._ He muses to himself as looks at the top of Yami's head.

"Penny for your thoughts." Sora says and he turns to look at Sora before sighing.

"I can't believe how different Yami's been acting, I mean, Yokomon doesn't act very different from when she's Biyomon, right?" He asks and Sora looks down at Yokomon for a second while some little kid begins to yank on one of Yokomon's tentacles.

It wasn't long before Yokomon gets tired of having the kid yank on her after Sora's subtle attempts of getting the kid to let go.

After coming up with a false department store that sold Sora her 'toy'. Surprisingly, the car empties of everyone but Digidestine and their Digimon partners.

Though slowly, he finds it hard to stay awake...

- **x** -

Yami

"Well, now how do we hide you?" TK asks him as he examines himself in the mirror. He can't help but feel very relieved about finally being back to being a Blackguilmon.

He looks from the mirror and glances at TK as he says, "I could pretend to be a guy in a costume." For some odd reason, he can't help but feel that this event was familiar like he's done something like this before but the memory escapes him.

"I'm not sure it would work." TK says with a slight frown on his face.

"Worth a try, isn't?" He muses lightly with a slight grin on his face while TK looks unconvinced.

"I guess..." TK says and he just hums slightly before returning to admiring himself in the mirror, for some reason he just couldn't figure out why his reflection seemed to trouble him.

= **V** =

"I can't believe nobody noticed anything!" TK says as they get into the park that they're meeting the others in. He just shrugs though he can't help but be uneasy about their trip through the city.

He's got a headache since something is trying to claw its way to the surface but it can't seem to make it. He sighs as TK calls out a greeting to his elder brother. "Hey Matt!" TK calls out and the blond seems to look relieved to see that TK arrived alright.

"How come Yami is... well, out of the open?" Matt asks. "It was his idea, if anyone asked I told them that he's my cousin dressed up in a costume. It worked oddly enough." TK answers after giving Matt a hug while Matt looks slightly embarrassed about it.

"And they bought it?" A disguised Gabumon asks in disbelief. "Yea, they did." TK answers and before long, the others begin to arrive with Tai being late and without a phone book.

_He never found it, huh?_ He muses thoughtfully as he settles down behind TK while some of the others express their disbelief over the simplicity of his disguise.

- o - 0 - o -

TK

"Well that was unproductive." Matt muses as they head to the apartment he lives with his mom.

Yami hums in agreement as the black rookie holds a pole as the car moves. He sighs, he wanted to argue that he could make it home with only Yami to accompany him but at the same time, he didn't want to spoil the moment.

If he learnt anything about losing Patamon it was taking time to enjoy the precious moments you have with someone since you never know what the future might bring. He touches one of his black sweat bands from around his wrist that he's taken to wearing once they arrived home.

It was to symbolize his mourning lose of his first partner but it also a slight tribute to Yami. He was currently thinking of what to wear to symbolize Patamon.

"I think we should get off here." Yami says, snapping him out of his thoughts as he stares at the black rookie.

"But we're not even close of my home!" He says but Yami's already getting out and in the end, they followed Yami's example, though he did feel a bit miffed about this.

Yami sniffs the air and hums in confirmation before leading them through the shopping district. As they were rounding a corner, they ran into some trouble, pretty literally since they collided with two Digimon.

On holding his D-Arc, a hologram appears of the first Digmon that was a rock type.

"Gotsumon, a data attribute Digimon of the rookie level. Mineral type who's attacks are Rock Fist, Crazy Crusher, and Earth Shaker." He reads and then the image switches to the pumpkin headed Digimon.

"Pumpkinmon, a data attribute Digimon of the ultimate level. Puppet type who's attacks are Trick or Treat and Pumpkinmon Power." He reads before the image vanishes.

"He's an ultimate?" Gabumon asks in disbelief while Yami cocks his head to the side with an unreadable look in his eyes. "Seems so." Matt says while the pair recovered from seeing their information hovering over an unknown Digivice.

"Pretty amazing piece of equipment you got there." Gotsumon says with his arms crossed while Pumpkinmon nods in agreement while his arms were in a thinking pose. "Yes, very impressive." Pumpkinmon echos.

"Though, I've never seen a Digimon like him before." Gotsumon muses turning to study Yami and the pumpkin headed Digimon hums in agreement. Within seconds the two were dragging Yami off into a clothing store that's a bit away from where they encountered the pair.

He can't help but noticed that Yami's got this bemused expression in his eyes as well as a hint of sadness as the two crazy Digimon begin to dress up themselves. As Matt tries to stop them, Matt, Gabumon, and himself soon find themselves in some new cloths, cloths that he didn't remember putting on.

Somebody in the store must have complained and so they raced out of the clothing shop and a few stores away before stopping to take a break. While they were taking a breather, the pair of Digimon that arrived with Myotismon seem to have vanished. "Now where did they go?" Gabumon asks with a hint of a groan.

"Ice cream." Yami muses softly. "Huh?" Matt and Gabumon says and within seconds they're being offered stolen ice cream.

"How is it you know what they're planing to do?" He asks Yami and the rookie answers, "I can smell them and all Digimon think with their stomach at one point."

"No truer words have been spoken." Matt agrees with a hint of a smile before they're chased by the ice cream vendor.

"So, who wants ice cream?" Gotsumon asks once they stop running. Yami takes a sniff and his eyes go funny as a growl erupt from the black rookie's throat. Yami moves to stand by him with a stiff pose.

A dark laugh fills the alley in which they're hiding and suddenly Myotismon steps at the entrance of the alleyway. He can't help but sigh as Matt shouts out the ultimate Digimon's name. "Myotismon!"

As the ultimate Digimon's mouth opens, Yami shoots out a purple sphere of fire before charging straight at the more powerful Digimon, catching everyone by surprise, even Myotismon.

He closes his mouth before racing to see the fight going on between Yami and the vampire Digimon. Within seconds, he can hear the others follow at his heels. "What's gotten into him? The last time he picked a fight was with Digitamamon." Matt asks as crowds of people race in the opposite direction.

"Well... maybe it's cause he's a virus? I mean, virus are pretty territorial when faced with another virus." Gotsumon reasons while Pumpkinmon adds, "Did you see the look in his eyes? Definitely a viral response there."

"Yami's attribute is a virus?" Matt asks startled as they watch as Myotismon tries to hit Yami with a crimson coloured whip. "You mean you didn't know?" Pumpkinmon asks.

"He's fairly agile for his build, huh?" Gotsumon muses as they watch as Yami try and close the distant between Myotismon and himself. "Yea, he is." Gabumon agrees as Yami fires off three of his Pyro Grenade attack in rapid secession.

In the end, Myotismon is focused to head into the air, an ugly look on the Digital vampire's face while Yami growls as he looks up at the vampire Digimon. "Fool! Do you know who you're dealing with?!" Myotismon snarls.

"A coward." Yami snaps at the ultimate level Digimon. "Why you! Grisly Wing!" Myotismon shouts and as the wave a bats come towards him, Yami uses Pyro Grenade and the two attack explode.

The vampire lord had fled as the attack meet, leaving them alone on the street with Gotsumon and Pumpkinmon. "How come you didn't do that back when we first met him?" Matt demands and after blinking a few times, Yami gives him a puzzled look.

"Cause he had back up, the coward didn't bring any with him this time around." Yami answers as if its plain as day.

"So then, what do we do with you two?" TK asks as he turns to look at Gotsumon and Pumpkinmon.

- o - 0 - o -

Myotismon

A silent snarl escapes from him as he marches towards his coffin. A cold anger clings to him after being driven away by a simple rookie, though the symbol on the Digimon's chest does make him uneasy for some reason. He slams a fist in the stone wall that's behind his coffin as he recalls how the Digimon that the young humans were calling Yami declared him a coward.

"Damn him! Next time we met, I'll be the victorious one!" He declares out loud to himself, not caring for the moment who hears him.

- **x** -

Gatomon

"What's got his cape in a knot?" One of the two Bakemon wonder after their lord and master march pass with a very displeased look on his face. She rather not be the one responsible for causing Myotismon to be in such a mood.

Her ears perk as she hears his declaration of defeating a 'him' which makes her wonder which of the Digidestine got a hand up on the vampire Digimon. "Just leave him alone and get back to your rounds!" She orders the pair and within seconds, the two do as they're told.

She stares at the room that holds Myotismon's coffin for a few minutes longer before heading out to spy on that girl, Kari, who knows Agumon. _Hopefully next time Myotismon meet up with this mysterious 'he' that the 'he' will finish the job._ She thinks to herself as she heads out of the lair, a tiny bit of hope flares up in her chest on the thought of the vampire lord getting his just desserts.

- **x** -

Tai

"Well, that was an interesting phone call." He admits as he hangs up the phone after listening to Matt describes the night's events with a pair of Myotismon's 'hendmen' and how Yami drove the ultimate level Digimon away without even Digivolving.

_There's just no end to the surprises that Yami seems to pull out of his sleeves. Makes me kind of wish he had Digivolved during the fight with Myotismon, he could have taken the guy out and save us all this trouble._ He thinks as he flops onto the bottom bunk bed while Agumon's busy snacking on some fruit.

"What's wrong Tai?" His partner and closest friend asks. "Matt, TK, and their partners met up with a pair of Myotismon's henchmen, only the henchmen seem more interested in having fun then searching for the eighth Digidestine. Then Myotismon shows up and suddenly, Yami goes berserk on seeing the guy and begins to attack before the vampire could say a word. In the end, Yami drives Myotismon off and they're now trying to figure out what to do with the two henchmen." He answers.

"Wow. Who'd have thought the... big guy had it in him." Agumon muses and he hums in agreement. "That and it seems that Yami's a good tracker, it seems that despite being in a populated city, he's got a nose for sensing and trailing Digimon. I wonder if we can use him to find Myotismon's lair, take the fight to him." He muses as he rolls onto his back.

"I thought we're suppose to trying to find the eighth child?" His partner muses and he shrugs. "True, but we can't just let his plans come to a head and we'd have more time to find him!" He says as his sits up to look at his partner. Agumon doesn't seem so convinced but doesn't say anything.

- **x** -

Wizardmon

"And where do you two think you're going?" He asks Gotsumon and Pumpkinmon as they try to sneak into the lair. The two look like they were caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"Huh, well, you see..." Pumpkinmon trails off while Gotsumon puffs his chest out as Gotsumon says flatly, "We're here to steal the tag and chest that Myotismon has in his coffin."

He blinks, he wasn't expecting that when he approached them. "And we're willing to go through you to do so!" Gotsumon declares boldly and after a second, Pumpkinmon nods in agreement, gathering his courage doing so.

"I see, well then, I hadn't expected to try it so soon since I wanted to help Gatomon find who she's looking for but seeing as you two are willing, I feel that I'm obliged to help you two out." He says causing the two to get out of their attacking stances.

"Alright!" The two rebellious Digimon cries out before giving each other high fives.

_Well, it will be interesting working with these two at least._ He muses before they huddle up to discuss their plan to recover the true tag and crest of the eighth Digidestine.

- o - 0 - o -

Ryo

He enters into the living room en route to the kitchen when he heard something coming from the TV that his mom's watching. "I swear that's what I saw! A black dino the size of a child of about ten years old breathing purple coloured fire balls at this vampire! It had these odd looking ears with bands of red around his body!"

He turns as the man being interviewed holds up a sketch of said dino. "This is a rough sketch of what the thing looked like!" The guy says and he feels his jaw drop on seeing the dino.

_It can't be... Guilmon, could it?_ He wonders as the image switches back to the reporter while his mind swims over the implications.

_But then, Gallantmon had been in the blast radius with me, so could they have piggy backed with me here._ He thinks as the reporter interviews a few others who claimed seeing a colour reversed Guilmon battling Myotismon.

He can't help but wonder just how altered the time line has become if Takato and Guilmon were really here at this time and place. It wasn't long before the news program switches to some other kind of news and he heads to the kitchen as he remembers why he exited out of his room in the first place.

- **x** -

Yami

He finds himself in a rather large tunnel. He takes his time as he studies the area as TK seems to gasp at their surroundings. This place seems familiar and yet he knew it this place wasn't in the Digital world either.

"Pretty big place, huh?" TK asks him and he hums in agreement and after a few seconds, six grey shades begin to walk into the tunnel from this door located at the top of these stairs.

Three of the shades were uniform in shape while the other shades come in different shapes with at least two of them having a tail while the smaller shade has large ears. He hums thoughtfully as his eyes followed the slightly hunched over shade that's about his size.

"I wonder where they're going?" The young boy wonders and then the child adds, "I guess we should follow them."

He trails behind the young blond as they follow the six shades as they walk through the tunnel, his eyes fixated on the hunched shade. After an indefinite amount of time, they arrive at the end of the tunnel and as they follow the shades out of the tunnel, both TK and him gasp on seeing a large red blob on the horizon.

"That is that? And, why is it in the human world?" TK asks and he doesn't have an answer as he feels a great deal of sorrow and guilt on seeing the massive blight resting who knows how far from them.

Beeping wakes him up and within seconds of hiding in the closet, TK's mom enters into the room to wake the young blond up.

As TK rubs his eyes, his mom exits out of the room, allowing him to come out of the closet. As TK begins to change out of his PJs, he looks out the window, staring at the building surrounding the apartment as images from the dream linger at the edge of his mind before vanishing completely as TK opens the door.

As he turns to look at the young boy, TK looks slightly troubled and asks, "It wasn't just a dream, was it? It seemed so real..."

"A memory maybe." He says softly and TK sighs. "So you had the same dream then?" TK asks and he hums as he nods in agreement.

"Well, I'll see if mom's busy and then we can sneak you into the kitchen for breakfast." The young blond says and he hums thoughtfully.

After about twenty or so minutes, TK arrives at the doorway and waves him forward.

As they enter into the kitchen, he frowns at the sight of cereal boxes on the table. "Mind if I make my own breakfast?" He asks and TK blinks before saying, "I guess, just don't make too big of a mess."

He hums in acknowledgment of the warning and slowly begins to look through the cardboards, searching for things once he preheats the over to a certain degree. Once he's taken out everything on his mental list, he then studies each item until something clicks inside of his head.

With a hum, he begins to measure out some flour, butter, and other things before putting all into a large mixing bowl. Using a big wooden spoon to mix the batter, he asks TK to spray the pans with some grease.

Once he feels that the batter is good, he puts it down and washes his hand before going onto the next step.

As soon as his hands are dry, he begins to take some of the batter and shape it before putting it on the cookie sheets he found in the kitchen. He uses up all of the batter and then opens the oven door to put the sheets into the hot oven.

Once that's done, he sets the timer on the microwave and then begins to do the dishes while the timer counts down.

The scent of fresh buns wafers through the apartment, TK looks into the oven's window with a hint of drool on his chin.

He manages to stop the timer before it beeps as to not attract TK's mom's attention.

Using the oven mitts, he takes the first tray out of the oven and sets it on the cooling rack. Before taking out the last tray, he turns the oven off and then sets the second on top of the elements on top of the oven.

"Oh, they really smell good, I wonder if they taste as good as they smell!" TK says in excitement while he smiles, an odd sense of pride bursting within his chest.

"They likely do." He says and once he's sure that they're cool enough, he hands a bun to TK and as the young boy takes a bite out of it. TK hums in pleasure and finishes off the bun in record time.

"Can I have another one, please?" TK asks giving him puppy dog eyes. With a sigh, he hands two down to the boy and as he settles at the table to eat, TK follows and every so often, he hands the boy a bun to munch on.

Before long, they're late with meeting up with Matt and so they leave the last few bun on a plat on the counter before heading out to hook up with the elder blond and his partner Digimon.

- o - 0 - o -

Wizardmon

He stares wearily at the tag and crest, wondering if it was worth the price they paid to get it. The sorrow he feels for Gotsumon who risked his life for Pumpkinmon and himself to escape as all those Bakemon appeared while Myotismon uses Crimson Lightning in a fit of anger and likely hoping that the attack would hit them.

Pumpkinmon rests not far from him as he pockets the tag and crest. The sun was bright out and with a few gentle nudges, he wakes the ultimate level Digimon. "Are we under attack?" The pumpkin head Digimon asks.

"No, but it's safe to head off in search for Matt, TK, and their partners." He says softly and Pumpkinmon nods soberly. "Now we just need the Digivice." He muses softly out loud.

"You think we'll be able to avoid the others under his command?" Pumpkinmon asks with a grim hint to his question. "We might if we stick to crowded areas." He answers.

"Then lets go before we're found and it's taken, unraveling our hard work and tainting Gotsumon's sacrifice." The ultimate says standing up. With a sigh, he gets to his feet and follows the higher level Digimon in search for the two blonds.

- **x** -

TK

They were taking a rest break in front of the building they promised to meet up with Gotsumon and Pumpkinmon the evening before. He hopes that neither of the Digimon ran into any trouble on their scouting mission. He doubts that Myotismon would be in a mood to let the pair off from not doing their jobs and helping the vampire lord against Yami's onslaught.

"You'd think after last night they'd do more then glance at you." Matt muses as few of the people walking pass gave Yami more then a passing glance.

He sighs as he looks around at the people walking about. "They might think I'm dressed like this to get attention or as an advertisement by some company about a new product." Yami answers as the black coloured Digimon finishes his soda.

Yami pauses and looks up as the rookie sniffs the air with his ears flap once as with a shadow of a smile on his face. "Where's Gotsumon?" He asks as Pumpkinmon appears with an unknown Digimon.

"We got the tag and crest, though... I'm sorry to report that Gotsumon gave his life for us to escape." The usually free spirited Digimon says and he blinks rapidly as that sinks in.

"I'm sorry for your lose, Pumpkinmon. I wish he never had to give his everything for this task." Yami says softly, surprising pretty much everyone.

After a few seconds, Pumpkinmon nods with some tears trailing down his orange face. "Thanks, it means a lot to hear that." The vegetable headed Digimon says.

"You're not so bad, for a viral." The ultimate level Digimon adds in a lighter tone and Yami looks embarrassed with the faint praise directed his way and scratches the back of his head with his right hand.

"So, who's your new friend?" Gabumon asks after a few uncomfortable minutes.

"Oh? Ah! This is Wizardmon, he joined us after catching us sneaking into the big bad's lair. It was through his tricks we got as far as we did." Pumpkinmon says and then adds, "Wizardmon, I'd like you to met Matt and his partner Digimon Gabumon. The little one is TK and the big black one is Yami who's a... what are you again?"

"He's a Blackguilmon." He says helpfully. "Huh, I never heard of a Guilmon before and now I'm know a Blackguilmon." Pumpkinmon muses in a thinker pose.

"Nice to meet you." The dark robed Digimon says, giving them each a nod in greeting. "Dido." Matt says and he grins as he nods in agreement while Yami echos his sentiment.

"So, now what?" He wonders as Wizardmon hands over the tag and crest belonging to the eighth Digidestined. "That's the question, isn't it?" Matt muses and Yami hums in agreement.

- **x** -

Gatomon

"They stole what?" She asks DemiDevimon in alarm. She had been busy most of the night camping on the roof top directly across from Tai and Kari's apartment building, so this was very new news to her.

"Yep, three Digimon were Wizardmon, Gotsumon, and Pumpkinmon and boy is Myotismon in a rage! Though the Gotsumon was deleted as they were escaping from the hide out. Boy I'm glad I'm not either of those two Digimon since by the time Myotismon get his fangs into them they'd wish they'd been deleted with their friend!" DemiDevimon declares with a short laugh following that rant.

Her mind was else where as the flying bowling ball muses about what kind of torture their lord and master plans to use on the rogues. _I feel it in my whiskers that the Digidestine put them up to this, but why didn't they have those three lead them to the hide out? Surely the Digidestine would have preferred an all out attack on the off chance they could delete Myotismon, right? After all, one of them managed to drive him back earlier last night so why stop there with one minor victory?_ She wonders to herself for a few minutes.

Without saying a word, she leaves the rookie talking to himself to go off and find something to eat before returning to the search. Who knows, she just might find one of the two rogues and get them to tell her why they would risk so much without having any back up.

- **x** -

Yami

As they headed to the local park to meet up with the others, after all, Matt used some spare change to call Joe to ask him to phone the others to let them know that they have the original tag and crest.

Though on their way, he did pause and sniff the ground, he smelled some kind of Digital feline had been there recently which made him wonder why that made him feel slightly relieved.

Not mentioning the scent, he catches up to the small group as the find a suitable spot to relax in as they wait for the others.

As he curls up next to TK, he begins to wonder about random things like, why were there bird song in the Digital world and he's yet to see a song bird or about why the Digi-Gnomes intended for him to be in this alternate realm and then he wonders if he had a partner before he lost his memories.

As he's thoughts slowly came back down to earth, he notices that the others have slowly arrived, and by the time he sat up, Joe's racing towards them carrying Gomamon in his gym bag.

They hadn't started discussing anything really important, from the last bit of conversation he picked up on, TK was telling Izzy about the buns he made this morning before they left the apartment while Matt and Tai were talking about strategies with Wizardmon, leaving Mimi and Sora to talk about whatever it was that girls like to talk about. The other Digimon were taking the time out to rest since they might find themselves in a large battle by the end of tonight if Myotismon is still steamed about what happened with the tag and crest.

Once Joe's settled down, the discussion began.

- **x** -

Ryo

"How hard could it be finding a black Dino, he asks. It's not as if he's here to help me search." He mutters to himself as he walks around in what will soon become covered in Myotismon's fog and a battleground for the followers of Myotismon and the Digidestine.

It's almost evening and he's been at this since noon. As he steps into a restaurant, he blinks into a mirror facing the door and watches as a Digimon that could pass as Guilmon's twin brother walks by following a small kid who's roughly about eight or nine years old.

He quickly turns and heads out the door, trying to catch up to the pair, finally he calls out, "Hey Guilmon! Wait up!"

The black Guilmon's ears flap before the large rookie pauses and turns to look at him with a questioning look in his yellow gaze.

"What's the hold up, Yami?" A familiar voice asks and its then does he recognized the Digidestine of Hope, TK.

"Yami?" He echos, already thrown by the rookie's colour scheme, on seeing one of his old 'friends', but finding out that the Digimon he was searching for being nick named Yami was very out there.

"Well, saying Blackguilmon all the time would be a mouthful." TK reasons while Yami cocks his head to the side with a puzzled look in his eyes.

"Huh, so... where's your partner?" He asks TK, taking his eyes off of the black rookie to see TK's partner is in his arms.

"Patamon... He's not in this dimension, he's currently in Yami's Digital world since his Digi-egg fell through a portal as Yami was coming to rescue me from getting hit with this dart that's suppose to turning me into a Digimon." TK admits and he sighs, it seems that the group they were investigating was now active in this dimension.

"I don't suppose you know where Takato is, do you?" He asks the pair and Yami blinks before frowning while TK asks, "Who's Takato?"

With a loud sigh, he realizes that this was going to be one of those days...

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

They were in a restaurant with somebody who seems to claim to know him, true Ryo claimed he had been a Guilmon when they first met but he didn't know why that seem to sadden him. He hadn't changed that much, did he?

"So let's get something straight, Takato's Yami's human partner and you think he's suppose to be around here, somewhere, looking for Yami?" TK asks after listening to an explanation of how Ryo knew him and his supposedly human partner.

"Well, I think that's roughly it, yea." Ryo says and he could tell that TK seems troubled by this.

"I only came through this portal because the Digi-Gnomes kind of herded me towards an energy tear." He finally pipes in after a few minutes and a look of surprise flash in Ryo's eyes, as if he wasn't expecting him to say that.

"Digi-Gnomes? What are those?" TK perks up, likely glad for the change in topic. "They're little glowing creatures that cause wishes to come true. Where I'm from, they've been around as long as there have been Digimon. Some say they do the will of the Digital world." He answers and yet again Ryo gives him an odd look.

"You got it in a nut shell." Ryo agrees and he takes his time to regard Ryo once more, pondering over what to ask the almost teenager.

"Where's your partner?" He finally asks in a flat tone and Ryo winces at the question. "Hey, that's right, if you were friends with Takato and Yami, that means you must have your own Digimon partner, right?" TK asks.

"Yea, I do, but because of that explosion I mentioned, he's not with me at the moment. He's likely in the Digital world." Ryo answers and he guesses that make sense, after all, he found himself in the Digital world of his home dimension before crossing over to this realm.

"Who was part of our group then?" He asks as he remembers that dream from last night.

Ryo sighs, it's clear the kid wasn't exactly happy with all these questions or the fact that he doesn't have any memories of a time before he found himself in the Digital world as a Blackguilmon. "Let's see, there's Henry who is partnered with a Terriermon, Rika who's partnered with a Renamon, Kazu who's partnered with a Guardromon, Kenta who's partnered with MarineAngemon, and then there's Jeri who was partnered with a Leomon." Ryo says and he gets a flash of a leather wearing Digimon putting his claws through a Leomon's belly.

He looks down as the memory invokes emotions of disbelief and then righteous anger over the Leomon's deletion. He shies away from thinking about the Leomon's partner to muse about the other names. Oddly enough as he wonders about Henry and Rika, he gets another flash of a memory, this one connected to the tunnel TK and him dreamed of last night.

He saw a golden furred humanoid fox with purple gloves, a boy wearing an orange vest with a Terriermon hanging off his shoulder, not unlike the shades they followed last night. Finally, he sees a slightly red faced red head with purple eyes dressed in a shirt with a blue heart on it and in a pair of blue jeans.

The hollow feeling within him aches at the images of his friends that he can't remember much about.

"So, do you know if Takato taught Yami how to bake? He made some buns this morning and they were really good!" TK says and he hears Ryo's answer since he didn't want to look up from the table just yet.

"I wouldn't know if Takato had taught Yami how to bake. Though I do know that Takato's family owned a bakery and that this one time Henry, Rika, Takato, and their partners spent some time in Takato's family's bakery making themselves breakfast." Ryo says.

"That was during the time the D-Reaper was attacking the real world, wasn't it?" He asks as he recalls the red blob that TK and him had seen as they exited out of the tunnel with the shades. He hears Ryo choke on air for a second and then coughs for a few seconds before managing to get control over his breathing.

"You remember what the D-Reaper was?" Ryo asks and he cocks his head to the side as he stares at a far wall. "Last night... TK and I were in this tunnel and after a few minutes, six shades entered into the picture. We followed them to the end of the tunnel and once we got out of the tunnel, we saw this large red blob on the horizon." He says and TK hums in agreement.

"It was pretty hard to forget, seeing it there in the middle of a city." TK adds.

"I see." Ryo says with a frown on his face as the preteen looks down at the counter top.

Nobody spoke until their food arrived.

- **x** -

Ryo

He found it hard to think of Yami as the Guilmon that he knew, in some ways, a lot of the black Digimon's mannerisms seem to scream Takato and not the crimson rookie of old. After all, even without his memories, mannerisms were pretty hard to get rid of since one sometimes fall back into them without realizing it.

But if Yami was really Takato and not Guilmon, then what happened to Guilmon? Sure he heard that Takato created Guilmon but it shouldn't matter since Guilmon was as much a part of Gallantmon as Takato was, so its likely that Guilmon might have been... He presses his lips together as he considers that possibility.

"You know, I might be wrong about something." He admits and TK asks, "Oh?"

"Yea, I kind of just assumed that Yami was Guilmon because of the fact that Takato's human and Guilmon's a Digimon, therefore it was logical that Yami had to be Guilmon. But that doesn't seem to fly since the more time we're spending together, the more I come to think that I got it wrong." He says.

"Ok, then, who do you think he is now?" TK asks in a weary tone. "I think that somehow, during the explosion, Guilmon and Takato might have switched species." He says slowly and Yami looks alarmed while TK looks puzzled about that.

He decides to spell it out for the young boy. "I think Yami's Takato, I mean, you said that he cooked this morning, right? A lot of how Yami's acting screams Takato to me since mannerisms are more ingrained in the subconscious mind and shouldn't be affected by losing ones memory. Guilmon's a very playful Digimon, very open and trusting Digimon and other then a slight increase of viral tendencies, he's mannerisms shouldn't have altered this much."

TK blinks while Yami looks thoughtful. "So if we give Yami the antidote to the dart, he'll turn into a human?" TK asks after a few minutes of thinking it over. "I think there's more too it then that." Yami says gently and he nods in agreement with Yami's statement.

"I think to undo this requires Guilmon or whatever name he's calling himself by, to be able to reverse this. It might take a few years before we'll be able to locate Guilmon and I guess until then, Takato's going to stay as Yami until then." He says and TK sighs.

"I think we should keep this to ourselves." Yami says after drinking some water. He blinks in surprise while TK asks, "How come?"

"Well for one thing, I don't want the others' pity. I'm a Digimon now and for the time being, your partner. Just because I was human sometime ago doesn't change the fact that we're having a rough time right now. You need me in the role of your partner until we find and bring back Patamon. The others might feel that they need to protect both of us because of the fact they don't want to risk losing me in a fight because I was once human. That would take away divert their attention during battle, something that we might not be afford to happen." Yami says, he can't help but agree with the human turned Digimon, his respect for Takato goes up a notch.

"There's more isn't there?" TK asks softly and Yami looks away from TK's face. "I can't help but feel that I did something really bad once, I want to use this as an opportunity to make up for that mistake. Instead of being the usual variety of Guilmon, I'm a Black-Guilmon which must mean something more then just a species switch. Maybe there's something in me that I have to confront and acknowledge, something I have to acknowledge so I can over come it." Yami says.

He sighs, while Yami doesn't remember anything about Megidramon, it seems that deep down, the goggle wearing teen still hasn't forgiven himself about forcing Guilmon to Digivolve into that mega level demon dragon Digimon. Although, he, too, had to admit that Yami's right about wondering why he's a Blackguilmon instead of the typical Guilmon.

Other then TK agreeing to keep silent about this secret, they soon switched to other topics as they wait for the waiter to arrive with the bill so that they can each head home.

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

It was around noon when the news began to cover the strange fog covering the district where the majority of the Digidestine lived with the exception of Joe and TK.

He ducks more into the hallway as TK tries to convince his mom to try and get to through the fog to help Matt and his father, TK's mom's ex husband. After a few minutes after they left, he moves to the window with a fire escape and once the window's open enough, he climbs through it. He manages to close the window before climbing down, not wanting some thief to get in through the open window.

Once on the ground, he heads to the dock as something within him tells him that's where he needs to be. He hopes that he'll met TK along the way.

- **x** -

Kari

She stands at the device that Wizardmon had given her before charging off to distract the ghost Digimon while Gatomon and her head off to find a hiding spot. Within just a few hours, the world seems to be spinning out of control as Bakemon round out everyone in the district under Myotismon's orders.

She could feel the tag that holds the crest of Light under her shirt as they wait for a patrol of Bakemon to pass by the alley they're ducked into.

"I think we're safe, for the moment at least." The white cat Digimon that is her partner Digimon says softly after glancing around the street. She presses her lips in a thin line as she nods when Gatomon glances at her.

"What does he want with all of those people?" She can't help but wonder as they race through the street. "Don't worry about it, he won't hurt them until after he gets what he wants." Gatomon answers.

"And he wants me." She says with a hint of dread within her chest while Gatomon doesn't say anything as they suddenly hug the wall as Gatomon moves to check around the corner.

"Clear!" Gatomon tells her and with a nod, they race around the corner and when something moves before them, they duck into an alley.

"It's like a ghost town in here." She hears a kid's voice say while somebody hums in agreement. "I wonder where Tai and the others are, hopefully they're haven't been caught yet." An older voice says while a third says, "Relax Joe, I doubt Agumon and other others would allow something to happen to their partners." And that fourth presence hums in agreement.

As two foot steps walk pass, a large shadow pauses and then as she backs away, moving behind a large trash bin while Gatomon flexes her arms. "Yami?" The younger voice calls out.

"You found something?" The same voice asks and one called Yami hums in agreement. "Hello? Pumpkinmon? Wizardmon?" She glances at Gatomon as the white cat turns to look at her.

She moves out from behind the trash bin and gets a good look at the pair at the entrance way to the alley. She gives a passing glance at the boy her age dressed in green before staring frankly at the large black dino looking Digimon with red markings on his body.

_Big._ What her only thought on seeing the rookie while Gatomon seems to gawking at the black Digimon with a stunned expression on her furry face.

"Hi, I'm TK and this is Yami, he's currently my partner until we find a way to rescue my original partner, Patamon." TK says and she returns her attention to the kid.

"I'm Kari, Tai's little sister and this is Gatomon, my partner Digimon." She says and once she said that, the third person comes back.

"What's the hold up, you two?" The older voice asks. "Yami found Tai's little sister and her partner, who's Gatomon!" TK answers.

Within seconds, she gets to see an older kid with glasses with a little Digimon hovering by his shoulder.

"Hi, I'm Joe and this is my partner, Bukamon." Joe says and Bukamon grins as he says, "Hi!"

"Nice to met you." She says with a shy smile on her face as Gatomon nods, though her partner kept giving Yami the occasional glance.

"I can see why they call you Yami." Gatomon says and a ghost of a smile seems to appear while the tall black Digimon hums.

"I think we should find some place safe so that you can tell us what's what." Joe says and she nods in agreement, though she suddenly feels tire about racing through the street.

She must have look it as TK asks Yami, "Do you mind carrying her? I think she's tired of running around." With a nod, Yami drops to the ground TK gives her a smile of encouragement.

With a side glance at her partner, she climbs onto Yami's back, making sure to have her arms around his neck as he slowly and carefully get to his feet. "Let's go." Joe says and with that, they head off to find a secure place for their chat.

- **x** -

TK

He can't help but feel a bit distressed about what Gatomon and Kari had to say. It seems as if the whole group is scattered throughout the city and he rather not think about what could have happened with Pumpkinmon and Wizardmon.

He feels something on this shoulder and with a blink turns to find Yami looking at him. He smiles slightly, feeling a bit better as he looks up into Yami's yellow eyes.

It's still a bit hard to believe that Yami's true form is a boy named Takato, he wonders what it would be like, not even remembering who his parents are let alone not remembering about Patamon or even about his friends and of course, Matt.

In that instance, he realized how thankful he was that Yami kept him from being hit with that dart since it, too, cause amnesia as well as transforming on into a Digimon.

Though Ryo never went into a great deal of information about either Guilmon, Yami's partner Digimon, or about Takato himself, he didn't mind since he rather learn more about his Neo-partner through their adventures and sharing dreams with Yami then just being told. Though he did wonder if it bothered Yami about not knowing more about who he was before he found himself alone in his world's Digital world.

"I just wish I knew how the others are." He says to Yami and the black rookie sighs as the crimson marked rookie sits down next to him while Joe and Gatomon move to comfort Kari while Bukamon keeps a look out for incoming Digimon.

"Keep hoping that they're ok and they will be, after all, you're crest is Hope, right?" Yami says, trying to help him feel better. He snorts but in someway, he can't fault Yami's logic.

"I guess, though, you think if you do Digivolve into Blackgrowlmon that you'll be able to, you know, remember me and the others?" He asks and Yami shrugs. "I hope so, but then, there were other things that required my attention at that time. It might have been battle lust that I was experiencing and I was coming out of it by the end there." The large rookie muses.

"Must be hard being a virus type." He notes while Yami just sighs. "There's nothing wrong with being a virus, it just that we have a different set of instincts then vaccine and data attribute Digimon." The black Digimon says and he smiles on hearing that.

"Well, you are more protective of me then Patamon and Matt combine, that's for sure!" He says with a little giggle while Yami seems to be embarrassed though it's hard to tell if Yami's blushing or not since since he's totally black.

"Guys! I think it's time for us to move out!" Bukamon says as the in-training Digimon comes speeding towards them.

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

As they race through a back alley, he had mentioned that traveling viva the alleyways they could avoided being sported by larger and meaner Digimon on the streets. It had surprised him that they listened to his suggestion but he hadn't had time to think about it more as they move through the maze of alleyways as they head through the city hoping to find one of the other Digidestine.

"This is getting tiresome." A be-robed ghost Digimon called Phantomon says, appearing in a larger intersection of alleyways. He fires off a Pyro Grenade which the Digimon cuts through using his chain sickle. They pause and he makes sure to stand before TK while Gatomon stands in front of Kari. Bukamon Digivolves into Gomamon before moving into position in front of Joe.

He can _feel_ the surrounding Bakemon and ever fiber within him wishes he can just launch himself at the offending Digimon who threaten those under his command. The only reason he's able to hold himself in check was simple, if he was out of range of TK its more then likely that Phantomon will take TK as a hostage.

"Now then, will you surrender or will we have to take you by force?" The leader of the Bakemon asks in his eerie voice.

He glances to his right side to look at Gomamon and then to his left to look at Gatomon. Neither of the other Digimon seems to have enough energy for a prolong fight and he doubts that Gomamon has it in him right now to go champion, which meant that they either surrender and hope to escape later or he Digivolves and chases the ghosts off.

"TK... I'm willing to test that theory right now, you know, the one we talked about." He says without taking his eyes off of Phantomon. "If you're willing to try then so am I, get them Yami!" TK says and within seconds the two Digivices in TK's possession glow.

"Blackguilmon Digivolved too..." He feels his skin unravel before his body expands. As new skin begins to cover him up, he felt new strength flow through him.

As the red frame within the egg begins to break appear within seconds of the last bit new skin finishes getting grafted to his frame. "Blackgrowlmon!" He roars with steam coming out of his nostrils.

"So it's to be by force, so be it. Shadow Scythe!" Phantomon cries out as the ghost Digimon swings his weapon and purple coloured energy comes flying towards him.

He easily bats the attack away, it hits one of the surrounding Bakemon and as Phantomon blinks in shocked amazement, he counter attacks using Dark Blade. The ghost Digimon seems to teleport out of the line of attack. The ball at the end of the chain wraps around his left arm. He humphs and jerks his arm away from the ultimate ghost Digimon while Gomamon and Gatomon fend off attacks from the Bakemon.

Phantomon doesn't let go of weapon and so he slams the ghost Digimon into the surrounding buildings and into his fellow ghost Digimon. He can't help but admit that this was kind of fun causing this Digimon to slam around since all the Digimon had to do was let go of the chain sickle to stop getting flung around.

"He looks like he's having fun." He hears Gatomon comment, he assumes that the 'he' she's talking about was him. "Well, I would too if I was capable of swinging my enemies around." Gomamon answers dryly.

He uses his other hand and like a rope lasso, he swings the Digimon around in the air before letting go of the chain on his end. As Phantomon flies through the air, he takes a deep breath before using his Black Exhaust Flame attack, within seconds Phantomon is deleted and he resists the urge to roar over his victory.

On seeing their boss being deleted, the rest of the Bakemon flee the area and he snorts in satisfaction at how scared they were as they do so.

Some steam exits out of his nostrils once the last Bakemon vanishes from his sight.

"You really got to work on minimizing the damage done to the surrounding area." Joe says and with a blink, he glances around and then begins to scratch the back of his head, his claws moving through his mane of grey hair to do so.

"Err... At least I got rid of him." He states before he reverse back to his rookie form.

"And you had fun doing it too." Gomamon says and he sighs as he gives the white aqua Digimon a minor glare before turning to look at TK.

"You did an ok job, I think next time you should just finish them off as soon as possible. I mean, haven't you heard the saying about playing with your food?" TK says and he just sighs.

"Well then, now that we pretty much signaled our location, how are we suppose to travel around now?" Gatomon asks scratchily and he turns to study a man hole cover.

"I object!" Joe declares on notices where his gaze is on. "Ok then, you think you can drive that?" He asks, pointing to a van that's been vacated in a hurry. Joe groans while TK and Kari exhange looks with the other Digimon and themselves.

- **x** -

Kari

"I can't believe you thought that saying no would stop him from high jacking this van. Though I'll admit that I had my doubts about this as well but he's not hitting anything so you can open your eyes Joe." Gomamon informs the older boy sitting on the other side of Gatomon.

TK's sitting on the passenger side of the front as Yami sits in the driver's seat after taking the back half of the seat off so that he can sit comfortably on the bottom half of the seat since there wasn't any room for his tail to poke through.

While they all had their reservations about Yami's idea of high jacking a van, none of them wanted to go crawling through the sewers either and so they figured this was the lesser of two evils. So far, so good, though she's kind of sure that Yami's suppose to drive on the right side of the street then swaying over the solid white line in the middle of the street.

"Too bad the radio doesn't work or we could be listening to a radio station." TK says and she nods in agreement.

"This sure beats running around." Gatomon admits grudgingly. "Yea, my feet were getting kind of sore, it's been a while since we had to do so much walking and running around. After all, other then that train car that we spend the night in while we were on File Island or that train wagon that Etemon used to get around in, there didn't seem to be any type of vehicles around." TK says and she blinks before looking to Gatomon to confirm this.

"You're forgetting about that ship in the dessert." Gomamon says as Yami turns a sharp right.

"What about you, Yami, are there any vehicles in your Digital world?" TK asks and Yami replies, "I think I meet a Locomon once and then there's this demon motorcycle that was going around deleting these peaceful Digimon. I know I met something similar to the bike but it escapes me for the moment."

"What's a Locomon?" She asks and Yami answer as he drives over a bridge, "A machine Digimon that's in a shape of a train. It's capable of using real world railroad tracks as a mode of transportation too."

"Huh, I wonder if those train tracks on File Island were built for Locomon to use." TK wonders while Joe seems to be chanting softly to himself, trying to block out what's going on around him while Gomamon tries to engage his partner in conversation.

"I'm getting low on gas. I think after this block we'll have to get out and walk around." Yami reports after it being silent for over twenty minutes, not counting to Joe's chanting or Gomamon's attempts at baiting Joe.

Soon Yami pulls over and parks the van. Once the engine is turned off, they unbuckle their seat belts while Gomamon finally gets through to Joe, or it could be because they stop moving that caused Joe to snap out of it.

"Land, sweet land!" Joe declares once they get out of the van. Joe tries to hug the concrete while Yami crosses his arms while saying, "My driving wasn't that bad, was it?"

"You just need more practice." She says and TK nods in agreement, giving her a thankful smile. She returns his smile, she's kind of glad she isn't the only kid her age to be part of this group.

"Well then, lead on, Yami." Gomamon says and the large rookie blinks. "Who said I was in charge?" Yami asks with a startled look on his face.

"Well, it was your idea to use the alleyways, your idea to high jack the van, and you're the one who can sniff out enemy Digimon." TK answers and Yami says, "Oh."

Yami begins to sniff the air and then turns to look at this odd building a few meters away. "I think we're needed there." Yami declares and they were soon on their way towards the building.

She falls into step with TK as Joe takes the lead. "You said that Yami wasn't your original partner but you two seem to get along pretty well together despite that." She says and glances at her own partner who's walking a few feet from her. "How long did it take you two to get to really know each other?" She asks.

"Actually, I'm still learning to get along with Yami. After all, I was pretty depressed about losing Patamon but then I began to worry about losing the others to those strange Digimon with the transformation darts. I still miss Patamon," TK holds up a hand and points the the black sweat band. "I'm wearing this to show that I still miss him even though I have Yami around to protect me. I know that Yami has to return to his world and though I'm going to miss him, I know that he's got his own partner out there that needs him as I got Patamon to take care of me and for me to take care of him."

She sighs but it helps to know that it's not an automatic thing that goes on between a human partner and their partner Digimon. Though she does feel a bit bad for TK, sure Patamon's his real partner but when Yami's gone, TK's going to miss him regardless if he has Patamon to replace him or not.

- o - 0 - o -

Tai

"Matt! Garurumon!" He calls out from his position on Greymon's shoulder. "Tai! Greymon! Boy are you two a sight for sore eyes." Matt calls out from his position behind his partner's head, but a bit before the shoulder blades.

"Have you seen Sora, Mimi, or Izzy yet?" He asks his friend and Matt shakes his head in a negative, he sighs and scratches the side of his head, he really hoped that Matt would know something about the others.

"I hope Wizardmon and Gatomon are keeping Kari safe." He mutters and Greymon says, "I'm sure she's fine, Tai. After all, she's got two champion Digimon around to protect her."

"Thanks buddy, I needed to hear that." He says with a tired grin at his partner as Garurumon comes closer to their position.

"So, what's the plan?" Matt asks once Garurumon has stopped about ten feet away. "Well, no point in splitting up so we might want to start finding the others. You think you're up to tracking them down Garurumon?" He calls out.

"I can try." The canine type Digimon answers and he nods. "Well then, which direction do you want to head in?" He asks the two since he's more then willing to let the other two to take the lead this one since Garurumon's sense of smell is better then when he's Gabumon.

After all if Yami's able to sniff out Digimon, why not this canine champion?

- **x** -

Mimi

"I'm getting worried about Palmon, Sora. You think Pumpkinmon will be able to find Wizardmon in order to healer?" She asks her fellow captive Digidestine. Sora sighs before answering, "With Birdramon carrying them, I'm sure they'll find him without too much trouble. Frankly, I'm worried about those panicked Bakemon. They seem to be ready to jump out of their bed sheets."

"I haven't seen Phantomon either. Wasn't he leading a squad of Bakemon in pursue of a girl seen with a Digimon?" She wonders as she recalls over hearing from a pair of Bakemon while taking her turn at the water fountain.

"Well, we don't have to worry about that guy, according to these pair of guards, it seemed that Phantomon was taken out by a Blackgrowlmon who's with three kids and another two monsters." A man overhearing them talk about a pursue says.

"That must be that Joe and TK are here in this fog too!" She says, suddenly worried for the pair.

"Yea, if Yami's here then TK's here and it's likely the other reason they're here is because Joe and Gomamon gave them a lift! We might actually have the whole team met up soon, after all, Yami did drive Myotismon off without needing to Digivolve, if he goes ultimate then Myotismon is toast!" Sora says with a sigh of relief.

She suddenly felt a whole lot more confident about their situation as she, too, smiles in relief as she can see the light in the silver lining.

- **x** -

Izzy

"Izzy, I think some of your friends are here." He hears Matt's dad tells him and he moves from this pine apple computer to look down at the group approaching the TV station.

"That black one is Yami, there's Joe, Gomamon, and TK! Though who's that with them?" Tentomon wonders and he hums in agreement, though he's glad to see some familiar faces.

True, it helps that in regards to power, Yami's likely the most powerful Digimon in the group without needing to Digivolve much but then he felt that he's being disloyal to Agumon and Gabumon respectfully. Not to mention the fact that Yami's only replacing Patamon as TK's partner until the way that Gennai mention is unclogged.

"It must be the eighth Digidestine and their partner Digimon." He says as at that moment, a patrol spots the group and approach in a nervous manner.

When Yami takes a few steps forward, the Bakemon all seem to scream out in fright and flee in all direction. "It seems that Yami must have left an impression on a patrol of Bakemon if they're reacting in that manner." He sums up what just happen.

"Then I'm doubly glad that he's on our side." His partner says and he nods in agreement.

So they head down to welcome their friends, relieved that they had back up for their assault on the community center where Myotismon has all the hostages.

- **x** -

Myotismon

"What do you mean that Gatomon is the eighth child's Digimon!" He growls at the cringing DemiDevimon.

"It's worse then that, my lord Myotismon! It seems that Phantomon engaged to capture them and the large ebony Digimon with crimson markings Digivolved into his champion form of Blackgrowlmon during the confrontation. He swung Phantomon around like a rag doll before tossing Phantomon into the air and deleting him with a single fire attack!" One of the Bakemon says.

He stiffens as his mind recalls his own encounter with the black rookie with red markings. He suppresses a shudder at the idea of confronting the black Digimon in his ultimate form.

"Send out our strongest forces to the area they were seen in. Now get out, I need to concentrate!" He snarls at those present and with a gulp from the two cringing Digimon the pair flee from his sight.

Alone once more, he can't help but snarl silently as his carefully laid out plans are now disrupted simply by the appearance of the large black Digimon with red markings.

**"Perhaps I can help neutralize this black Digimon for you, though, there is a price you much pay for my help."** He turns around to find a ninja style humanoid Digimon standing in the deepest shadow.

He schools his features as he regards this abnormal Digimon, he can't help but sense that there's something off about this Digimon. "And what is the price for your help?" He asks after a few minutes.

**"Let's say that when the time is right, we will approach you and you won't question our request. You will do as we ask on this future matter as outlined by us, understood?"** The unknown Digimon says and after weighing the pros and cons, he decides that he could afford the price.

"You have a deal." He says and before he can say more, the ninja Digimon vanishes into the shadows, leaving him alone with his coffin.

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

As the others rest in the staff lounge of the TV station and he's wandering about, making sure that there isn't anyone trying to retake control of the building, after all they're all taking turn patrolling the station, though it's kind of agreed on that both Kari and TK won't be part of this, after all, Gatomon and him were more then able to patrol on their own.

He stands on the roof, he had grown bored stalking through the halls of the station so he figured that he'd have a better chance at sensing approaching Digimon if he were outside.

As he gazes upwards at the layer of fog obscuring his view of the night sky. After all, without the city lights, he would have had the perfect view of the starry sky.

"Yami, geeze your hard to find!" He hears Gatomon exclaim and he turns to watch the white cat Digimon come towards him.

He's about to wave in greeting when he stiffens up. "Yami? Yami!" Gatomon bellows as he finds himself dropping into a pit of blackness.

As he looks up, he finds the hole leading out closing and then hears an deep chuckling, he snaps his head down as he tries to peer into the blackness of the field around him.

**"Who would have thought that such a happy go lucky Digimon like yourself could alter so much with a simple colour change? I wonder what your _Tamer_ would say if he could be here now to see you partnered up with another human?"** A voice asks in a mocking way before doing that chuckling thing again.

It takes him a moment to realize that this being was part of that group that Ryo had mentioned that they had been investigating before they were caught up in that blast. _He thinks I'm Guilmon!_ He muses though he struggles not to laugh at this being's conclusion.

"Pyro Grenade!" He growls and for a few seconds there was some light to give him a clue as to how large the playing field is.

**"You missed me by a mile!"** The being taunts and he growls as his anger gets the better of him.

He fires off three Pyro Grenades in response, though once more their light didn't shine much light on where this villain is hiding.

He growls in annoyance as he realizes that this unknown Digimon was likely waiting for him to get out of energy before closing in for the kill.

The trouble was, he's short on time since he knows that the others needed him while this being had all the time he needed, after all, this being is here to delete him and so far, this unknown Digimon was succeeding in this as long as he's here, in this field of darkness where his opponent has the upper hand. After all, it stands to reason that this Digimon wasn't hindered by needing some kind of light to see him.

In the end, he closes his eyes and tries to use his other senses to locate this being, though it likely won't help him finish this fight in the shortest amount of time but in the end, he knew that ultimately, TK would prefer him to come back whole then injured.

Though the trouble is, he's not sure if he's capable of playing this waiting game, but in the end, he didn't see any other opinion.

He snarls as he comes to that conclusion.

- **x** -

TK

_He's gone._ He finds it hard to swallow that simple statement, after all, from the beginning of their relationship, Yami's has become a corner stone in his life, somebody that helped anchor him now that Patamon was beyond his reach.

He can't stop the tears that were welling up as the numbness that had kept him from feeling anything begins to fade. He races out of the room, he wanted to be alone so he can have a good cry.

He enters into an empty room and as he begins to sob, he wishes he can know how Yami's doing.

After thinking that and wishing that he could, one of the Digivices begins to make sounds. It takes him a second to realize that its the one that Yami called a D-Arc.

As he holds it, the screen begins to glow, much like it had when it gave that information about Digimon.

What the hologram shows was complete darkness though there's a hint of a growl coming from some where.

"What is this?" He wonders out loud as he uses his free hand to wipe away some of his tears.

"TK?" He hears Yami's voice say as the growling stops.

"Yami? You can hear me?" He asks his Neo-partner, a bit of his depression fade now that he's talking with the black Digimon.

"Yes I can." The crimson marked Digimon says and after a few seconds the rookie adds, "TK, I hate to tell you think but this fight is going take sometime. I know you and the others need me but whoever is controlling this field doesn't feel the need for this to be a fast fight. I want you to know that I will try and end this as soon as I can but for now, I need you to be strong and believe that everything's going to be alright, alright?"

He bits his lower lip as he think about this before nodding. "I trust you, Yami. If you say you can make it out of there, then you will." He declares as he resolves to do as Yami suggests.

"That means a lot, TK, it really does. Just remember, you guys were defeating evil Digimon long before I showed up so you guys can take Myotismon without me. Just trust in each other and support each other, ok?" Yami asks and he answer, "Ok."

The image fades and he decides to go find something to blow his nose in. As he turns around, he finds Kari and Gatomon standing slightly behind him with a puzzled look on their faces.

"That's kind of handy." Gatomon says in an amused tone and he reddens slightly and he nods.

"Yea, I guess so. So you guys heard that too? I just want to make sure since I don't want the others to think I'm imagining things." He says and Kari smiles as she nods in agreement.

"We heard it." The pair says and he smiles warmly at them, feeling only a tiny bit sad but overall, more then a little confident after his chat with Yami.

"Let's go rejoin the others." He says and they head out of the room, heading to where they last seen Joe, Izzy, his dad, Gomamon, and Tentomon.

- **x** -

Tai

It was Matt's idea to head to the TV station to check up on his dad, he didn't mind, after all, so far all they've encountered were minions of Myotismon.

Amazingly enough, neither of their partners had gone back to their rookie forms throughout their travels through the city. Even when they stopped to rest, their partner remained champions throughout said rest period.

"That's where you're dad works?" He asks as some of the fog clears to reveal a large building with a sphere in the middle of the building and on the top floor of the building.

"Yea. Come on before some Bakemon spot us." The blond Digidestine says, using his legs to get Garurumon closer to the building.

As they climb down from their respective partners, the two glow and within seconds, they're rookies once more.

"Matt! Tai!" He looks up to find some of their friend, his sister, and a grown up who's likely Matt's father coming out of the building.

"TK!" "Kari!" Matt and him call out to their respective siblings. As he hugs his sister, he can't help but noticed that there was two people missing from this reunion.

"Hey you two, we were getting pretty worried. Do you know where Mimi and Sora are?" Joe asks while still holding onto Gomamon. "Last I heard, Mimi and her family were captured. I'm now sure about Sora though." He says while Matt asks, "Where's Yami?"

He blinks and realizes that's who's missing along with Wizardmon. "Yea, where is the big guy?" Agumon asks.

"Some unknown Digimon showed up and trapped Yami in some kind of black area." TK answers. "And he hasn't managed to get out yet?" Matt asks in a kind of agitated tone.

"Well, from our talk, it seems that the Digimon isn't looking to finish him quickly." The young blond admits and he glances at the older two Digidestine, Joe and Izzy while they shrug.

"How can you talk with him when he's trapped in this area?" He asks and TK shrugs.

"The D-Arc that Gennai gave me began to make noise when I was all by myself and then suddenly an image of blackness accompanied by growling appeared." TK says.

Kari and Gatomon nod in agreement while Kari adds, "Then TK asked a question, the growling stopped and Yami's voice came from it."

TK nods and continues, "Then Yami said that it was going to take him sometime to get out of there and that we have to trust and support each other. He even said we can defeat Myotismon without him since we've been defeating evil Digimon before he joined us."

He blinks as he tries to get his head around this, though, honestly, he did admit that Yami had a very good point, the only problem was that they don't have a full number for their group since the girls were missing with their partners.

"Well, at least somebody believes we can pull this off." Gomamon says from his position in Joe's arms and Tentomon says, "I concur."

"Well then, the first thing we need to do is find Sora, Mimi, and their partners. It wouldn't hurt having Wizardmon and Pumpkinmon join us either." He says with determination and the others all nod in agreement.

As he moves to talk with Izzy and most of the others, Matt, TK, and their father move a bit off to have a family chat more then likely.

- o - 0 - o -

Wizardmon

"How are you feeling, Lillymon?" He asks the flower maiden as he arrives with more food that Pumpkinmon found from the surrounding area. As he puts the tray down on the counter and he then sits down on one of the taller chairs while Lillymon seems to be pacing the length of the kitchen. Biyomon and Pumpkinmon should be joining them shortly.

"I can't wait for round two with that creep!" The beautiful ultimate level Digimon snaps, it's clear to him that she's worried about her partner.

Lillymon stops pacing and after looking at the tray of food, begins to devour what she want's.

As Lillymon finishes about half the tray of food, Biyomon arrives on the heels of Pumpkinmon. "I got news!" The bird rookie calls out in an almost sing song fashion.

"Oh?" He asks as he turns to give her his full attention.

"Yea! It seems that sometime yesterday, Phantomon was deleted by a black Digimon with crimson markings who was with some human kids and two Digimon. And I'm sure we all know only one Digimon who fits that description, don't we?" Biyomon says, clearly she still has more to say.

"Yami and if he's here then TK and likely Joe and Gomamon." Lillymon says with a slight grin on her face.

"The third pair are, hopefully, Kari and Gatomon." He says as Pumpkinmon sets out more food, this time for everyone to snack on.

"That's not all, later, after Phantomon was deleted, they were spotted over at the TV station and the few curious Bakemon who stuck around a bit longer say that Izzy, Tentomon, and an adult came out to greet them!" Biyomon finishes and he's glad they have something to focus on.

"So once we're done eating we'll head to the TV station then?" Pumpkinmon asks, contributing to the conversation and the two girl Digimon and himself nod in agreement.

- **x** -

TK

As they're finish preparing, mainly making sure everyone's used the restrooms, they're feed and watered, and weren't drop dead tired.

Joe had just finish regaling Tai and Matt about the van hijacking that Yami 'engineered', how was it hijacking when the keys were in the vehicle he didn't quite get but Agumon and Gabumon, who were listening in as they followed their partners seem to exchanges looks, likely not knowing if they should believe what Joe's saying.

He shakes his head as he walks with Kari and Gatomon while Izzy and Tentomon take the lead for once. Tai's younger sister and him got along pretty well and it's nice having somebody his own age to hang out with, even though Kari's a girl...

For a moment, he feels the impact of his missing partners but stops at the sight of a group of four Digimon coming towards them. "Hey look! There's Biyomon, Pumpkinmon, and Wizardmon!" He calls out, getting the others' attention.

"Who's the one flying over them?" Tai wonders once the older kids raced pass them to stand by Izzy.

"I think that's Lillymon, the ultimate form of Togemon." Tentomon says with an authoritative sounding way.

"Really? Cool!" He says before giggling slightly in happiness that their groups will soon be complete.

"Now we just need Mimi and Sora and everyone will be together once more." Gabumon says and the other Digimon nod in agreement.

"Wizardmon!" Gatomon calls out, moving to the front of the 'pack' to wave at her good friend.

Hopefully when they find Mimi and Sora, they'll find them almost completely healthy.

- **x** -

Yami

He pants as he breaks off from his assault on shadowy figures that seem to surround him.

After that short talk with TK, these outlines began to appear in the blackness when he had opened his eyes during the conversation and had stop concentrating on using his other senses.

Now he's paying the price as he lies on the ground, his anger and irritation that had been driving him on have left him, leaving him to feel the drain of his steady attacks at phantoms.

_Stupid! I've been such a goggle-head in allowing my anger drive me forward, now look where that's got me!_ He snarls at himself as anger flares up within him, focused at his inability to keep a cool, level head in this instance.

"Where's a modify card when you need one?" He wonders softly to himself. A few seconds later he begins to wonder what a modify card was until he just shrugged it off as something to think about later.

**"Oh dear, are you tired little rookie? And I was just getting warmed up!"** The unknown Digimon says before laughing in a darkly amused way.

He scuffs at that, doubting very much that his enemy was just getting warmed up. The whole point of showing off those outlines were for him to chase after phantoms after all.

_He's in control of this environment, which means that all of his abilities are geared into making what he wants happen in this battle ground. It's likely he doesn't have any powerful attacks because of that. After all, Myotismon's fog is slowly eating away at his energy reserve, thus making his attacks less potent, not that it help me to muse about it. Though the truth is, if Myotismon had attacked me with a Crimson Lightning while in the Digital world, I'd be lucky if I reversed to being Gigimon._ He thinks as he admits that if he had gone toe to toe with the ultimate vampire Digimon a few days earlier then when they met, its more then likely that he would have come off worst for wear after such a battle.

It likely helps that Myotismon's natural resistance to other viruses had gotten lower as the ultimate tries to up his resistance to data and vaccine attribute Digimon. After all, why would somebody like Myotismon have to worry about attacks from viruses when the total of the Digidestine Digimon were from the first two categories?

He gives himself a mental slap, he's getting off topic as this pondering on his pair wasn't helping him out in the here and now.

His stomach decides at that moment to growl an agreement and he groans as the booming laughter of the unknown Digimon gets louder until it finally dies off.

He brings his arms under his chin as he begins to try and focus on what to do next. In the end, he'll have to stick with his original idea, which meant that he can't trust his eyes, though he hopes that whoever is out there won't start making phantom sounds to distract him, though this voice thing might just fall under that category...

Right now, he really wishes that Izzy was here since he's fairly sure that the young red head would think of something to counter this.

Thinking of red heads made him think about Rika and then about Henry.

He sits up as he realizes that it wasn't just the Digidestine that were counting on him, but also his previous friends from another life, one he had lived as Takato, partner of Guilmon.

He's not sure where the energy was coming from, though it did seem to be coming from his chest, but he soon felt more energized then he had a few seconds ago.

_This time, this time I will stick to the plan and I will get out of here. I have everything to lose if it ends here._ He thinks to himself as he closes his eyes once more, this time he tunes out the taunting voice, there's something there... something that may help...

- o - 0 - o -

TK

The raid on the community center had a few rocky patches but ultimately, when Gatomon Digivolved into Angewomon, Myotismon got a large arrow through his chest and was thus defeated while Pumpkinmon got attended to by Wizardmon for the injuries the pumpkin headed Digimon suffered from shielding Kari and him from the vampire's Crimson Lightning.

Wizardmon believes that Pumpkinmon will make a complete recovery, which seemed to relieve Gatomon.

Although everyone is kind of worried about this prophecy that Gennai send within a few minutes of them defeating Myotismon...

It didn't help that the people they were trying to rescue wouldn't wake up and that caused everyone to worry about their respective parents, though, lucky for Izzy, Matt, and him, neither of their parents were out of it, though he decided to try his best to comfort Kari since she had tried to comfort him about Yami vanishing.

"Are you sure you don't want to go with your brother and dad to see if we can get through that way?" Kari asks as they hang out by the main entrance way leading into and out of the building. Gatomon was with them just in case they missed some rogue Digimon that were Myotismon's minions.

"I'm sure." He answers, unwilling to say why he declined to go with them.

They didn't say much as they waited to hear from the others as they spread around the city, keeping themselves busy to take their minds off of what's happening with the sleeping people in the community center.

- **x** -

Yami

Impatience at his slow progress made him want to bite something or even try to dig his way out, his whole being resented being forced to sit around and do _nothing_ while TK and the others are fighting for their lives at this very moment.

Why he felt that was a certainty wasn't something his thoughts pondered on for long.

As he feels his resistance weaken something moved and it wasn't him.

"Damn it Kai, I've had enough of this! He hasn't moved in _hours_, he's likely sleeping!" His inner conflict vanishes at this new development.

"That telepathy stuff is giving me a head ache, if you want to say something, do it like a normal person for once!" The same voice growls and is followed by a sigh.

"Cho..." He hears a second voice growl as something moves a bit to the left behind him.

"Kai, this mon is sleeping for crying out loud! You remember those reports we got about the Tamers. Sure this one's reverse in colour with a bit of an attitude adjustment, but the profile made it clear that Guilmon can't stay still for more then a few minutes and he's been known to be a heavy sleeper. He doesn't even have anybody around to give him directions!" Cho says walking closer to him.

"Idiot! Get back here!" Kai growls but Cho ignores this.

As Kai growls warnings at Cho and snarls orders for him to back away from him, Cho pauses slightly around his back.

The guy nudges him and he forces himself not to respond, lucky for him, this whole episode seems to satisfy that part of him that was screaming for him to something.

He allows his eyes to open slightly when he hears Cho come towards his head. He gets a slightly good view of what one of his captures looks like.

Despite the fact that they both have names, his noses informs him that they were, in fact, Digimon. It was likely that they had been human at one point but had taken that drug that alters a human into a Digimon, though it's likely they took it willingly and therefore the added element that was part of the dart formula to cause the subject to get amnesia wasn't added to their dosage.

Cho's got the classic ninja going on as he's wrapped up from head to foot in loose fitting black and blue cloths with a leather face mask covering the Digimon's lower face. Glowing purple eyes surveyed him with a hint of disinterest and as Kai got a bit louder in calling Cho back, he thought he saw a flash of amusement flicker in those glowing orbs.

Cho turns around, his stance totally relax with his guard lowered, the man turned Digimon says, "See? He's fast asleep! He didn't even flicker his tail when I nudged him with my foot!"

Within a flash, he's on the ninja, the element of surprise was so great that Cho didn't even know what happened as he quickly launches himself onto Cho's back as he bites down hard on the back of the Digimon's head.

Kai shouts out, "Cho!" As Cho's body breaks apart into data particles, which he absorbs without a second thought, the area around him alters and he suddenly finds himself on the roof of the TV station with Cho's twin, the one called Kai.

He glares spitefully at the Digimon as he flexes his claws on his left hand. "Pyro Grenade!" He shouts and from his mouth a large purple fire ball is launched at Kai.

A blade appears in Kai's hand, cutting right through his attack. He slaps the blade out of Kai's hand, after all, the fire ball was meant to be a distraction to keep the ninja Digimon from noticing his approach.

"Stunning Mist!" Kai yells and from the area in front of the leather mask, the attack emanates from.

He counters with Virus Breathe before the pair of them back away. He could tell that Kai wasn't committing his all to this, its more then likely that the ninja type Digimon that the man had be transformed into was looking for a way to distract him so that he could make a clean get away.

The distraction appeared in the form of a large hand coming down at them. He manages to duck away but Kai wasn't so lucky. Within seconds, Kai's swallowed by the large Digimon known as VenomMyotismon.

"More energy!" The mega bellows as he snorts but knew better then to stick around the roof where a giant Digimon could get a clear shot at him.

"Yami!" He hears his nick name and pauses as he reaches the door. He stares up at the woman angel for a few seconds before he feels something move behind him, so he falls forward as he enters into the stairwell.

True, he found himself falling down a row of stairs, hitting the wall hard enough to make him dizzy but otherwise, he was fine.

"I wonder how I get into messes like this..." He muses as he gets up off the ground, using the wall to aid in his efforts.

In the end, he races down the rest of the stairs but as he exits out of the building, something seems to cause the world around him to pause. He turns to look to where VenomMyotismon is frozen as well as where Angewomon is hovering in the air with her wings in front of her.

_"I can't be here to do my part in this battle."_ He hears someone say, he blinks and turns to look to his right.

"MagnaAngemon..." He says with a hint of awe, after all, one simple slash from his holy sword and he wouldn't be alive any more.

The lower part of MagnaAngemon smiles slightly as the ultimate level Digimon nods slightly in his direction.

_"And yet, destiny has proclaimed that two angels are needed to defeat this monster before us."_ He feels the angel Digimon turn to regard him.

_"Take a bit of my powerful, Takato Matsuki, it should be enough to allow you to transform into Gallantmon: Crimson Mode for a few seconds, just long enough to take on my role in this drama."_ The ultimate level Digimon says and he can't help but blink.

"You must really hurt not to be by his side." He says to the angel Digimon.

_"For now, you must stand in my stead. But yes, it does ache within me not being in my rightful place but it is not your fault this is so. I know I couldn't have asked for a better replacement though."_ The angel Digimon says and he feels his face heat up as he looks away from the holy warrior.

"I'll try my best." He promises as he looks back at the helmet covered face.

With a nod, MagnaAngemon breaks apart into light and the light speeds right towards him.

As time resumes he finds himself hovering above the ground with glowing white wings coming out of his back.

In his right arm, an arrow of light glows as he looks down to find Matt and Tai with their partners, he can hear Izzy's voice talk about hitting the loved ones of those they were sent to protect.

"Hey! Where did the crimson knight come from with the wings of an angel?" Tai wonders as the leader spots him before everyone else.

"I don't know but I think it's time for part about angels to come true." Izzy says and within seconds, he notices that Angewomon also has an arrow of light in her hand.

"You know what to do?" She asks and he nods before taking aim at Matt while Angewomon takes aim at Tai.

"Why are they aiming those arrows at us?" Tai wonders and Matt answers, "Just call it destiny and just hope it works!"

He lets loose his arrow and as it speeds towards Matt, he suddenly finds himself back by the TV station. He blinks and looks down at his arms.

That's how they found him, staring down at his arms with a sad look on his face.

- o - 0 - o -

TK

As they walk through the forest, he wonders what could cause Yami to have that depressing look on his face when they found him by the TV station, just like Salmon had told them where he was.

The look of utter sadness really tugged at his heart when he looked into Yami's yellow eyes. He could only imagine what caused Yami to look that way, though they didn't have much time to ask since the sky kind of ripped open and they witnessed the Digital world hanging in the sky above.

He had been about to ask but then, Joe almost fell off the the grassy ground and Mimi found the little Digimon that looks like a mouse.

Then they had new things to worry about as they learnt about the changes that began while they were gone to keep Myotismon from getting his hands on the eighth child, Kari.

Their meeting with the Dark Masters really hit home that they still had a long way to go before the Digital world was in the clear.

He didn't like how some of the others began to get snappy at each other, he hated how Matt and Tai went at it, after all, like the others he's come to see Tai and most of the others as family, he didn't really think of Kari as a sibling since they've just meet within the last three or four days. It only help made it more so with her since she hadn't been around at the beginning of their journey.

No that he didn't want her as a friend, its just that... he didn't see her in the same light as he saw the others.

With a sigh, he returns to glancing at Yami as the ground jerks slightly and then suddenly, the whole forest seems to speed up.

"Now what?" He can't help but say with a frown. "Conflict more then likely." Yami answers with a hint of a dry tone.

He turns to look at the black Digimon while Tai and the others chat about what to do about it. He smiles at the Digimon hovering behind him, its the first time since they found Yami that the rookie decided to say something.

He leans a bit towards the crimson marking as Tai mentions jumping off the stripe of the land. Yami wraps his arms around his chest and picks him up before following the others into jumping off the fast moving stripe of land.

As they land on another stripe of forest, it stands moving and Yami moves him slightly so that one of his arms were free as the black Digimon aims for a tree before saying anything.

He takes hold of the tree branch and pulls him up, allowing Yami to do the same.

"TK!" He hears Matt call out as he moves closer to the trunk of the tree to allow Yami a chance to climb onto the branch.

"Matt!" He calls out as he realizes that the others hadn't mimicked Yami's leap.

He stares dumbly as the others speed away. "Well, this is just dandy." He says in a flat tone.

"Sorry." Yami says and he shakes his head. "It's not your fault. It's just that... everything happening way too fast." He states.

"And everyone's nerves are rare because of the sudden deaths of their friends." Yami sighs and he nods, it made sense.

"Matt's really sensitive right now and I think he's taking it out on Tai." He admits.

"I think Rika was like that, only I think at one point it was directed at her partner..." The black rookie Digimon muses softly and he gives his Neo-partner a startled glance.

"What did it involve?" He asks and the crimson marked Digimon answers, "It involved an IceDevimon who I think was loaded by Guilmon?"

"You mean there's another variety of Devimon out there?" He asks in amazement. "I think there's an ultimate named NeoDevimon." The human turned Digimon muses in answer.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised since you're kind of a living example of such things, huh?" He muses and Yami hums in agreement.

"So then, who do you think we're dealing with now? I mean, WarGreymon did destroy MetalSeadramon so..." He says and Yami looks thoughtful for a second before answering, "Puppetmon's made out of wood, right? This forest has trees so... We might be dealing with that one."

"Sounds reasonable to me." He declares and Yami smiles slightly.

"So... What happened in that dark field?" He asks as he's curious about what happened.

"I exhausted myself attacking phantoms, then when I was lying on the ground beating myself up, I then decided to try my original plan but that didn't work out since nobody was moving about. So, after a while, I was struggling with myself since a part of me wanted to move about while I wanted to stick with my plan." Yami says.

With a frown, the black Digimon continues, "While that was happening, one of the two men turned ninja Digimon grew impatient with what's going on and came up to nudge me to prove his point."

"You deleted him." He says and Yami nods in agreement.

"That I did. As I finish loading his data, the area effect vanishes and I had been facing off with the Digimon's partner when VenomMyotismon's hand came swiping down to grab us." Yami says, he frowns as he ponders what Yami had said about loading his opponent's data but decided not to ask.

"Well, I guess you missed us defeating VenomMyotismon." He says and Yami shrugs.

"I know that WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon used their attacks on the virus mega's lower body while the Digivices restrained his movements." Yami states and he blinks.

"Well, you missed out Agumon and Gabumon warp Digivolving and how they achieved it." He says and Yami sighs.

"I was the one who targeted Matt with the arrow of Hope." Yami admits softly with a far away look in his eyes.

"You mean that beautiful crimson knight was you?!" He exclaims and Yami nods.

"Patamon's spirit showed itself to me and told me I had to take his role as Gallantmon: Crimson mode. He misses you, a lot if I'm any judge." The black Digimon says and he blinks before looking away.

"He helped you achieve that, huh? That's why you've been... withdrawn." He says and Yami hums in agreement. "Yea, he did." The black rookie says quietly.

"It must have been strange, taking the likeness of your partner's mega form." He says and a slight smile hovers over Yami's face.

"Ever wonder how is was that Guilmon and I could exchange species? I mean, I'm sure the same thing could have happened with Ryo and Cyberdramon." Yami muses.

"Ok, what do you mean by that?" He demands with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Where I come from, Digimon and their partners Bio Merge to achieve mega level. Its like DNA Digivolving only with one of them is being human." The black rookie says and he just stares in awe.

"How did you achieve that?" He asks once he recovers his voice.

"I think we wished for it." The rookie says with his eyes unfocused as the rookie's gaze turns inward.

He sighs and it wasn't long before they're time together is cut short.

- o - 0 - o -

Tai

"Yami!" He shouts as he spots the crimson marked rookie Digimon lying on the ground, wrapped up in something that looks rubbery.

"Where's TK?" Matt demands as soon as they manage to get the red stuff off of him.

Yami gives Matt an odd look before answering, "Puppetmon showed up and before I can launch a Pyro Grenade at him."

"He's a mega and you thought an fire attack out work?" He asks and Yami shrugs. "It might have been enough of a distraction for us to run away." The large rookie while Matt turns away and starts shouting TK's name while Gabumon gives his partner worried looks.

"So, TK didn't suddenly do anything strange before he disappeared?" Tentomon inquiries as he moves to talk with the elder blond.

"Leave him be, Tai. If he feels better shouting then let him." Yami says as he walks pass, he blinks and turns to look at the marked rookie while Mimi has a break down that only she can throw.

"But that yelling isn't helping!" He says as he turns to face the virus Digimon. "I think he knows that, Tai. I know what that's like, feeling helpless." The usual silent Digimon tells him, giving him some good advice though he's reluctant follow it.

"You're right but he's not the only one feeling helpless." He says and Agumon nods in agreement while Gabumon says, "Don't worry about him, Tai, he's my partner and it's my job to keep him safe!"

He watches as the fur wearing rookie races to catch up with Matt. He sighs as he mutters out loud, "Everything's just going wrong! How are we suppose to act like a team when everyone's edgy?"

"I know, Tai, I know." His partner says and Yami hums slightly.

"Think of it this way, so far, the Dark Masters have been content to take us on one-on-one as we enter onto their respective territory. If they keep following that pattern then as long as TK keeps Puppetmon occupied, we don't have to worry about the other two giving us a go." Yami says with a sigh.

"He's a little kid!" He growls as he turns to glare at the rookie who's suppose to protect the Digidestine of Hope.

"And that's why Puppetmon won't see it coming." Yami says with a smudge smile on his face, leaving him fairly confused as to what this Digimon know that he didn't.

"I don't suppose you can at least go off on your own and find him? I'm sure Matt won't blame you if you come back with him." He suggests after a few seconds as he looks from Mimi, to where Matt and Gabumon headed off to, and finally back to the red marked rookie.

"Good luck with Kiwimon." The virus Digimon says after humming in agreement and takes off before he can ask what Yami meant by that.

"That's one weird mon." Agumon says with his hands on his hip.

"No arguing with that. Now then, should I go after Matt or try and help Sora and the others with Mimi?" He wonders.

- **x** -

Yami

_Well, at least I kept those two from getting even more aggravate with each other._ He thinks as he follows TK's scent trail.

Though for some reason, he just knew a conflict between those two was just around the corner. He can't help but feel confident that TK's alright but, he could see what Tai meant by trying to get back on Matt's good side.

_Oh look, a fun house._ He muses to himself on seeing the house that belongs to Puppetmon. He stares at some 'bushes' but decides that his goal was in the house and as long as those plant Digimon don't try to keep him from entering into the house.

He gets this odd sense of deja vu as he walks through the hallway. He could smell that there were other Digimon around him, though not currently heading his way.

He looks into a room with an open door and finds a TV showing the forest. He glances down as something catches his interest.

"Dolls?" He muses as he walks over to get a better look.

He cocks his head to the side as he steps on something. He looks down at the broken remote before shrugging. As he slides the map from under the dolls with them only wobbling ever so slightly.

He rips the map into little bits before using his Pyro Grenade to destroy the left over bits. He looks around and finds a brown leather pouch to put the dolls in before putting over his head and under his left arm.

With that done, he heads off to find TK, his tail knocking over the television set as he turns to face the door.

His ears flap as he hears Puppetmon calling out TK's name. Within seconds, he's almost bowled over by TK.

"Yami!" TK says with a great deal of joy. "Let's go." He says and TK nods in agreement.

As they exit out of the house, TK asks, "What's up with the satchel?"

"Gifts." He says with a slight hint of a devilish grin.

"Oh, ok then." The young blond say as they head back to the others.

- **x** -

Kari

She smiles at the sight of TK arriving with Yami.

"TK!" She calls out in greeting, glad for someone who's not freaking out about something or another.

"Hey guys!" The younger blond calls out, holding a hand up as a greeting.

"TK!" Everyone calls out and then Matt charges forth to give his little brother a brief hug.

"Are you hurt or injured?" A frantic Matt asks while Yami takes off the leather pouch and begins rummaging through it while TK tries to assure his brother that he's find.

She pauses as she thought she heard something calling for her...

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

As the forest area vanishes with the defeat of Puppetmon, he glances at the others that were currently with him. His gaze softens as he watches as TK, Kari, and Kari's partner Gatomon chat among themselves. A glance over to Izzy and Tentomon as he studies Sora and Tai chatting while Biyomon and Agumon were at opposite ends of the group, looking outward, away from the center of the group.

He sighs and can only hope that they get out of this sun as well as that the others currently absent will, in the end, hook back up with them before the end of this adventure.

After all, he's getting pretty baked out here in this dessert like area. Though there was a city down the road that they will likely head for.

= **V** =

He watches as WarGreymon and Piedmon go at it. TK took off with Sora and Birdramon to seek out Matt and Gabumon, leaving him with Tai, Izzy, Kari, and their partners.

He sighs as he knew what was going to happen next as Piedmon slowly wore Tai's partner down.

WarGreymon's armour slowly but surely begins to crack and break under Piedmon's assault. He glares down at the ground as feels particularly useless in the up coming events that should have lead to something important...

He closes his eyes as he tries to remember the world where he arrived from to save TK from a fate almost similar to his.

Something stirred at his desire to help and suddenly he sees a softly glowing image of the symbol on his chest as well as a soft beeping out.

_What is this? Why is it in me? I'm not suppose to have this, right? But... what's the harm if I borrow some of its power?_ He muses as his inner eyes watch the symbol.

Within the center of the symbol, a ripple seems to erase the triangle and he watches a scene where TK and Kari are climbing up a rope as Angemon distracts the clown Digimon. He holds his breathe as one of Piedmon's swords cut through the rope.

As the pair fall, TK manages to grab a hold of Kari and witnesses Angemon Digivolving into MagnaAngemon.

The image fades and once more he sees the triangle that's suppose to be there in the center.

_I won't let that happen!_ He growls as the symbol begins to flash until it becomes too bright, causing him to snap out of his mind.

He feels power flow freely through him as he tries to wrestle with this sudden increase of intense emotions like rage, hate, and, most of all, fear.

"Blackguilmon warp Digivolve too..." Finds his frame growing and then the skin breaking apart to reveal silver armour with blue trim. A blue cape flaps behind him as a lance and shield appear in his hands.

The navy blue light surrounding him fades, revealing his new form for all to see.

"ChaosGallantmon!" He declares, even to himself his tone sounds frosty.

"That symbol!" He hears Piedmon mutter with a hint of shock and fear.

"Yami?" He hears the Digidestine wonder in awe one after another.

"I won't allow it to come to that! You won't make sport of them!" He glows with that frosty tone as he points the tip of his lance at Piedmon.

"Why don't we talk about this? I mean, a Digimon of your prestige and power could surely do more then simply being somebody pet..." Piedmon says moving back with his hands up.

His gaze narrows as he feels a hint of cold fury enters within him at the suggestion that he would think of betraying those he's established bonds with not just the Digidestine but also with his old group of friends.

"Is it just me or is it getting colder every time Piedmon takes a step back?" Gatomon wonders. "It's not just you, Gatomon. I think it's coming from ChaosGallantmon." Izzy says.

"Demon's Disaster!" He snarls and he lunges towards Piedmon as bolts of lightning crackle around his lance he thrusts it at Piedmon.

The clown Digimon manages to evade the attack and as the lance hits the ground, the area within a meter of the center point creaks and breaks under the pressure of the attack.

"WarGreymon!" He hears MetalGarurumon's voice call out.

As he stands from his crouching stance, he turns to see Matt and more of the others arrive. He blinks and then focuses on TK.

A bit of his icy exterior melt at the sight of the boy he promised to protect. It also reminded him that Piedmon has yet had a chance to do what he had in that vision he witness.

"Is that... Yami?" He hears TK ask and Tai answers dryly, "Well, if he's not then Yami picked a lousy time for a game of Hide & Go Seek."

"And I thought seeing him in his crimson armour was something." TK says and those present call out, "What? That was Yami?"

"Err... I would have told you guys but I forgot to say something about it." TK says in his defense while MetalGarurumon moves to help WarGreymon heal.

"This is all very interesting, but he's getting away!" He states and the others all blink before realizing that he's right.

"Ah damn it, how did that happen?" Tai wonders and he shakes his head.

"Well then," He points his shield in the direction of Piedmon's den, "Judecca Prison!"

The recoil of his attack causes him to be pushed back as the beam causes the group to gulp in awe as his attack cuts through the rocky lair.

With the last of his energy spent on that one attack, he collapses on the ground as Blackguilmon.

"Yami!" He hears TK call out before he blacks out.

- **x** -

TK

He picks up the resting Gigimon that is Yami.

"Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm glad he's on our side!" Tai declares before he climbs onto WarGreymon's shoulder.

Matt holds out his hand to help him climb on while the others get divided between Birdramon and Kabuterimon.

"I wonder what set Yami off though. I mean, why did he choice this Dark Master to get freaked out about?" Matt wonders as MetalGarurumon moves along the path of ChaosGallantmon's attack.

"Don't know, I wasn't around for it. Must have been something about me, though. He's pretty protective like that." He says to his brother and Matt hums in agreement.

"Yea, he is." Matt says as MetalGarurumon continues to race along the ground while WarGreymon, Birdramon, and Kabuterimon flew in the air above them.

- **x** -

Yami

"So I missed the whole thing with Piedmon and Apocalymon?" He asks as he lies on the grass next to TK, not sure if he's happy on missing it or sadden that it's all over.

"And the photograph." TK adds and he sighs.

"Anyway, what made you so upset that you Digivolved into ChaosGallantmon?" The young blond asks.

"I saw a scene were Kari and you were climbing up this rope while Angemon tried to distract the approaching Piedmon. Then after batting Angemon away, he goes after you two. He grabs one of your legs and then when Kari won't let go, he cuts the rope causing you both to fall. You're tag and crest glow and Angemon Digivolves into MagnaAngemon, catching you both." He tell TK.

"Wow, but that's not what happened with you around. Though I'll admit, Piedmon wasn't really interested in fighting us but trying to look for something among his books. Not that it stopped us though, it took about five minutes before one of MetalGarurumon's attacks hit and deleted him." TK tells him.

"And Apocalymon?" He asks and TK shrugs.

"As one of his clamps tried to crush us, something glowed from you and entered into him. Within seconds, he was gone. Gennai thinks it had something to do with you managing to Digivolve into your mega form." TK says.

He perks at that but then his ears drip in sadness.

"Gennai's setting up that gate right now, isn't he?" He asks. "Yea, he is, he wants to finish it before there's this eclipse. He mentioned that it should put everything to the way its suppose to be." TK says.

"So, you'll forget about me." He muses softly and TK reaches out to hold him to his chest. He felt something spark between them before TK yelps and lets go of him.

As TK pulls up his shirt, the tiny symbol consisting of triangles and a circle greet them on TK's left chest in red.

"It looks like a tattoo." He muses as TK tries to rub it.

- o - 0 - o -

TK

After finding out that the tiny red symbol won't rub off, he pulled down his shirt as Matt calls for them. He picks up Yami and heads off to walk with his elder brother to the site of the gate that Gennai had been constructing.

The old man nods as they come within range and Gennai says, "Now then, as soon as this gate fires up, you have two minutes to travel through, so I hope you said your goodbyes."

"We did." Yami and him pipe in about the same time. He notices a flicker of sorrow appear briefly on the old man's face before the man turns away.

A small point on his crest tingles briefly as Gennai turns the gate on. With a sigh, he lowers the in-training Digimon to the ground and with a nod, Yami bounces into the shimmering energy.

His head feels light but that point on his crest burns even as he rubs it. As he begins to fear that Patamon wasn't coming through, he yelps in joy as an orange blur comes out of the gate and into his chest with a shout of "TK!"

"Patamon!" He calls out in joy as the gate seems to vanish into a dust of data particles.

A slight headache begins but that point on his chest continues to burn. As he closes his eyes as he begins to feel dizzy and then he begins to 'see' events and 'feel' emotions that go with the events.

For one thing, while the events seem almost similar to what happened, they lack Yami in them, which altered how they played out and that they had Patamon always by his side.

It takes a few seconds but once the headache fades so does the burning on his chest.

As he opens his eyes, he finds that Gennai's gone from his sight, so he looks down to find Patamon looking a bit sad about something.

"Err, Patamon? Why do I have memories of events with your at my side instead of Yami?" He asks in a whisper.

"You still remember him?" Patamon asks with a hint of alarm but also with relief. "Yea..." He says.

"Well, at least I won't have to keep this from you then." Patamon says and he blinks, still not quiet getting what his original partner is saying.

"Are you saying that somebody doesn't want us to remember Yami, at all?" He asks the orange Digimon and Patamon winces.

"The Powers That Be don't felt that it was too soon for you guys to know about other Digital realms. I don't agree with them but, then, I'm not capable of going against them." The rookie admits and he sighs but nods in understanding.

"I guess. I won't say anything to them about him then. But just because I won't say anything doesn't mean I'll forget about him, I owe him that much and so much more." He says softly and Patamon nods as the orange Digimon blinks some tears away.

"So do I, TK, so do I." Patamon says, smuggling more into his chest as he hugs his partner as some tears threaten to fall.

About an hour later, they learnt that they had to leave before the eclipse or else they'd miss their ride home.

He sighs, Patamon just returned and already he has to leave him.

As he waves back at their partners running along the side of the train car, he already figuring out what to wear as tribute to both of his partner.

- **x** -

Yami

He blinks as he finds himself in a lair of a giant Digimon with four red eyes glaring down at him. He tries to cock his head to the side before he sighs.

With a glance at the surrounding Digimon in the serves of the giant bird, he begins to walk towards the opening in the circle, ignoring the looks the 'ghosts' were giving him.

After all, according to some of his memories, all of the Devas were deleted when most of their number assaulted the real world.

He almost stumbles as he finds himself surrounded in some kind of bubble and is launched at full speed across this bridge suspended over this body of water.

Once the bubble breaks and he touches the ground, he feels a surge of energy and he finds himself Digivolving back into Blackguilmon.

He gives surrounding area a confused look, amazed at how well it had been repaired after the D-Reap incident.

With a flicker of his tail, he begins to look for a way out of this layer of the Digital world, after all, he rather not aggravate the phoenix Sovereign.

- **x** -

Antylamon

"I still don't know why I can't delete the little bugger! He's got that vile taint of human all over him!" Her fellow Deva, the sheep, growls as she stomps a hoof on the ground.

"It wouldn't be sporting, after all, he's just an in-training Digimon." The bull Deva says, she stays silent since she rather get back to her duties then to get into an argument about what they should do to the dimensional traveler.

Though she couldn't help but wonder at the dismissive look the young Digimon had when glancing at her fellow Deva, it was as if the in-training Digimon didn't believe they were even there...

With a sigh, she dismisses it as talk turns to the familiar topic of the awaking Chaos...

- o - 0 - o -

So ends The Time Weavers. Check out Zero Two! Time Chaos! for the sequel to The Time Weavers.

Hope to hear your thoughts!


	61. Zero Two! Time Chaos!

**I Don't Own Digimon!**

- o - 0 - o -

TK

He sighs as he stares out of the kitchen window to stare out at the city he remembers saving four years ago from Myotismon's henchmen.

Though he's got two separate memories how they did so, one set had Patamon by his side while the more realistic memories had a black rookie Digimon called a BlackGuilmon that he had taken to calling Yami as being his partner during that crisis following Patamon's deletion and teleportation through different dimensions.

The red symbol on his chest is a constant reminder of which memories actually happened and not a fabrication. Unknown to him, he rubs the exact spot as he recalls the time Yami made buns in their apartment that one morning.

With a sigh, he gets to his feet and heads to the door to leave for school. He moves the hood of his green vest back before kneeling to put on his black runners. The vest wasn't zipped up, thus revealing a white T shirt with an orange company logo on the front.

Remembering to put his keys into his jean's pocket, he shoulders his back pack as he calls out, "Bye Mom! I'm heading off to school!"

"Bye TK! Have a good day at school!" His mom calls out and once he walks out the door, he runs his fingers through his hair before retying his green bandanna with lighter tribal designs. He feels the D-Arc, another reminder of what really happened, bounce on his hip as he walks to the elevator.

"Hey! Hold up, I'm coming!" He calls out and the glass wearing preteen presses a button that causes the door to open up.

"Thanks!" He says and then he notices that there's another in the elevator with her. "Nope problem! You're new here, aren't you?" The girl asks and he hums in agreement.

"Yea, I am. I'm Takeru Takaishi, though I prefer my nick name, TK." He says and he gives them a slight bow.

"I'm Yolei Inoue! And this is my good friend Cody Hida." Yolei says with a smile as Cody bows slightly in greeting.

"You both go to Odaiba Elementary? I heard it's close but, well, I wouldn't mind having somebody around to make sure I'm heading in the right direction." He admits to the pair.

"No problem, TK. I don't mind helping out a fellow student!" Yolei says with Cody nodding in agreement wit Yolei's statment.

"Thanks." He says and after a few seconds, the elevator lands on the main level, causing the three of them to walk out of it once the door open up.

For a brief moment, he pauses as he sees a van, a bitter smile appears on his face as he recalls the time Yami hijack on during the time this part of the city was covered in mist.

Ideally, he wonders what happened when the owner finally located it and what the person's reaction was as he turns away from the sight of the van. Knowing that he's focus needs to be in the here and now.

V - V

Yami

For the last four years, he's been wondering about as things began to jog his memory, giving him a better picture of what his life had been like as Takato Matsuki, Tamer of Guilmon, a Digimon he created using a pad of paper.

He even know how come he knew so much of what was happening in that Digidestine dimension, it's because before he became a Tamer, he liked watching the TV show.

He wonders ideally if the second season of the show has started and if it had, did TK dress differently then he had in the cartoon or had his fears been made real when he left that dimension and the Digidestine of Hope forget about him?

He stops and blinks as he realizes that he's under attack by a Renamon, one that he can't help but admit seems a tad familiar as he is send flying through the air.

As he picks himself up from the rumble of the rock he crashed into, Renamon was already in the air, using her Diamond Storm on him.

He counters with a Pyro Grenade, the two attack meet and a minor explosion occurs.

Within seconds, Renamon closes the gap between them and he growls as he feels a bit of his more primal side of himself tries to wrestle free to teach this rookie a lesson.

He does the unexpected and rams his head into Renamon's head. Before she could recover, he's pinning her on the ground as he demands, "Why are you attacking me? I don't remember seeing any boundary markers!"

Instead of answering, the yellow furred rookie tries her hardest to escape. With a mental sigh, he knows it's going to be a while before he gets his answer or that some stronger Digimon shows up and tries to load their collective data.

Though a spike of worry course through him, he's now sure what's the cause but something was _wrong_ with this whole picture...

- o - 0 - o -

TK

Slowly the pair warmed up to him and Yolei said she'd look at Cody's computer if his mom made some brownies.

As they round the corner, light glimmer off of somebody's goggles. For a moment he thought he saw Tai, Kari's older brother but the moment fades and he's staring at a kid with maroon red spiked hair, a navy blue long sleeve shirt with a light blue vest and brown coloured shorts with orange runners.

It seems that there's already a soccer game in progress as the kid, Davis, misses the ball and he snatches it out of the air with ease.

He studies Davis for a few seconds as the kid congratulates him a great catch and then tosses the ball to him. "You look kind of familiar, it must be the goggles." He muses as his hands go into his jeans pocket.

Davis blinks as he says, "Oh wha'?" Then as some of his fellow soccer players call out for him to rejoin them, Davis turns and kicks the ball in their direction before racing off to help his team.

He shakes his head before continuing on towards the building, he needed to see the principal before he headed to class.

V - V

Yami

As noon arrives, Renamon has finally stop trying to get out from under him and seems to have calmed down.

With a sigh, he gets off of her and takes a few steps back as he watches her with a subdued expression. Renamon slowly gets to her feet, though she looks highly uncertain about why he hadn't deleted her and loaded her data if he were to make any guesses at this point.

"What did you attack me? I didn't do anything to you that could warrant such an attack." He states, standing at his full high with a hand at his hip.

"Last time I check, it's survival of the fittest, load or be loaded." The fox Digimon says in a casual tone.

"I haven't loaded a Digimon since I got back to this world and that was about four years ago." He states and the fox Digimon perks up on hearing that.

"So, you're partner to a human?" The yellow data Digimon asks with a hint of interest.

He sighs as some memories of him being alone together with TK and Guilmon play before his mind's eyes. "One could say I've had two partners and last I check, both were alive, though the second partner I had, I was just filling in for his missing partner who suffered a slight... dimensional mishap." He answers.

"If so, then what are you doing here, in the Digital world instead of in the real world?" Renamon asks and he shrugs as he replies to her inquiry.

"Well, for my first partner, there was this explosion triggered by a friend of ours. It resulted in a very complex problem for him and myself, hence I'm here instead of by his side. It likely doesn't help that the second partner might be still in possession of my D-Arc."

Renamon blinks with a slightly unsure expression on her face. "You know, I think if you keep looking, you'll find your human partner, that is, if you're in the process of looking for one." He adds as it begins to sink into his mind why nobody came looking for him during the past four or so years.

Renamon looks slightly uncomfortable but inclines her head slightly before saying, "So then, I'll take my leave of you... What are you called?"

"I'm a BlackGuilmon but my second partner nick named me Yami. I tend to answer to Yami since few know of my species." He answers with an ironic smile at the fact that both of his partners had come up with nick names for him, true, they're both very different but they're still nick names he's answered to.

"Then perhaps I'll see you one day in the real world... Yami." Renamon says and he nods as she seems to fade into a tree's shadow.

It takes him a few moments to collect his thoughts before he heads off to get a drink of water from the stream with a mind troubled with depressing thoughts.

V - V

TK

It's the end of the day, Kari and him were collecting his shoes as Kari asks him about how his mom likes their new apartment. He informs her that his mom hasn't checked it out since she's been on the computer the whole time.

He felt a bit of an ache in his chest as the closeness he had with Kari didn't seem to be as intense as he remembered it. It likely doesn't help that Kari doesn't remember anything about Yami.

Davis appears as he finishes telling Kari about his mom when Davis appears at the doorway, panting slightly as the kid wearing blue gives him a threatening look on his face.

"Hey buddy!" Davis says in what appears to be with clutched jaws.

Kari replies, "His name is not buddy, it's TK!"

"Alright TJ, JB, or whatever it is! How do you know Kari?" Davis demands.

He blinks for a moment before he gets what Davis is on about. "How do I know her?" He asks as a shadow of a smile appears on his face.

"We went to the same summer camp back when we were eight." He says and Kari nods in agreement.

Before Davis could say anything, Yolei arrives behind Davis and he called out, "Hey Yolei."

Yolei nods before walking pass Davis to address Kari, asking, "You're Kari Kamiya?"

Kari hums in a yes while giving her a brief nod.

Yolei unfolds a piece of paper with the message on it that reads: "Come to the Digital world right away. The Digimon need our help."

"Are you related to Tai Kamiya? He sent this E-Mail." Yolei asks as he reads the message, for a moment he wonders about one of their villains from their past has come back as Kari says, "My brother needs us."

- o - 0 - o -

TK

He stares about the area of the forest around them, he sighs as his memories of his previous times in this world.

He did note the new cloths that Davis is now clothed in but his interest is in glancing around for wild Digimon who are likely more then a bit interested to find out what's causing all the noise.

"Wow, this place come with a new wardrobe." Davis says and he shrugs in an uninterested manner.

He sighs as they decide on a direction to walk in, he's too busy reviewing both sets of memories as he studies the environment they're walking in.

He still didn't like the fact that, though he'll likely met up with Patamon again, he likely never see Yami again...

Too focused on his thoughts he just followed Kari and Davis through the forest.

He comes out of it as Davis stands before a soda machine. _Don't Numemon come out of those?_ He muses silently to himself as he pauses to watch what happens next.

He snorts as some Numemon come out of the place where one reaches to get soda bottles. Davis looks pretty freaked out because of this.

It takes a few seconds for the stream of Numemon to end and for Davis to pick himself up off the ground. Kari chuckles slightly while he just grins as he shakes his head.

As they continue, Davis asks a few questions, mainly about about those Digimon that came out of the vending machine. He doesn't add to the conversation as he takes time out musing which of the plants within eye sight are eatable.

Kari's Digivice says they're getting closer and within a few seconds he hears his name being called. "TK!" Patamon says and within seconds he's reunioned with his first Digimon partner.

"Patamon! Boy am I glad to see you!" He says as Patamon lands in his arms.

Within seconds, an older Tai turns the corner of the path with Gatomon and Agumon hot on his heels.

V - V

Yami

He knew this was a dream but to him it didn't matter, he didn't ever want to wake up to the reality that he just found himself in.

"Yami?" He hears TK's voice ask and he hums.

"Is that really you?" TK asks and he blinks before sitting up right.

He blinks as he stares at the kid before him. "TK? What are you wearing?" He asks and the blond sighs.

"I guess I should call you Takato then, since you really don't look like a Digimon." TK muses and he blinks before looking down at his arms.

He gets to his feet and studies the out fit he's wearing. He smiles bitterly at his blue hoodie shirt as his hand goes to his card deck.

"True, but I don't mind if you call me Yami, after all, if Guilmon can call me Takatomon ever so often, why shouldn't you be able to call me by your nick name for me?" He says with a hint of amusement as he grins at the taller Digidestine of Hope.

The blond chuckles. "He calls you Takatomon? I guess I can see it." The green vest wearing Digidestine muses.

"He called me Takatomon because at the beginning, he didn't distinguish between humans and Digimon, so as I was telling him his name and then mine, he stuck a 'mon' at the end of my name. It was the night I also put on these goggles as I told him that I was a Digimon Tamer." He informs the blond with a sad smile on his face.

"So then, how is Guilmon? TK asks.

"I won't know, I'm still a BlackGuilmon and up to a few days ago, I thought it was a matter of time before Yamaki sends the other Tamers here to search for me. But now, it seems that I've been sent to a time before the D-Reaper appeared on the scene." He says with a sober expression on his face.

TK looks concerned about that. "I guess that explains why I'm here." TK muses and he snorts softly.

"Oh?" He asks as he crosses his arms over his chest as he studies TK's expression.

"I think you want some time away from where you are and I won't mind having you around here until you think of something." TK says and he blinks as his mouth forms a silent, "oh."

"You sure you don't mind having my about the apartment? If memory serves..." His eyes widen as he recalls what's likely happening with the Digidestine at this particular moment.

"What? What's wrong?" TK asks and he swallows as he scratches the side of his head while his other hand moves to his hip.

"You've got a new Digivice, right?" He asks after a few seconds.

"How do... Yea, I do. Why, is that a problem?" TK asks.

He swallows and after a few seconds, sighs in defeat. "Well the thing is, I know how your Digimon Emperor problem will end, I know who's behind it, and I'm fairly sure I can prove it too... The thing is... I'm not sure I should since it will alter the course of your world, not unlike what I did during the first set of adventures only I'm more aware of it." He says.

"How could you possibly know that?" The blond asks and he answers, "Cause some how, your Digital adventures ended up being a cartoon show in my home dimension, that includes your current trouble with Ke... err, with the Digimon Emperor."

TK's eyes narrow and he suddenly can't help but think of all the episodes of season two of Digimon. By the end of it, TK's eyes were wide and TK's face really pale.

"Err, you got all of that, didn't you?" He asks, wincing as a sudden headache begins to ascend on him.

"Well then, now that I know, you don't have much of a defense not to come over to my world." TK finally says after what seems like forever.

"Really? I mean, if you're sure..." He says and TK says, "I'm sure, although, I should point out one little thing, if my cloths are so different then my cartoon character, it means that there might be other changes to the... story plot."

He couldn't help but agree with that logic.

- o - 0 - o -

TK

As he slowly wakes from his dream, he feels something on his chest. Sighs and cracks open a single eye, blinking a few time to get rid of the blurriness, he moves his head up to see the weight on his chest.

_Gigimon... Yami!_ He thinks as suddenly the full extent of that dream replays once more before his mental eyes.

Though the shock finally wears off and he moves a hand out from under the covers to stroke the red in-training Digimon that's on his chest.

For the first time on re-entering into the Digital world, he felt complete.

"TK?" He hears Patamon asks as the little orange Digimon yawns.

He turns to look at his original partner with some heat in his cheeks. "Well... I mean... It just wasn't the same without him." He stutters to his partner, suddenly aware that Patamon might have objected to having Yami by his side once more.

Patamon cocks his head to the side in confusion until Patamon's blue eyes turn to look at the little red Digimon sleeping on his chest. Then his partner's eyes soften before Patamon moves to get a closer look at the in-training Digimon.

"He's kind of... more... red then I recall." Patamon admits. "At this moment, he's a Gigimon, I think Gigimon only come in red." He says.

The ear flaps that were so similar to Patamon's ears flap for a few seconds and then the little red Digimon whom he nick named Yami begins to wake.

The little red Digimon hums and tries to roll onto his side, only to roll off his chest and on the other side of him.

"Huh?" Yami says in a sleepy tone and the little Digimon's eyes open to reveal yellow eyes as the in-training Digimon yawns and tries to stretch.

"TK? Patamon?" Yami muses as the little guy yawns once more before giving himself a shake to help fully wake himself up.

"Morning, Yami." He says as he sits up right while Patamon crawls into his lap. "Morning." Patamon says in a cheerful tone with a smile on his face.

"Morning I guess..." Yami says before getting to his feet as the little Digimon takes a look around the room.

Then Gigimon's stomach growls and the little crimson Digimon glances down into the bed in embarrassment.

"When was the last time you ate something?" He asks, kind of dreading the answer though it would help explain why Yami's an in-training Digimon in stead of his usual rookie form.

"Err... About two months." Yami admits while Patamon sighs.

"Your world really does obey a different set of rules, huh?" The orange Digimon muses and Yami nods.

"Well then, let me have my shower and then I'll make us some breakfast." He says before picking up Yami once Patamon moves from his lap to sit at the end of his bed. He puts the in-training Digimon by Patamon before heading off to the bathroom to take a shower.

After a short shower that lasts about fifteen minutes, he returns to the room to find Patamon stalking a giggling Yami who's taken refuge under his bed. He pauses on entering this scene and Patamon then leaps under his bed causing Yami to squeal before the little red Digimon races out from under the bed, racing towards his back pack to hide behind it.

It was pretty hard to think of the little Digimon as the same being that could Digivolve into ChaosGallantmon and was actually a kid about his age named Takato.

With a shake of his head, he moves to his dresser to grab some underwear and socks to put on before searching through his dresser drawers to find certain cloths to wear today in silent celebration of being reunioned with Yami.

He puts on a pair of blue jeans before moving onto his other items of clothing.

He finds the long sleeve black shirt with a red and white yin yang symbol on it. Fishing around though the drawer he keeps his hooded vests in, he pulls out a slightly off white vest that didn't have a hood on it.

He picks the red bandanna that's sandwiched in between his white and orange bandannas, he had four total even though he mostly wears his green one with most out fits.

Once dressed, he pauses as he tries to locate where the two Digimon were and finds Yami about to pounce on a stalking Patamon as his first partner slowly moves towards a pile of discarded cloths.

"Well, I'm done, who wants some breakfast?" He asks before Yami leaps off the shelf and onto Patamon's back.

"Food!" Yami yells as the little red Digimon jumps from his position on the book shelf and takes off running towards him while Patamon takes to the air.

He picks up Yami and the little red Digimon begins to cuddle into his chest while listing different foods in a kind of chant. Patamon rests on his shoulder as he heads to the kitchen with the pair.

Patamon flies from his shoulder to land on the counter while he sets Yami on the counter before beginning to search the cardboards for things he needs to make some pancakes.

Yami does stop his little chant as he begins to mix the pancake batter. "I thought you're normal breakfast was oatmeal?" Yami asks after he turns on a heating element and places a frying pan on the element.

"Remember that time you made those buns? Well, it seems my mom decided that I was the one who instructed you in making them, so she decided when I was nine to have me take some cooking lessons at a local community center, thinking that I was already a gifted baker." He tells Yami.

"Ah... And of course you couldn't really tell her the truth about me since, it is fairly hard to swallow the idea that a human can be transformed into a Digimon." The in-training Digimon muses and he hums in agreement.

"Maybe when you're back to being BlackGuilmon you'll make some of those buns since I never got the chance to have any." Patamon says and Yami nods as he says, "Ok! But I also remember how to make a bunch of other goodies like cream buns, apple buns, and etc."

"Remind me to get some of those recipes from you." He jokes and Yami just grins widely. "Ok!" Yami pipes out.

With that said, he begins to pour some of the batter into the greased frying pan, thus beginning the process of making pancakes.

V - V

Gatomon

She frowns from her position in a tree at Kari and the others' school yard as she waits for Patamon to show.

Though the events of yesterday continue to want to be replayed within her mind, especially the part of her armour Digivolving into Nefertimon and Patamon into Pegasusmon.

"Gatomon!" She hears a very young voice call out and she blinks as she turns to her left to find a little red Digimon that's more then likely an in-training Digimon.

The little red Digimon leaps from the branch he was on to join her on her's. _He seems... familiar for some reason..._

"Yami!" She hears Patamon call out under them and the little red Digimon calls out, "Up here!"

Patamon looks up and his eyes widen on seeing her with the little red Digimon.

"Gatomon!" Patamon says with a hint of nervousness.

"I take it he's with you?" She asks as the little red Digimon tries to bite her moving tail.

"Yea, he is." Patamon says once he settles on the same branch as them.

"Aren't you a bit young to have a kid?" She muses with a slight grin on her face as she decides to tease her fellow rookie.

"He's not mine! He's... well, he's an old friend of TK's and he's here for a visit." Patamon says.

"Oh?" She asks and the little Digimon decides to join the conversation since he hasn't managed to capture the tip of her tail.

"Yep! I remember you, Gatomon! I even know who's got your tail ring too!" The little Digimon says cheerfully and she chokes on some air.

"You know where my what is?" She demands and she can hear Patamon sigh.

"Gennai has it! He'll give it back after Myotismon is destroyed!" The little Digimon pipes in.

"Yami!" Patamon shouts and the little Digimon who seems to be called Yami freezes before growing highly embarrassed while her mind's a whirl.

For some odd reason, the name Yami is connected with a large black Digimon that she can't remember much about or what he precisely looked like. Though deep within her, she knows that she should know this Digimon but something is causing her to get a very large headache all of a sudden.

"Uh, Patamon? I think I need to get to the ground." Yami says and Patamon asks, "What is it now?"

"I think I'm about to Digivolve." Yami says and she blinks.

"Oh joy." Patamon groans and as Yami leaps off the branch, he begins to glow. "Gigimon Digivolve too..."

She chokes on seeing how large the egg of light is and as it breaks, she feels her jaw drop at the large black rookie as the Digimon hits the ground. "BlackGuilmon!"

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

He sighs as he lands on his feet and then looks up into the tree to see what Gatomon's reaction was to his Digivolution.

The white cat Digimon with olive green gloves with stripes has this bugged out expression on her face and he sighs on noticing this reaction on the champion Digimon.

"**Yami**!" Gatomon yells and within seconds, the cat Digimon is giving him a hug. He blinks, he hadn't been expecting this reaction and from the look on Patamon's face, neither was the little orange Digimon.

"Glad to see you missed me." He says as Gatomon lets go and drops to the ground.

Gatomon sighs and then looks up at Patamon. "Err... That's not to say I'm not glad to see Patamon..." The cat Digimon stutters and he chuckles.

"The beings that I was with when I hatched decided that this group of chosen children weren't ready to know about alternate Digital world, so, once I returned I triggered a mild memory virus that suppressed your memories of Yami and then it rewrote the memories to include me, altering the events slightly." Patamon says after the orange Digimon takes to the air to come land on his head.

Gatomon looks slightly peeved at the suggestion but after a few seconds, she just sighs as she shakes her head. "Like editing out the bit about Yami hijacking a van?" The champion level Digimon muses and Patamon looks startled on hearing that.

He sighs, it seems he's never going to live that down. "Yami did what?" Patamon asks and he replies with as much dignity as he could muster, "You have to admit that it got us from point A to point B faster then if we had walked. Besides, I think by then, everybody's feet were getting sore, that includes Joe."

"So, I take it you guys convinced Joe to drive?" Patamon asks and he shares a look with Gatomon before the white Digimon answers, "No, Joe's was protesting in form of closing his eyes and covering his ears while muttering some chant over and over again. Yami had moved to the driver's side and then modified the seat by taking the back part off and tossing it out on the van before entering into the vehicle."

"So he drove... err... who was all with you guys at the time?" Patamon inquiries and he lists who was with them and where they sat. "Joe and Gomamon were in the far back, Kari and Gatomon were in seats directly behind TK and mine seat."

"I think I'm going to faint." The orange Digimon sighs in a light tone. "I didn't crash into anything or anyone." He defends his driving ability, after all, Yamaki had thought it was a good skill for his group to have, though out of all of them he had been the only one to be gun-ho about it.

Besides, Tally hadn't said anything negative about his driving... and it was only Rika and Ryo were the two that got busted using Riley and Tally's cars in racing against each other...

"I knew how to drive, there wasn't much of a risk, it was just my first time... out of the underground garage." He says, he had been going to say 'my first time as a Digimon' but he recovered in time since he doesn't think Gatomon could take any more shocks to her system.

"Who would teach _you_ how to drive?" Gatomon asks with her arms over her chest.

"A government agent thought it was a good skill for our team to have." He answers.

"Why would a government agency want anything to do with Digimon?" Gatomon asks and he snorts softly.

"While I was with my first partner in the real world, Digimon would Bio Emerge and then go on rampages, so, the government created Hypnos to monitor and try and prevent Digimon from crossing over. Think Myotismon's invasion only space the time and place for each Digimon entering into the real world over a course of some months as well as lack any kind of leader." He says.

"Sounds chaotic." Patamon muses and Gatomon nods in agreement. "So it does." The white cat Digimon says.

"So... what do you two want to do now?" He asks, changing the topic since he made him homesick.

"How about raiding the cafeteria?" Patamon asks and he groans mentally as Gatomon agrees. _What is it with Digimon and raiding the school cafeteria?_ He wonders as he follows the pair, making sure to duck every so often so that nobody spots him.

As he enters into the hall, they were passing by the auditorium's doors when a costumed wearing student races out of the door, crying if he's hearing the sobs correctly.

As he pauses in his progress through the halls, a pair of students were complaining about how they'll never find the lead villain at this rate. As he's about to continuing on, one of those speaking notices him and before he knows what's happening, he's pulled into the auditorium and pushed into the back where some other kids were dressed up before he could say a word.

"Looking good dude!" One of the dressed up students say and he waves in acknowledgment.

He winces as he hears whoever is in charge give reasons why those auditioning for the part of lead villain weren't good enough, be it from unimaginative costumes to bad performances.

More then a few fled out of the auditorium crying and more a few stumped off muttering threats under their breath.

Soon he finds himself at the front of the line. his lips were pressed in a thin line. "If there are any others who think they what it takes to be our co-star, then let them come out so I might dismiss them so I might begin morning the demise of my play!"

He growls on hearing that, a large part of him hated the fact that he was dragged from his two friends and forced into a line up he didn't want to wait in.

He stalks on stage ready to fry this 'director' with a well placed Pyro Grenade. As he growls become increasingly deeper as he notices that curtains were blocking his few of the people 'judging' the part of the villain.

With a snarl, he leaps through the middle part of the curtain and roars at them as he glares down at those seated below, trying to figure out which one had earned his ire. "Where's the wise cracking 'director'?" He snaps lowering his head in a more threatening manner, it wasn't hard to channel villainous traits, after all, he's a viral Digimon and all virals had an instinct when it comes to intimating and threatening others.

After a few seconds, clapping begins as one of the five stands up, the clapping increases as the four glance nervously at each other before mimicking the fifth person wearing a kind of french hat if he's correct.

"Bravo! Bravo!" The hat wearing preteen declares, he realizes that this was the wise cracking director he was hearing from behind the stage.

"The savagery! The stance! That snarling way you said that threat! You! You are perfect for this role!" He swears that the guy got starry eyed as he brings his hands together under his chin.

He blinks as he gets out of his stiff stance to stare in puzzlement as the guy begins to give him the creeps. "What's your name, oh angry fiend?" The director asks in a tone that weirds him out to the max.

"I go by Yami now a days..." He says and the director cuts in before he can give his real name. "Yami! A perfect stage name for a grand actor like yourself!"

"I'm so sorry, it is impolite of me to have asked your name without telling you mine own. I am Denji Kiyoshi, the head of the Drama club." Denji says and as the brunet gets onto the stage, he had a sinking feeling that he's going to regret ever meeting Denji...

- o - 0 - o -

TK

"Did you hear? Denji finally found his lead villain!" He hears some kids talk about the Drama club's auditions for a play as he walks to the table where Kari and Davis were located.

"Yea? I heard that the kid's so into his character that he refused to take off his costume!" A girl with the two boys say.

"Really? Won't the teachers force him to take it off?" The third member asks.

"I heard that the kid's getting special permission to keep wearing it, even to class!" The girl says.

He sighs as he shakes his head as he gets out of ear shot. It always amazed him what kind of rumors fly about. He suspects the only true thing would be that the head of the Drama club finally casted the role of the lead villain and that the rest was just something to be produced through the rumor mill.

"Hey TK! So, hear anything about the raid on the cafeteria?" Yolei asks as he meets up with her and Cody before sitting at the table with Kari and Davis.

"Nope, though I did over hear some kids talk about Denji finding somebody to fill the role of villain for his play." He says as he slides to be across from Kari.

"Really? Mister Hot Shot Denji Kiyoshi finally found somebody to play the villain for his play? That's pretty big news since last year he scraped his play since he couldn't find anyone worthy enough to fill that part." Yolei says.

"Oh?" He asks, startled at this revelation. Kari nods, "Yea, last year I had gotten a minor role as a lady in waiting, I was kind of sad that it was scraped, nobody ever got the chance to look over the script for the play since Denji wouldn't hand it out until all the roles were filled. I was really psyched to find out what the big deal was."

"Oh yea! Well then, I'll just have to mug the guy to get you the script so you can read it." Davis declares and he shakes his head, he really didn't like how easily Davis was willing to drop things just to wait on Kari.

After all, if you can't stand by your principles in hopes of courting the girl you like then that's not really a win-win situation since you won't be yourself when you finally get a date with her, just some phony person who people pity.

"What else did you hear?" Yolei asks and he shrugs as he chews on the food in his mouth.

"Oh, right, well, I over heard that the villain's some dude in a costume and it sounds like he refuses to take it off. I'm not sure if that's true though, especially the part about how Denji is trying to get him special permission to keep it on when he goes to class." He parrots the last bit he heard before he was out of range.

"Huh, sounds like the guy's a Furry." Yolei muses and he's not the only one looking for an explanation for what a 'Furry' is.

"What's a Furry?" Kari asks and Yolei's eyes widen before she goes into a lecture mode, something she is prone to do when Davis asks a question.

"A Furry is in reference to a member of furry fandom - fans of artwork, stories, and related products such as comics, movies, costumes, etc., which feature anthropomorphic animals. It also refers to a person who like to parade around in an animal costume in public areas such as the mall, the street, or the park." Yolei says.

He presses his lips together as that sounds very familiar to something he had been involved in once upon a time. It had to do with Yami. Then his eyes widen as he realizes why it was familiar.

_That's how we explained Yami's appearance whenever we were in public areas back during Myotismon's invasion!_ He thinks as he sniffles a chuckle at the thought of calling Yami a Furry when the Digimon is pretty much all scales until he's BlackGrowlmon and then Yami gets a mane of grey hair.

"Are you ok, TK?" Kari asks him with worried expression on her face. "Sorry, I was just remembering a... Furry I saw once." He answers with a slight smile on his face.

"Oh? And what kind of animal was he pretending to be?" Davis asks.

"A large black dino." He answers and Yolei's eyes widen. "You saw him? The original Furry of Japan? The one that made international news throughout the internet?" Yolei asks in stunned amazement.

He chokes on his water at the thought that Yami was famous in a realm of fandom that didn't have to do with Digimon.

"TK!" Cody, Yolei, and Kari shout and within seconds Yolei is trying to help by pounding on his back.

It takes him a few minutes to recover from the coughing. "Sorry to worry you guys, its just that, I can't believe he's famous for..." He can't finish that, not if he wants to keep control over his need to chuckle.

And so, to keep him from being sent to the nurse, the others at the table changed the subject to something safer, which turned out to be soccer since Davis dominated the conversation from that point on.

) **-** (

"TK!" He hears his name being called out and turns to find Patamon and Gatomon running full tilt towards him.

"Hey Patamon, Gatomon, what's up?" He asks, though he wonders if this had anything to do with Yami. He can't help but notice that the little guy wasn't in sight.

"Err... TK, it's about Yami... we were on our way to raid the cafeteria when we lost track of him." Gatomon says and he blinks as Patamon continues before he has a chance to say anything, "And we then back tracked and found him kind of auditioning for some part, which he got by the way. We tried our hardest but we couldn't help Yami get away and now he's in a dressing room with that Denji guy talking about the play they're putting on."

He blinks a few times as this slowly sinks in. "Let me guess, Yami Digivolved earlier and that's why Denji thinks he's a kid in a costume?" He says with a sigh and the pair nod in agreement. "Got it in one." Patamon says.

"Also... Yami and Gatomon aren't pulling my leg when they said that Yami hijacked a van, right?" Patamon asks and he blinks since this seems to come right out of the blue.

"Well, yea, I was kind of disappointed that the radio won't work as we drove through the streets." He muses as he recalls that particular event.

Then he frowns as he think about it and turns to pin Gatomon with a look. "Does this mean you remember Yami and the adventures we had with him?" He inquiries and the white cat Digimon nods.

"I do. Though I'm still dazed that a virus could cause us to forget somebody as unforgettable as Yami." Gatomon adds.

"So to reverse the memory block, all we have to do is reintroduce Yami to the others?" He muses out loud and then before he can get the pair to lead him to the dressing room, Kari calls his name from down the hall. "I guess we can try it after today's adventure." He says as he frowns at the thought of confronting Ken in his role of Digimon Emperor.

And so they head to the computer room where the others were waiting, though Davis likely wishes it was just Kari and him heading into the Digital world.

V - V

Yami

As he finally leaves Denji, who's currently making some alterations that he suggested, like instead of a princess the lead girl role should be that of a priestess as it opens up another realm of explanation as to why certain things happen like why the rescuer doesn't marry the 'damsel'.

As he heads to the computer room, he blinks as he notices the group walking down the hall. They weren't too far ahead so he easily caught up to them, after all, he's spend the last four years wandering around different layers of the Digital world connected to his home world.

"Yami!" Patamon calls out in relief, causing the group to pause to look at him. He notices Kari's face go from puzzlement to an unfocused look to a joyous look, it wasn't long before Kari gives him a hug with some tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"It's good to see you again, Yami! I can't believe that... Oh it doesn't matter what does is that I remember and your back." A joyous Kari declares and he smiles softly at the grown Digidestine of Light.

"Huh? You know this guy?" Davis asks and Kari gives him one last squeeze before letting go of him before turning to address the others. She wipes some tears off of her face before saying anything.

"Yami here acted as TK's partner when Patamon was transported into another dimension, that was before I became aware that I was the eighth Digidestine and that Gatomn was my partner." Kari informs them.

"Maybe we should get out of here so that we might discuss this in private." Cody suggests.

The others agree and they continue on their way out of the building.

- o - 0 - o -

Kari

They had decided to hang out at TK's apartment since the blond Digidestined mentioned that his mom was likely going to be working late tonight, leaving him alone in the apartment with the two Digimon.

The short walk to the apartment building gave her time to sort between the memories of the adventures with Yami and the ones that featured Patamon in which he never vanished into a dimensional gate.

It brought back a lot of memories of being very close to the younger brother of Matt, like how TK suggested that Yami give her a piggy back ride, Yami driving a van that they hijacked, and the time when TK had been upset by the fact that Yami vanished into some kind of hole leading to some kind of shadowy field.

It was that closeness with him that had made it clear which memories happened, not that she blames Patamon from not saying anything since if she hadn't seen Yami with her own eyes to trigger the flood of memories, which made her realize that they had to do the same with the others in order for them to remember.

It also help click why the blond Digidestine was wearing this other outfit. Looking between TK and Yami, it's clear that TK's change of cloths was meant to be some kind of tribute to Yami's return.

After all, when she met TK and Yami, TK had been wearing black sweat bands around his wrists to symbolize his morning for Patamon. It only made sense that TK would diverge more into that kind of symbolism as he got older.

Once they were within the apartment, Yami heads to the kitchen, more then likely to get something to eat. After all, Yami stands about their height if he were to stand straight up right.

"Ok, spill it! I thought Patamon's your partner! What are you doing with black and red there, TC?" Davis demands.

She sighs as, once again, Davis insults TK by altering the letters of his nick name. "Yea, he is rather... memorable." Yolei admits as she glances away from Yami as the other Digimon bounce or walk or fly to the kitchen to get some food as well.

"Well, I'm now sure how much you know about our group's first adventures in the Digital world, but before we faced off against the Dark Masters, Myotismon, and Apocalymon, there were two others, one was Devimon while we were on File Island and the second was Etemon when we first made it to Server." TK says as he pauses as they all turned to see what the racket going on in the kitchen.

She blinks as she watches as Yami takes out some pans, bowls, cups, spoon, and other things one used for baking. A glance at TK reveals that the blond didn't seem to care that Yami's taking all that stuff out of the cardboards. The others Digimon seem to be curious too but Yami just said it was a secret, causing the in-training Digimon to groan and try to wiggle the truth out of the black Digimon.

"Anyway, back with what we're talking about." TK says to get the others' attention. "Tai vanished during the end of our confrontation Etemon. Our group had been searching for Tai but as we didn't have much luck, the group slowly began to break up. In the end, Mat and I were the last to get separated." TK says, pausing as he collects his thoughts since it's clear that TK hadn't like what happened and that without her brother to keep them together they all drifted apart.

"Matt promised to be back in a couple of hours. In the end, he never showed, though I now know it was because of a Digimon named Digitamamon had Joe and Gomamon working for him in his dinner. A Digimon named DemiDevimon had been bribing the egg Digimon to keep Joe and Gomamon there and then likely did so again to keep Matt and Gabumon there." TK says and she blinks, slightly surprised to hear such a thing happen.

The others, too, were surprised but TK continues before any of the others could add their two cents. "It had been a while since I've seen my brother and so, I being an eight year old, began to worry about what's keeping him. So when the same DemiDevimon shows up promising that he's good and was more then willing to scout around for Matt, you could say I was ecstatic." TK sighs before continuing.

"When DemiDevimon showed up, he brought a 'friend', some kind of Digimon that looked pretty human. Patamon had been Tokomon at the beginning of that encounter but had to Digivolve into Patamon. He never got the chance to Digivolve again as the unknown Digimon slices Patamon, forcing Patamon to revert to a Digi-Egg." TK says as he pauses as he relives the memory.

"As the Digi-Egg falls into a portal, Yami appears and pulls me out of the way of this in coming dart. He puts me down before going after the unknown Digimon. In the end, Yami wins and the enemy Digimon breaks up into a cloud of data..." Tk says and the blond glances towards Yami for a few seconds before he continues.

"To say I wasn't a little scared of Yami was an understatement, I had just watched him attack a larger and supposedly more powerful Digimon and come out victorious. I had just seen Patamon get transformed into a Digi-Egg by the Digimon that Yami had just destroyed. I was in shock and I thought I was going to winded up as a meal for Yami, only Yami apologized about not being able to arrive before Patamon was defeated." TK says and she could see why that would add to a young boy's shock.

"In the end, I asked what kind of Digmon he was and he replied that he was a BlackGuilmon. I thought the name was a bit too long and decided to call him Yami, he didn't seem displeased with the arrangement and with that, we headed off to find the others in hope they might know of a way to retrieve Patamon from Yami's home dimension, which was another Digital world." TK says and then the blond unclips the D-Arc hanging from his belt loop.

"I got this when we were at Gennai's house, according to Yami, it's called a D-Arc and its got some useful capabilities like a hologram showing enemy Digmon, listing not only their names, level, and attacks but also their type attribute." TK says and as if to give them an example, the screen lights up and suddenly an image of Gatomon appears.

"Gatomon, a vaccine attribute Digimon of the champion level. Exalted beast type who's attacks are Lightning Paw, Cat's Eye Hypnotism, Lightning Kick, Earth Shaker, and Tackle Punch." TK reads and she feels a bit stunned to learn just how many attack her partner has.

"I can't believe she has so many attacks!" She admits and as TK reclips the D-Arc on his belt loop the blond nods while the others agree verbally.

"I'm surprised Izzy hasn't taken a look at that Digivice." Yolei muses and TK answers, "Well, when Yami headed home and Patamon showed up, somebody in charge seemed to think it wasn't the right time for us to be aware of different Digital dimensions so they had develop a memory virus to suppress the memories of Yami and to rewrite them to include Patamon."

"Why would anyone want to do that?!" Yolei cries out in outrage, even going so far as to stand up.

"Calm down, Yolei, we can reverse the virus easily enough." She says and TK gives her a smile in thanks.

"Though that does beg the question, TK, how come that virus didn't work with you?" Cody asks and TK blinks as he asks, "How did you know it didn't work on me?"

"Well, you had been wearing the D-Arc back when we first met you on the elevator." Cody says and TK sighs.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I think it has something to do with this... parting gift that Yami gave me before he left. There's this tiny symbol not all that different then the one on Yami's chest right not, on my upper body. As I was holding Patamon, it began to burn and I was getting this killer headache. When it passed I noticed another set of memories containing Patamon in them but no Yami, but I also had my memories of Yami and then I asked Patamon about it and he was surprised that I remembered Yami and said that the Powers That Be were the ones responsible for the memory virus." TK says.

"Ok, but, why is he here now? I mean, SK, Patamon's here so you don't need him around." Davis says and TK sighs. "I think he arrived sometime during a dream we were sharing. I wanted to see him again and he really didn't want to be where he was so... He was there when I woke up, resting on my chest in his in-training form of Gigimon." The blond says.

So, as they sat there, thinking about this, she can't help but noticed a very appealing scent beginning to drift from the kitchen.

"What's that smell?" Davis asks and the goggle wearing preteen sniff the air.

"Yami's baking something in the oven!" DemiVeemon calls out from his position on the counter top.

"He knows how to cook too? Geese, TK has all the luck." The maroon hair twelve year old grumbles as Davis gets up from his position on a chair to see what's in the oven.

"So, what are you making?" TK asks as he follows Davis into the kitchen, Patamon seems very comfortable on Yami's head. She had to admit, the sight of those black and orange ears inspired her to take a picture, which she did and then took a few others of the in-training Digimon as well as her partner before putting the camera away to join them while Cody and Yolei decide to turn on the TV.

Yami sighs as he uses a wooden spoon to keep Davis from trying some of the filling. "Ouch!" Davis cries and DemiVeemon giggles as he says, "Yea, he's really good at smacking hands away using that spoon!"

"I won't know, I don't _have_ any hands to have them smacked!" Upamon says with a giggle as the little Digimon bounces up and down.

She chuckles as Yami tries to pretend that he didn't hear that while TK tickles Upamon on the top of his head, between the ears. "Now now, don't annoy the cook." TK states as TK withdraws his fingers from Upamon, leaving the in-training Digimon to recover from the tickle attack.

"I think they're almost done!" Davis declares from his position in front of the over door with DemiVeemon clinging to his blue shirt, looking over Davis' left shoulder.

It wasn't long before her stomach rumbles and she takes a glance at the clock on the microwave. "I got to head home! Err, I don't suppose you can save some of those for me?" She asks and TK nods as he promises, "I'll put six aside for you and Gatomon."

"Thanks TK!" She says as she picks up her back pack on her way out of the apartment with Gatomn following her.

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

As the last members of the group leave, he stares at the closed door with a thoughtful look on his face. He had just met, talked with, and even baked food for a group of children he had admired back before he knew that Digimon actually existed.

"Well, that went well." Patamon muses from his position at the top of his head and he hums in agreement.

"I wonder how Tai and the others will react when they find out how they've been duped." TK wonders after a few minutes as the blond pauses from cleaning up after the minor gathering of Digidestine.

"It might take some time but they might get over it. Although privately, I can't help but wonder if anyone's been seeking out those human turned Digimon. I mean, we last time we encountered members of that group, they were in the real world, which makes me wonder if they're not only managed to secure a base of operation but managed to get a government to support their activities, after all, that formula likely needs a large financial backing and if not working for a government then they could have turned to illegal ventures." He says.

He notices that TK seems to be startled by that thought while Patamon says, "You know, you make a really good point."

"Yea, he does. But it's not as if a bunch of kids could do much against a group like that without some kind of back up." The blond muses and he cocks his head as he thought for a moment, he could hear a large amount of sneezing.

_****All throughout the multi-verse of various genre many different individuals sneeze before going back to their various plans on defeating alien invasions to government agencies hell bend on taking over the world to continuation of their race.****_

"True, but if they originate from my world then they likely know what to expect in the coming months since, after all, most of what's going on will likely follow the cartoon." He points out and Patamon asks, "You mean there's a cartoon show about our adventures in your world? Well, that likely explains how they manged to rewrite the group's memories."

"Another good point." He agrees and Patamon takes to the air, leaving the top of his head exposed to what feels like chilly air.

"You know, if I could get my hands on copies of those two seasons I'm sure the others would love to watch them and they just might believe me when I suggest we try and talk with Ken." TK muses and he shrugs.

"If we had a way of communicating with Ryo, he might be able to send us those DVDs." He admits and TK blinks.

"But Ryo's dead!" TK protests and it's his turn to get a confused look on his face. "Since when? I clearly remember him Bio Merging with his partner Cyberdramon to become Justimon during the whole D-Reaper incident."

"And that hasn't happened yet..." TK muses and he nods. "Maybe it won't..." TK says darkly and he snorts.

"Ok, lets think about this in a round about way. First off, if whatever happened to Ryo that you witnessed happened before that group and mine interference to begin with, then that means that for Ryo to appear in my world he would have to leave this world behind, right? So whatever event you saw 'kill' Ryo likely was a stage event. After all, Ryo clearly remembered the events that lead him and his partner to my world, so it stands to reason that Ryo just retraced his steps." He says after thinking about it for a good twenty minutes.

TK and Patamon blink and then the pair shared a look before TK slowly nods in agreement with his logic. "So Ryo knew that the tournament was a set up from the beginning..." Patamon trails off and this time it's his turn to be puzzled.

"Err, what tournament?" He asks as he moves to settle down on the floor in the living room since he didn't want to ruin any of the furniture.

"You mean Ryo never told you about his adventures here?" TK asks and he shakes his head, though he does scratch the back of his head as he says, "Well, truth be told, none of us know Ryo all that well. He was kind of the last Tamer to hook up with our group and that was pretty much just before the D-Reaper made an appearance. Though Rika and Ryo do have some kind of history of competing with each other, though I think it's more Rika doing so then Ryo..."

TK nods slowly as if the blond begins to get a hint of group dynamics with him and his friends. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to start from the beginning and then you can tell us more about the kind of adventures your group went through." TK muses and he nods, he didn't see anything wrong with that deal.

So he sat there, waiting for TK to begin his tale while Patamon made himself comfortable on the couch.

V - V

TK

It's been a few days since he listened to Yami's beginnings as a Tamer under his true name of Takato Matsuki, it had been the night after he had told Yami about what he knew of Ryo's adventures in this world since it had been late when he had finished and they had turned in.

He still found it hard to believe half of what Yami had told him but he did begin to understand what had happened to some of those Digimon that Yami had gone up against and what it meant when those data particles flowed into Yami's body even though that happened rarely.

It also pretty much explained why Yami's so damn powerful when compared to the native Digimon of his world's Digital world. It hadn't disturbed him much when he found out that Takato had created his own Digimon and that the Digi-Gnomes brought Guilmon to life.

In some ways, it also explained why during the explosion it had been Takato and Guilmon to switch out roles while Ryo and his partner hadn't been all that affected in the same way as Takato and Guilmon. After all, it's clear that Takato put a lot of himself into Guilmon when he created the crimson dino.

The part about Takato forcing Guilmon to Digivolve into Megidramon kind of made him wonder if that might not be the reason why Takato's a BlackGuilmon instead of just a regular Guilmon. It's very clear that Takato still feels guilty about what he forced his partner to become and its more then likely that this Digital Hazard has become more centered on Takato then on Guilmon.

After all, it was a highly concentrated virus that not only infected Apocalymon, but destroyed him before the mega could fight the virus. It also made some kind of perverted sense that he, too, was mildly infected by this Hazard since he has the mark symbolizing it on his chest. It had, after all, help keep him from forgetting about Yami, which likely prevented the D-Arc in his possession to vanish when Yami left their Digital world.

He hadn't told either the two Digimon living with him or the group about his thoughts but if Yami had put enough thought into why he bares the mark of the Digital Hazard then it's more then likely Yami would be horrified at exposing him to such a powerful and deadly virus.

Luckily, this thing with the Drama club seemed to occupy Yami's time in and out of school so it would be a while before Yami and him talked about him begin infected by a Digital Virus. It helps that most of the Digmon had taken to watching Drama rehearsals while they were in class, though it did make him wonder if the head of the Drama club, Denji, is even passing his classes since the kid spends way too much time in the auditorium doing rewrites with Yami and a few of the other lead actors.

Which explains why he's waiting at the entrance way leading into the auditorium while Patamon rests in his arms as they wait for Yami and the others to be released from rehearsal. After all, they had a pretty big day of it, going around destroying as many Control Spires as they can.

In his other form of past time that doesn't revolve around Digimon and his time of exploring the virtual world of Fur-fandom, he's also been sending what he hopes were Anonymous E-Mails to Ken, even if Ken does hack into that E-Mail account it's under Takato's name which also includes his two main nick names of Takatomon and Yami.

After all, at this point in time, Takato isn't the one that's wearing any goggles, that anyone could see, and so he's decided to use the term Goggle-head for Davis. After all, Davis does wear goggles and does do some... questionable things that seem to fit under Rika's definition of what a Goggle-head is. It is also something that just seems to throw the maroon haired preteen off his game when it comes to insulting him by messing up his most commonly used name, so he just uses Goggle-head in retaliation.

It also helped smooth his irradiation with the supposed leader of their group who's obsessed with getting Kari to offically be his girlfriend. Not that he's trying to date Kari himself since he's fairly sure that they're still too young for that kind of thing. If Kari and him decide at a much later date they want to give it a try, then he'll be willing to try it as long as he's not in a relationship at that future point of time.

"TK!" He hears Yami shout out and within seconds he's already walking away from the door since he rather not get hit by the door being slammed open from the force of Yami's moving bulky frame. He turns his head to see Yami slowing from a flat out run to a fast walk to a walk that mimics his set pace.

"Rough day, huh?" He asks the crimson marked Digimon and Yami growls softly. "One of these days I'm going to do something that will burn this school down to the ground if only to make sure I don't leave any kind of chances of 'Mr Director' from escaping my righteous fury!" Yami growls and he sighs, he could only guess what set him off this time, after all, Yami's way too connected to his viral side to ever be considered a calm and slow to anger Digmon.

Not to say that Yami's got a short fuse, only that it's not as long as it had been when Yami had been human. Though the only area where Yami has a very short fuse would likely be when those he considers friends are threatened when they're in a harmless and undefensive position.

"Momentai!" Patamon pipes in and the look of surprise causes him to chuckle while Patamon joins in within seconds. Yami just shakes his head with a soft smile on his face.

A comfortable silence hangs between them until they entered into the apartment when they try and decide what they want for dinner.

- o - 0 - o -

Ken

Staring flatly at one of a series of E-Mails send to him by some kid named Takato Matsuki who has assumed names of Takatomon and Yami. He can't for the life of him find any records of a Takato Matsuki but then, the E-Mails were from some place in Japan, there wasn't any listings of an address and it wouldn't surprise him if these were being sent from some school library or public library too.

It didn't take him long to wonder how this kid found his E-Mail address, after all, his fans were always on top of finding his change of E-Mail address no matter how many times he switches it. It's the reason why he programed a filter for his E-Mails to sort through them and put them in the right folders.

All of these messages came to his attention simply because they don't fall under any of the categories he had programed in his filter. More then a few of them hinted that Ryo was very disapproving of his activities as the Digimon Emperor, he suppresses his curiosity about how this 'Takatomon' knew of his friendship with the missing Digidestine.

Though he really wants to reply to these E-Mails, demanding to know Ryo's location and how 'Takatomon' knew the missing Digidestine he grinds his teeth as his finger hovers over the delete key that will delete the folder containing all of the E-Mails from this Takato person. His head felt like a pack of dogs were rumping around in his skull, giving him a massive headache as memories and emotions struggle against his determination to just delete this file fold and forget about Ryo to focus all of his energies on conquering the Digital world.

Closing his eyes, he lowers his hand and places it on the desk top next to the keyboard. He gets to his feet and heads for the patio to get some air.

Once more he feels like his life is in turmoil as to what his path in life should be. The last time this happened, someone sent him an E-Mail setting him on the path leading straight into the Digital world... again, which confuses the heck out of him since before Takato began sending these messages to him, he had forgotten about Ryo and about... _that_ Digimon.

It also brought back memories of his first meeting with Wormmon, though his mind only has fragments of the adventure that happened after meeting the green Digimon. It didn't help but just by thinking about this past causes him to get a fierce headache.

_What's the harm in meeting with this... Takatomon?_ A minor part of him wonders as he leans on the metal railing, looking out at the setting sun.

He closes his eyes as he tries to think of reason not to meet up with this kid and came up with nothing in the excuse department.

He can't help but feel worn from this emotional hiccup that just popped up in his life once more.

V - V

TK

It was early morning when he woke to hear a message alert coming from his computer. He had kept the E-Mail address he had created in Yami's name open in hopes of a reply from the person behind the persona of the Digimon Emperor.

With a glance down to his side, he finds Patamon on the other pillow and he already can hear the soft snores of Yami coming from the floor.

Very carefully he rolls to the other side of the bed and then sit up before getting off the bed to head to his computer.

Not bothering to sit down, he moves the mouse rapidly around to get rid of the screen saver. He opens the index center and clicks the message from Ken.

He blinks, he had hoped that Ken would want to met with Takato but hadn't thought it would actually occur...

Scratching the side of his head as he yawns, he decides to wait until after school to reply to the meeting request. He logs out of the message center and then uses his original E-Mail address to log on to see if he had any new messages.

Once that's done, he takes his time on heading out of the room to have his shower, he collects the out fit he wants to wear before leaving the room.

Leaving his pant PJs in the bathroom, he goes straight to the kitchen to make breakfast for Yami, Patamon, and himself. He finds a note from his mom asking him to be quiet since she plans to sleep in late today since it is her day off.

It wasn't long before the traditional breakfast was ready to serve when the two Digimon exit out of his room, likely following the scent of food from the hallway as it wafers into his room through the open door.

Yami yawns as he waves a hand in greeting while Patamon calls out a sleepy "Morning, TK!" He nods as he finishes poring the rice into a large bowl.

Yami wakes up enough to help set the table while Patamon takes his place on the table as the little orange Digimon waits for him to serve him a plate with food piled on it.

He takes a bowl and pores Patamon some miso soup while Yami begins to pick and choose which of the dishes he wants to start off with.

As he places the bowl of miso in front of his partner, he pores some for himself and then scoops out some rice into a bowl before adding soy sauce to the steamed rice.

Yami pores a bowl of miso soup for himself, there was enough for a second helping if one of them wants more. He then begins on his rice as he waits for the soup to cool down before digging into it.

Patamon finishes the soup and begins to combine the Natto and dried seaweed before eating it. Yami hadn't picked clean the rolls of rolled omelets, though Yami hasn't really touched the Natto from what he can see of the black Digimon's plate.

There wasn't any fish to add to their meal but he's sure he'll add that to the list of things to buy when he goes on a grocery run later this week once his mom gives him the money to do so.

It was nice to have different options for breakfast even though this took him a little over an hour to make. While it is convenient to have milk and cereal or even oatmeal, sometime he just felt that he wanted something different then the two staples of Western breakfast and he owes this ability to have something besides such things to those cooking classes that his mom signed him up for back when he was nine.

He hasn't had any more lessons since they moved here but then, he's more then capable of following the recipes used cook books or off the internet.

"So, did you ever finish that homework that the school handed to you?" He asks as the bottom of the dishes begin to glare in the kitchen light.

"Yea, I did. I'm still surprised they haven't tried and force me to attend classes though." The crimson marked rookie admits.

"It likely because they don't register a student absent from class." He muses and the boy turned Digimon hums in thoughtful agreement.

"So you think they're slipping in this homework to try and get me to... slip out of 'character' and complain about already gotten this work load?" Yami asks in a thoughtful tone.

"While that does sound devious and very smart of them, I think it's more that they're trying to get Denji to attend classes again. I mean, those that also attend these strategy meetings have also been getting homework too." He says and the black rookie sighs but nods in agreement.

"If that's the case, why not just give the lot of them detention or call their parents? Besides that, what's so special about Denji that they're even allowing him to skip all of his classes?" Yami asks and he shrugs.

"I won't know, you'd have better luck asking one of the others since they've been going to this school far longer then I have, need I remind you of that?" He asks and Yami looks a tad embarrassed but nods. "I just might." Yami says.

"Anyway... Ken wants to set up a meeting with you." He says as he changes the topic as he begins to pile some dishes up for Yami to clear off.

"Wait, what?" Yami asks and then after a few seconds the black rookie with crimson markings demand, "How have you been in communication with _him_ without him knowing it's you he's talking too?"

"I set up an E-Mail account using your name while listing Yami and Takatomon as screen names." He informs the very powerful rookie living with him in the apartment complex.

"Actually, this meeting is the first time Ken's ever replied back to me. It really surprised me that he's asking for a meeting at all. After all, I though he wouldn't bother even though I did mention Ryo's name a few times." He adds thoughtfully as Yami piles some of the dirty dishes in the sink.

"I guess your theory of Ken the Digimon Emperor is the same Ken Ryo was talking with during this tournament panned out." Yami states and he nods in agreement, after all, he never got the chance to talk with Ryo about anything during the tournament, so he had to relay on others as they describe their interactions with the preteen and who Ryo had been talking to.

The memory of his first meeting with the preteen pops into his mind, even about how Ryo admitted that Yami at that time couldn't have been the Guilmon he had known and that the mannerisms that Yami had been exhibiting had been Guilmon's Tamer, Takato Matsuki.

It had been Ryo who decided that somehow, during that explosion that they had been caught up in had somehow switched Takato and Guilmon's species. It meant that back in the human world of Takato's birth, Guilmon had likely found himself there, as a human, likely one that looked very similar to what Takato is suppose to look like when he had been human.

It made him wonder how Takato's parents had taken the news of their son's disappearance or if somehow, Guilmon had found himself under their care.

With a sigh, he dismisses those depressing thoughts to glance at the clock on the wall. "Well, I had better head out. You coming with or are you going to finish up here before leaving?" He asks Yami as he gets up from his place at the table.

"I'll finish up here, grab my homework and an old back pack before leaving. Should Patamon wait here with the keys and then put them in your desk during lunch or should I just stuff the keys in the pack?" Yami asks and he says, "I'll leave them with you to be stuffed in your back pack."

Yami nods and it's not long before he's got Patamon in his back pack as he heads out to the elevator, leaving his keys hanging up next to the door.

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

He had managed to get away from the Drama club as the final bell rang out, he had repeatedly told the head of the Drama club that he had a meeting to get to right after school. So when he finally got up to go, remembering to grab the back pack he's been using to carry things to and from school, he left though Denji was giving him a look of begging not to go.

He shakes his head as one of his hands goes to the D-Arc around his neck as he waits for Ken to appear. He personally wishes that just for this one meeting, he could be human.

Unknown to him, his D-Arc screen begins to glow softly...

V - V

Guilmon

As he stands in the shed in the park, his mind was a whirl of memories as he stares at the back wall. According to his memories, that back wall shouldn't be there, that a large cave should be there, one that he... dug with his... claws?

As his head begins to ache, he kneels down on the ground as he feels some tears trail down his face. _Why can't I remember? If I'm not suppose to look like this then what am I suppose to look like?_ He demands in his mind.

For a second he thought he hear wind chimes chiming. He blinks as he begins to feel odd...

Suddenly he feels something surge within him and in a flash, he blinks as finds himself flat on the ground. His ears twitch and he takes a sniff of the air.

He freezes as he causes his **ears** to flap. He moves an arm before him and he blinks as he stares at the limb that now sports crimson scales with markings of black. Three long white claws were where his fingers were.

As he gets up, he flexes those claws as he begins to get a sense of deja vu. He moves his tail next and as he turns to look at it, a memory of a seeing rats moving about before him and then him firing a ball of fire at them...

He blinks and gets to his feet, it was hard for him to stand straight upright so he hunches over. _All that's missing is Takatomon..._ He muses and he feels light headed as new thoughts begin intrude.

"Takato..." He says out loud as he realizes an ache within him, causing him to feel very empty within himself.

After a few seconds, he snaps out of those thoughts and turns to stare at the back wall. He flexes his claws as he gives the wall a sober look.

After all, he don't know how long he's going to be like this and he really does feel like he should fix the back wall...

V - V

Takato

He coughs as he sits up. His vision swims for a few seconds and he finds himself suddenly deaf and that some how, his ability to smell had been plugged up.

He takes a look down at his body and finds himself wearing the same sort of cloths he had on before Bio Merging with Guilmon to become Gallantmon. Although his cloths were slightly baggy, most likely because he had been fifteen years old when that explosion happened.

His D-Arc screen flashes brightly and suddenly his cloths fit him. His left hand goes to his goggles as he uses his right hand to help pick himself off the ground.

_It feels so weird being human again..._ He muses to himself as he begins to stretch his back since it's been a while since he's held his body straight up right.

As he walks around, getting the feel of his balance, he takes a look around in hopes of spotting Ken.

It wasn't long before he spots Ken wearing his school uniform. He could only imagine what kind of expression the preteen was wearing.

"Over here!" He calls out when Ken pauses to look suspiciously around. Ken looks startled and seems to study him for a second before walking towards him.

"Takatomon I presume?" Ken asks and he sighs. "Yea, though hearing anybody other then my partner call me that is pretty weird." He admits as he studies Ken's face.

"Partner?" Ken asks as his eyes seem to flicker around looking for his Digimon partner. "He's not here, his back in my world." He tells the other in a flat tone.

"Your world?" Ken asks in a skeptical way. "Yea, there are other dimensions out there, this world and it's corresponding Digital world is just one in a likely multitude of dimensions. I don't claim to have visited any other dimension other then this one but I think a common friend of ours had. After all, Ryo's enemy claimed he could bend space and time."

Ken blinks in surprise at the thought. "He ended up partnered with a Cyberdramon, if you're interested to know." He adds.

"How long have you known him?" Ken asks after a few seconds, as if finally deciding that his willing to probe for answers. "I've known him for about three years, though a friend of mine, Rika, knew him for about four years." He answers.

Ken gets this... stormy look on his face. "He's a pretty private person, I had to find out about his adventures here by talking with one of the local Chosen." He tells Ken and the stormy look fades from Ken's face.

"I guess I can see why he won't talk about it." Ken says with a sigh.

He watches as Ken's left hand goes to the back of his neck with a look of pain flashing in his eyes. "It's the Dark Spore, isn't it?" He asks and Ken stiffens.

"How'd you know about it?" Ken demands with great deal of anger and grabs a hold of the front of his shirt.

"Funny thing, in my world, there's this cartoon that's based on actual events that have and will happen in this world. Like the fact that you'll create a Digimon called Kimeramon and that a pair of created Digimon will transform those Control Spires you set up in the Digital world into 'fake' Digimon. I even know who's the real villain here too and it's not you." He says as Ken's grip loosens as Ken backs away in shock.

"You can't possibly... It can't be!" Ken says and he sighs. "Look, Ken, it hasn't happen yet, but it's capable of happening as long as you seek to create the 'perfect' Digimon. I had altered the events of the previous Digidestine and one could say that I'm altering them again. I'm mucking up this dimensions time stream and I'm sure the Powers That Be are highly peeved at me for doing so, but, I don't want thinks to progress as they're suppose to." He says.

Once more Ken has a hand over the place where the Dark Spore is lodged while his other hand balls into a fist. "So... Ryo knows what I'm doing because of this... cartoon?" Ken asks in a soft voice.

"Yea, I'm very sure that Ryo's seen the show, after all, it's still pretty popular where I come from. They even them out on season box set DVDs." He says as he studies Ken's reactions wondering just what Ken plans to do about all of this new bit of information.

"The ball's in your court, Ken, likely for the first time in a long time. That Dark Spore might be able to influence your emotional negativity but it's up to you to decide what your course will be." He says.

As Ken struggles with this, he can't help but feel alert and within seconds, he tackles Ken to the ground.

"And here we thought you're too goodie goodie to mess around with this world's events, boy." A male voice says and a humanoid cat Digimon with brown stripes on a royal red coat drops down from a tree with a gun that had just fired a dart that's likely aimed at Ken.

_Oh 'ell..._ Goes through his mind as he stares at the black cargo pant wearing man turn Digimon who has a manic grin fixated on his fury face.

- o - 0 - o -

Ken

He can't help but stare at the Digimon that's standing there, aiming a gun at them. As he looks away from the cat looking Digimon, he notices that Takato had tackled him to the ground and he didn't know what to feel about that so he looked away and then spots a dart that not far from where they're laying.

_How is this possible? That world... The Digimon... They can't be real... Can they? They have to be... Or else this... Digimon won't be able to exist in the real world..._ Were the thoughts as the yellow goggle wearing preteen gets off of him to stand and face the very human looking Digimon.

Though he can hear the other say something to the Digimon, his focus remains within his own mind as his mind races a mile a minute as this new concept begins to dawn on him. A cold lump settles in his midsection as he finally realizes what he's been doing to living, thinking beings...

He snaps out of it as Takato grabs his arm and pulls him up before trying to get him to move from his spot. "Ken, we need to move, it's a given that he's got friends on the way to this spot!" Takato hisses sharply at him.

"After then things I did... Maybe this is my punishment..." He says in a very low voice.

"He's not a real Digimon, Ken! He's part of the group my team of Chosen were investigating! They're about as native to this world as I am!" Takato informs him.

Startled out of his mood, he allows the red hazel eyed preteen lead the way as they try and get out of the cat Digimon's sight. A dart just misses the other preteen's shoulder as Takato ducks behind a tree.

He glances back at and notices the glint in the feline Digimon's eyes, he wonders for a brief second if he ever had such a look in his eye when he had been 'hunting' Digimon...

With a light shiver, he pushes those thoughts out of his head as he focuses on getting out of the park without begin hit by a dart. "We're... almost... home... free!" Takato pants as he points to where a camera crew is and he nods as he follows Takato towards the news crew who seem to be doing a segment here in the park.

They slow as one of the people spots him, the famous boy genius, Ken Ichijouji. He turns and the unknown cat Digimon seems to give them a dirty look before vanishing into the shadows of a tree.

"Ken Ichijouji! What a pleasant surprise? Who's your friend?" A news report asks and as he turns to face the news crew he mentally sighs, he rather not have to put up with the public...

"I'm Takato Kimura. Sorry about interrupting your report sir, it's just that we're in a rush to get some baking supplies since I'm teaching Ken here how to make a family recipe and hoped to cut through the park to get to a sale we heard about." Takato lies smoothly, so smoothly that he can't help but wonder if Takato's an old hand at dealing with the media.

He allows a polite smile to show on his face as he agrees with Takato's lie. "I think we got about twelve minutes until the sale ends. If you don't excuse us..." The report nods and as they head towards the gate of the park, he gives Takato a questioning look.

"Kimura?" He asks as they walk down the street. "Sorry, it's an ingrained habit, adding Kimura to my name in front of a news crew during an emergency was my way of alerting my friends and Hypnos that there's trouble about. You'd be surprised how often news crews show up at the most inappropriate times, especially when you need to get to a pay phone or use your cell phone to give them an update." Takato says.

"What's Hypnos?" He decides to inquire as they walk, he is rather reluctant to head off on his own just after his life had been threaten once.

"It's a government agency that was set up to monitor and, hopefully prevent, Digimon from Bio Emerging in our world. You see, the Digimon from my version of Digital world are all fighters, they have no trouble deleting and downloading other Digimon. The problem is that when they Bio Emerge, they have a tendency to go on rampages, and since gates to the Digital world are rare, instead of capturing and returning the Digimon back to the Digital world, we... delete them."

He blinks as here he's being told that his first impressions of Digimon were true... in another world. "The rule of survival of the Fittest." He muses and Takato shrugs.

"Not all Digimon follow that but the majority of them do. But then, my experience in my Digital world is based on one experience since we only went there to rescue a friend of ours from one of the Sovereigns who had captured." Takato says.

"I see." He says.

"Yea, it turned out one of the Sovereign Digimon thought that by conquering the real world that they'd be ready to face an age old enemy, one that I don't really want to talk about right now." The yellow goggle wearing preteen says and he nods, guessing that that part of the story was a whale of a tale.

"Anyway, back to that cat Digimon." Takato says.

"What about him?" He asks and then remembers something, "What did you mean that he's not a real Digimon?"

"Well, you see, that group my team were investigating had been experimenting with chemicals, ones that were capable of turning a human into a Digimon. Everyone thought that was a rumor, that they hadn't gotten around to perfecting the drug. After all, we did find large tubes that housed a few people in the liquid with air masks and visors on their faces." Takato says and it takes a few seconds for Takato to resume his tale.

"We split up, I was paired with Ryo and his partner, Cyberdramon. We headed down into the basement when we confronted a scientist who had been in the process of taking a drug. As we were talking him out of it, he presses the needle through his skin and about five minutes, when we thought we had him secure did he begin to transform." Takato tells him, his eyes gazed over as the preteen relives the event.

"It wasn't that different from when a Digimon Digivolves only the sphere of light was a chaotic blend of colours ranging from a deep purple to a neon orange colour. The guy transformed into a humanoid bird Digimon and then before Cyberdramon and my partner could move in to attack, the guy slams himself on a table where more of the needles were, injecting himself with more of the drug."

They pause at a street corner with a few others. Once they cross the street, Takato continues his tale.

"We managed to phone the others using our cell phones to get out of the building as we headed for the stairs. Birdman underwent another Digivolution and stood well over two meters tall and since we didn't know what level we was, we Bio Merge with our partners, Ryo and Cyberdramon transformed into Justimon and my partner and I transformed into a Digimon named Gallantmon."

"As Justimon charged in, it seems that by becoming a Digimon, the scientist proceeded to activate all the traps that had laid dormant and that Justimon activated a prototype bomb by stepping on this basic wire trap." Takato sighs as he shakes his head.

"I went from being a fifteen year old Tamer to a black version of my partner with squat for memories and just a bunch of viral instincts with only my ingrained mannerisms." Takato says and he raises an eyebrow at that.

"About four years ago, I arrived in this world's Digital world to protect one of this group's targets, a young blond that I'm sure you know or at least, confronted." Takato says as the preteen stops before a coffee shop.

He gives Takato a blank look for a few seconds before he frowns as he goes through the few blonds he's met. "TK." He guesses and Takato nods.

"Yea, I spent a few weeks here protecting TK since his partner Digimon had been deleted and sent to my world as a Digi-Egg. When I left, I left my Digivice with TK and if TK had forgotten about me, I'm sure it would have vanished from this world. But TK hadn't forgotten me so he kept my D-Arc and about a week or two ago, he used it to bring me to this world once more, something I hadn't objected to since I had just recently discovered a reason why none of my friends had arrived in the Digital world and felt pretty low." Takato admits and he remembers a clipped device on the blond's jean belt loop, it helped that the same device is around Takato's neck.

"If what you say is true then why haven't you returned to your real world? Why are you still here?" He asks.

"For once thing, wishes have a tendency to become real when my world's Digital world is involved, as I had wished to met you as a human since I figured you'd take what I say more serious then if I were a Digimon." Takato says giving an amused look.

He sighs but decided that he's too drained to really argue with this guy, though he had to admit, it was nice to have someone to talk with who isn't interested in him just because he's famous...

As he's about to say something, Takato seems to stiffen and then with a sigh, Takato's body gets covered in a ball of light. It fades to reveal a very large black Digimon about his size with crimson markings.

"Well, it held out longer then I thought it would." The Digimon says in an amusement tone, the voice only had a brief hint of the voice belonging to the boy he had just been talking with.

"Aren't you the guy on that poster for some play?" He asks after he realizes why the black Digimon seemed so familiar.

"Likely, Denji's making a very big deal about the play that he's been waiting next to forever to act out. Your looking at the lead villain." The Digimon that was Takato Matsuki says. "By the way, call me Yami when I'm like this, I'm use to answering to that nick name while I'm like this." Yami adds lightly.

He nods and in the end, they didn't have much more to say to each other so they split up, each heading off in their own destinations, unknown to the two of them, a very surprised Digidestine had been sitting next to the window and had just witnessed a very surprising transformation . . .

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

He arrived back at TK's apartment to find that Matt's eating over. The elder blond nods in his direction as he takes off the back pack that's still hanging from his back.

He sniffs the air as he walks towards the table and takes a seat so that he can watch TK move about the kitchen. Patamon's resting on the cardboard as they all watch TK dance between dish, making sure nothing's burning as TK talks on the phone.

He perks his ears and can hear Sora's voice coming from the end of the phone. It seems that the two were talking about what kind of food will likely be serve at this festival at the local university.

He sighs as Matt ends up with the phone while TK begins to take a roast from the over, well he's pretty sure it's a roast since TK's mom, Nancy, had bought one yesterday.

He gets up and heads into the living room to see what's on. It wasn't long before he found a local news show that had the logo of that news crew on it. He touches the D-Arc that's still hanging around his neck.

"That's a park not far from here." TK muses and he turns to give the pair of blonds a glance before wondering if he shouldn't just change the channel when he hears a phase that he heard just an hour ago...

**-**"Ken Ichijouji! What a pleasant surprise? Who's your friend?"**-** The reporter says and he hears TK choke on air, likely at seeing him next to Ken, as in him as Takato Matsuki, Tamer of Guilmon and the unoffical leader of his group.

**-**"I'm Takato Kimura. Sorry about interrupting your report sir, it's just that we're in a rush to get some baking supplies since I'm teaching Ken here how to make a family recipe and hoped to cut through the park to get to a sale we heard about."**-** The him on the screen says, he notices a slight flash of surprise in Ken's eyes before a fake polite smile appears on Ken's face.

**-**I think we got about twelve minutes until the sale ends. If you don't excuse us..."**-** Is all that Ken says.

He groans mentally as he just knows that this is just the beginning. Of what, he doesn't know but he's sure it involves him directly or indirectly...

V - V

Joe

His eyes widen at the news report and he moves to get the remote to raise the volume up but it wasn't soon enough and for a moment he felt despair... until he remembers that the same news show will repeat in an hours time on the sister station.

Although it took a while, mostly phoning Izzy to get tips on how to set up his VCR so that it records that news show. He almost forgot to put in a tape about five minutes after he hung up on Izzy.

He made sure that it was a new tape, it was so new that he had to use a knife to get the plastic off the tape. True, he'll have to go through the recording to get to the right part before showing the others but he's sure that when confronted with this news cast, Yami will be forced to tell them why he's... well, why he's posing as a Digimon.

Secure that everything's on the right track, he goes back to eating his TV Dinner while working on his medical homework at the same time...

V - V

TK

_Gee, what next? Davis dressing as a Goth tomorrow?_ He ideally wonder as the two preteens vacate the screen and the man finishes his report.

He glances at Yami for a few seconds before he remembers the pans still resting on the elements...

V - V

Davis

As he looks through his dresser draws, he pauses and picks up a black long sleeve shirt that has a brass cross on the front of it with the words: Future's Grave.

"Davish? Why are you holding that shirt up?" DemiVeemon asks and he blinks before turning to look at his partner.

"I don't know why but... something tells me I can freak out CK if I were to wear this to school tomorrow, kind of freaky, huh?" He tells his partner before reluctantly putting the shirt back into this draw before deciding that maybe he should just take his dirty laundry down and do his dark cloths with the hope of having one of his usual blue shirts to wear to school tomorrow.

V - V

Yolei

"What do you mean that there isn't any local listings for a Takato Kimura?!" She yells into the phone. She can't believe that she just missed running into the Ken Ichijouji and now she can't even get a hold of this Takato's phone number, let alone address...

V - V

Tai

_This Takato Kimura almost looks like he could be Kari's twin brother! They got the same eyes, though he's got my taste in hear gear. Huh, I wonder how I would look in a pair of yellow goggles..._ He wonders from his position at the table.

As he looks away as the news leaves the park, he can't help but muse if this Takato kid was a good baker if he's teaching the Ken Ichijiouji how to bake a family recipe. If so, he wonders how much he can pay to get the kid over here to make him a good dinner, say... every day of the week as he looks cat eyed down at his liver sticks.

V - V

Izzy

He sighs as he gets off the phone with Joe, he had been kind of surprised that Joe wanted to record a news report.

He's glad he got the time of said news report so he can watch it to see if it has anything to do with one of them or about a Digimon.

_Anyway, maybe I should just ask TK to borrow his D-Arc in hopes of copying that Digimon Analyzer, I can't seem to get very far trying to recreate it using the one that Gennai gave me._ Izzy muses as he turns off the screen to his computer.

From the smell of things, it seems that dinner's served.

V - V

Guilmon

He pauses as he stares up at the night sky, he felt a chill enter within him and he suddenly begins to worry about his partner and part-time parent, Takato Matsuki.

_I'm sure he's fine... Right?_ He asks himself before the chill vanishes and his eyes widen as he remembers that he's yet to have dinner.

V - V

Yami

_Yip, some how, some way, I just know I'm going to have it rough over the next few days..._ He muses.

V - V

Matt

He can't help but glance between the two before sharing a look with Patamon.

_Drama much?_ He muses with a slightly bemusement grin on his face as he shakes his head slightly before turn around to watch TK begin to set the food onto the table.

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

A phone ringing is what wakes him up from his position on the floor. It didn't surprise him much to find that TK's already wake.

After all, much like Guilmon, he finds himself to be a heavy sleeper as a Digimon and few things manage to get through his slumber.

As he sits up on the floor, he yawns and his ears stretch out as he does so. He gives him a slight shake as he hears the phone ring again.

While not totally awake, it doesn't stop him from getting to this feet and heading to the bathroom to do something before heading into living/kitchen part of the apartment.

As he enters into the main section of the apartment, he notices Patamon seems to be trying to go back to sleep on the couch. He heads to the table to sit down, careful where he puts his tail among other things.

"So, who was that on the phone?" He asks the blond as TK pours some batter over the waffle iron.

"Oh that? It seems Joe's got some news that he wants to share after school today. I doubt that you'd be able to make it since the rehearsals are going to be on again and I doubt Denji's going to let you off two days in a row." TK muses and he winces at Denji's name.

"He's obsessed with me! It reminds me how obsessive Jeri was with Leomon when they met for the first time! And they ended up being partners later!" He groans, he wonders if this is what the lion Digimon had been going through as Jeri chased him around the park with Calumon aiding Jeri.

He remembers how he phoned Henry and then Rika asking for their advice. He's only thankful that when he leaves this reality, he won't have to deal with the obsessive head of the Drama club. Though he wouldn't put it pass any of the Digidestine to find a way to film the play, although he doubts that any of his friends will ever get a chance to see it so all things considered, that might be a good thing.

After all, when he leaves this world, it's not as if he'll be carrying a knapsack or something that one of the Digidestine could slip the tape into.

"Really? How odd." TK muses with a slight grin on his face, likely trying to picture the scene that he mentioned.

"Not any odder then how Kazu and Kenta ended up with their partners or how Impmon ended up with a pair of Tamers." He tells him. "True." TK says, clearly remembering the tale of his group's adventures.

"It still hard to believe that after all of that you guys still forgave him." TK says softly and he sighs.

"Jeri was the one who didn't want Impmon to be deleted and she's the one that suffered greatly from his actions against us." He reminds the blond and TK nods.

"I don't know if we'd have that in us to do the same if something like that happened." TK admits and he snorts. "You did for Ken when he used a Control Spire on Agumon." He points out and TK sighs.

"Hard to say, after all, our lives aren't following that cartoon show for event for event." The blond counters and he can't help but smile slightly as he hums in agreement.

V - V

TK

The second group of Digidestine arrived at Izzy's place without too much trouble.

Although he was kind of thrown by the black shirt that Davis is currently wearing, although when Kari inquired about it, the maroon haired preteen grumbled about 'stupid driers that cut out before they do their jobs' before turning around to ask Kari out on a date to help him feel better.

It wasn't long before they were ushered into the living room by Joe. As they sit down on the floor, Joe looks around before asking, "Where's Yami?"

"He's stuck in Drama rehearsals. Since he wasn't there yesterday, the head of the Drama club would be very reluctant to let him out of today's rehearsals." He tells the oldest Digidestine.

"It's that Denji kid, isn't? The one that scrapped his own play because he couldn't find anyone good enough for one of the parts?" Tai asks and he nods.

"Let's just say that this year, Denji found his villain." Yolei says with a great deal of bemusement, after all, there were way too many rumors floating about concerning Yami and the story plot of the play. He never pressed Yami to find out which were true and with weren't although Yolei has done some subtle probing as had Kari.

"Really?" Sora asks and all of the second group of Digidestine nod. "Yami's the lead villain." Patamon pipes in.

The older Digidestine blinks as their expressions range from amusement to disbelief. "Well, he does suit that role to a T, doesn't he? When I first saw him, I couldn't help but think scary." Sora muses and Matt nods in agreement.

"Seeing him pick a fight with Digitamamon wasn't the greatest first impression." His elder brother muses.

"Yea, differently glad he's on our side." Tai declares once more.

"Ah come one, how frightening could the guy be? I mean, sure he's large and black, but he's ok." Davis says and he sighs.

"That's because you've never seen him fight." Kari says and he nods. "The first time he turned to look at me, I thought I'd end up a meal for him." He adds with a sigh.

The newer members of the group all share looks though their Digimon were more interested in the snacks that Izzy has set out.

"You're got to be kidding..." Davis says and everyone but Joe, Yolei, and Cody shake their head as they hummed a negative.

"He acted different when we first met him, he was more... more... wild would be the right word to describe him. He is after all, a viral Digimon and they are very prone to violence." He says, though the real reason is likely because Yami back then didn't even know who he was and was pretty much going on instinct and bits of ingrained behavior.

"How different is he acting?" Tai asks and Kari answers, "He's a lot more talkative, relax even, and he's not as ferociously protective of TK as he use to be but that last one might because of Patamon."

"Anyway, I would like to start this meeting. It does touch on Yami though but first, I recorded something that I thought you guys might want to see before I tell my story." Joe says after a short period of silence.

With a group shrug, the older teen presses the play button the the TV screen comes to live. He sighs as the reporter calls out to Ken as he approaches with Takato.

Like before it was Takato who answered the man's questions and then Ken going along with the lie and they then leave. Joe pauses the video and even rewinds it so that they have a clear picture of the two preteens.

"God! Do you know that I tried to get this Takato's address and that according to the operator there isn't any listings for a Takato Kimura?" Yolei explodes and he gets startled before turning to stare at the purple haired girl.

"I'm not that surprised to know that." Joe says as he adjusts his glasses. He blinks and gives Joe a questioning look.

"Not long after that was recorded, I saw those two standing in front of this cafe that I was in. I couldn't hear what they were saying but I didn't think anything of it until a flash of light caught my attention and where the yellow goggle-wearing kid had been standing was Yami. They talked some more before they split up, each heading off in different directions." Joe says and he can't help but stare as it takes some time for him to realize that not only does Ken know about Takato and Yami but it seems that the Digidestine will find out about it now too.

"Are you sure you weren't imagining things, Joe? I mean, Yami... human?" Tai says and he just sighs as does Patamon.

"Technically, yea, Yami's actually a kid named Takato Matsuki who comes from another dimension's future and has somehow switched species with his partner, Guilmon." He says and it wasn't long before everyone turns to look at him.

"Huh?" Was something the whole group says.

"I was kind of surprised too, when he and I shared another dream and I found him as somebody my age wearing a pair of yellow goggles. That was how he ended up back here, in this world since he didn't want to remain in his world's Digital world after finding out that he's somehow been thrown into the past when Ryo had triggered some kind of lab explosion." He explains.

"What about the whole, switched species thing?" Davis asks and he sighs as he says, "You have to understand how they achieve mega level to really understand that part."

"Ryo's dead!" Tai says and he just shakes his head while Izzy asks, "How could the process of achieving mega be any different then in our world?"

"First off, Ryo's very much alive in another dimension. And it can apparently, especially when both partners make a wish while residing in their version of the Digital world. They call it Bio Merging and it's not all that different from DNA Digivolving with the exception that instead of two Digimon merging it's the human partner merging with their Digimon partner." He explains and Izzy's eyes light up while the others digest this.

"You're saying that they become one with their partner Digimon when they do this?" Izzy asks and he nods.

"Takato was Bio Merged with his partner, Guilmon, in the form of Gallantmon. Ryo was Bio Merged with his partner, Cyberdramon, in the form of Justimon. They were investigating a group that seemed to have perfected a drug that would allow a human to transform into a Digimon. Sounds familiar doesn't it?" He says and most of the older Digidestined eyes widen as they realize what that sounded like.

"That rock dragon Digimon... It was a member of that group, that's what you're implying isn't it?" Matt asks and he nods in agreement.

"And the last pair were spotted in the real world when a pair of them sucked Yami into that hole of darkness. It goes to suggest that the group has likely found funding to create more of this drug in the last four years, after all, what government wouldn't want to have access to creating improved soldiers?" He points out.

"But how could this group be here if they're suppose to be in Yami's home dimension?" Sora asks.

"Ryo's originally from this world, and when this explosion happened, it not only sent Yami and his partner back in time, but also Ryo, who arrived back in our world. If Yami and his partner hadn't switched species, they might have landed here as well. After all, this group must have gotten caught up in the blast and followed Ryo here." He says.

"This has long night written all over it." Yolei says with a sigh and he can't help but agree as the others begin to think about what he had said. It was clear that until they got most of their questions answered they weren't going to end this meeting anytime soon...

- o - 0 - o -

Ken

It's about three days since his meeting with Takato and he's yet to head into the Digital world since then. He frankly admitted that he's a bit scarred to enter into that world, to take on the mantle of the Digimon Emperor. He didn't even know where to start to try and clean up that mess.

He could tell that the Digidestine were still going around, destroying the Control Towers that he erected throughout the Digital world.

With a sigh, he exits out of the monitoring screen and decides to work on his homework, though he can't help a stray thought about what Wormmon is up to...

V - V

TK

"I wonder what the Digimon Emperor is up to, he hasn't shown his face to mock us recently and I'm getting worried." Cody admits as they rest next to a stream.

He sighs, nobody has yet asked why Yami had met with Ken but he's sure that they'll ask about it soon. Privately, he had been hoping that Ken would arrange a meeting to talk with them about his persona of the Digimon Emperor, but so far, nothing.

"He must have something big planned." Yolei says.

"Or he's given it up! Come on you guys! He's likely shaking in his boot at the thought of facing me and Veemon here!" Davis brags and once more he can't help but feel that a good slap up the back of his head was needed to knock some sense into the kid but resists that urge.

"I don't think that's what's going on, Davis." Kari says and he nods in agreement with the Digidestine of Light.

"Ken's likely got a lot to think about, that might be why he hasn't done anything recently." He says, pretty much letting the Gatomon out of the bag.

"**WHAT DID YOU SAY?!**" The others plus their Digimon bellow. "Do you know what you're implying?" Yolei yells while Davis shouts at him, "What do you mean the Digimon Emperor is Ken?"

He sighs not really looking at them though Kari did seem to sigh, it seems that she, at least, had come to that conclusion on her own with the single lead of Yami send with and talking with Ken.

"Well, I was kind of hoping that Ken would try an approach us by now. After all, you heard Joe say that Yami transformed back into BlackGuilmon while in Ken's company. Did any of you wonder why Yami was meeting Ken and that Ken didn't seem to freak out when Yami transformed?" He asks as he turns to look at each of them with a raised eyebrow.

"What happened during the meeting? That news crew showed them running towards them, what were they running from?" Kari asks.

"They were running from one of the members of that group who decided to dart Ken. If it weren't for his partners reporting him missing, I would have thought that that the group would have kidnapped him." He admits.

"Is there anything else that you've keep quiet about that we should know about?" Gatomon demands.

"Actually, I'm not sure how to break this to you guys, but, well, in Yami's home dimension, there's this cartoon that currently has two seasons... one call Digimon Adventures and the second season is call Zero Two." He says and the others but Patamon give him owlish looks.

"According to Yami, it's a very popular show, one that has some movies to go along with it too." He says after a few minutes and Kari and Cody seem to get what he's implying as do most of the other Digimon.

"Just spill it, DB!" Davis exclaims in a huff although Yolei seems to thinking very deeply about the clues.

"You even wonder why Takato wears goggles?" He says flatly to Davis. "Well duh! There's just plain cool piece of head ware." Davis declares and he felt the urge to bang his head against something hard.

"What TK's trying to say, this cartoon is based on our adventures." Kari says to their supposed leader.

Davis looks to his partner and Veemon nods in agreement, not satisfied, the kid with white goggles on his head glances at the others and they, too, nod in agreement.

"So you're saying that there's a cartoon about us?" Davis asks him and he nods.

"That pretty much explains a lot about him." Gatomon muses from her position next to Kari.

"Yes, it does." Kari muses.

"So the reason why you didn't mention this or Yami is..." Yolei trails off.

"Yami likely didn't know how he knew so much about what's going on four years ago and now he hadn't wanted to interfere but, well, let's guy say that I pressed him about it before helping him to cross over into our dimension. I was very thrown about it, though as I pointed out to him, things have changed, I'm not acting like I had in the cartoon and then there's that group who also likely know the gist of the events and likely the ending too." He informs them.

"So that's why Yami met with Ken? To talk him out of his 'conquer' of the Digital world?" Yolei asks.

"Actually, Yami went to talk to Ken about Ryo but I wouldn't be surprised if the conversation got sidetracked as Yami diverges about how he ended up here." He says, he had gotten the whole encounter out of Yami after Matt left that night.

"So he might continue with his plans?" Davis asks and he sighs. "I think what Ken really wants is to see Ryo again." He says simply.

The group grows silent, he didn't blame them, after all, in the cartoon it had taken a lot of effort and the deletion of Wormmon to snap Ken out of this view of this as some kind of computer game.

It also helps that there weren't as many Control Towers in the Digital as there had been by the time Ken from the cartoon had stopped being the Digimon Emperor since in the cartoon, the Digimon Emperor constructed whole solid lines of them, one built within a few feet of each other as he traveled around in his floating fortress, following the destruction of that created Digimon.

It means that BlackWarGreymon will never come to exist but it also means that there won't be a lot of Control Tower Digimon when Myotismon finally sends his two henchmen to do his biding here in the Digital world.

"So, Myotismon really did somehow survived deletion..." Gatomon muses and he nods.

"He'll try for Ken to make copies of the Dark Spore Ken has in the back of his neck and implant them in younger children who will nourish this copies and cause them to bloom into flowers that he'll consume. He'll also try and open a gate to a wishing dimension in order to regain a body, leaving his human host. He'll then feed once more on the energy that the children carry to try and put our two worlds into darkness." He tells them.

"But we win, right?" Davis asks and he nods as he answers, "Yea, we do win that battle, but in the war between light and darkness... well, it's just a minor victory, after all, as long as light shines, it will cast shadow but where shadows are, there is light since neither can exist without one another even if each side thinks otherwise. Kind of like siblings in a way."

"Great, we're in a sibling dispute." Yolei grumbles and he laughs at the comparison while Kari seems to smile lightly as well while Davis grumbles about how it's likely the elder's fault for the fight while Cody seems to frown, likely thinking about something while the Digimon chuckle.

The mood seems to lighten and he wonders what's to happen next when Ken 'offically' surrenders to them.

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

He can't figure out why he felt a shiver move down to the tip of his tail and then back up to the back of his head. He had to admit, experiencing it as a Digimon was something he'll likely always remember it. Although it seems that someone had noticed his shiver and within seconds became very vocal about it.

"Wah! My most prized actor is coming down with a cold!" Denji exclaims causing pretty much everyone within range to sigh, including him.

"Gee, what are we? Chopped liver?" Asks the girl playing the priestess role to her samurai rescuer. The guy just shake his head while Denji calls for Natsu to go buy him some cold remedies using the bundle of bills that Denji hands him.

He had long since learnt not to even try and correct the Drama head, it only made the situation worse, not better. Once Natsu heads out of the auditorium, Denji then began to offer him a jacket, somebody's hot chocolate, head gear, pretty much anything that's within sight.

_Must not use Pyro Grenade, must not use Pyro Grenade, must not use Pyro Grenade, must not use Pyro Grenade..._ He chants within his mind as his baser instincts want him to snarl at Denji or do something to get the preteen to **back off**.

"Denji... ah, there's something in the back that... needs your... attention." The stage manager says, more then likely remembering the last time he lost it and rather not want a repeat performance so soon.

Everybody seems to sigh in relieve as Denji heads into the backstage, beginning to forget about his so call 'cold' as the head of the Drama club begins to mutter about incompetent set designers. He relaxes and begins to push the coats, sweaters, and hats off of him, though the kid with the hot chocolate snatches the cup back and he mentally sighed, he wouldn't mind drinking that...

It was a typical rehearsal for the Drama club, though he did wonder if he'd still be around when December comes around, after all, how things were progressing with the Digidestine front he wouldn't be needed here in this world. Which meant that he might not be here to do his bit for the play...

He shudders as he imagines Denji's reaction to that news...

V - V

Tai

He can't help but shake his head as the director heads to the backstage and Yami begins to peel off the layers of clothing draped on him. He did find it amusing how quickly Denji's moods shift and as Sora comes back with some hot chocolate, she asks, "So, what did I miss?"

"Oh, nothing much, just Denji declaring at his 'prized' actor is coming down with a cold and sent one of the kids out to get cold medicine with a bundle of bills that Denji had in his pocket. It also looked like Yami was going to blow his top as Denji fused over him." He tells Sora as he accepts one of the cups.

The red head shakes her head as he takes a sip of the hot liquid. "And they still haven't yet had the actors stand on stage to act out the play. I'm beginning to wonder if Denji isn't a little... well, odd in the head. I mean, having the backstage people practice going through setting up the stage with props until they get it right before having the actors even go on stage to act out their parts?" Sora says and he had to agree with her on that.

"At least we know why the set date is in December instead of having it preformed sooner." He points out and Sora nods in agreement as she takes a sip from her cup. "So, do think Matt can get the equipment from his dad to film the play?" He asks and Sora nods.

"He's asked early enough, though I would think the problem will be with getting Denji to allow us to film it." Sora muses and he snorts as he says, "If we can't get his permission, we just ask the teacher supervising the Drama club or the principal's permission. After all, they could make a small profit selling tapes of the performance to those who want to see the play but can't make it to during the three day showings."

"Good point. The money could go towards field trips and purchasing new equipment." Sora muses.

It wasn't long before Denji returns from being back stage and so, once more, the set performers were given the signal to begin their roles of changing the set and props without the curtain being closed. This allows Denji to remind certain people where certain things were to go, he did give them that, they were getting better memorizing where each item is suppose to go and therefore they got faster at taking down the props and settings and putting up the newer ones.

_I'll give Denji that, he knows what he wants and he won't stand for anything less._ He muses as they watched, yet again, the backstage people hurry about on stage, doing their jobs.

V - V

Matt

"So, how did it go?" He asks the group of preteens.

"We're stars!" Davis exclaims with a foolish grin.

"Huh?" He wonders, glancing first towards his little brother and then to his friends.

"Apparently in Yami's home dimension there's a cartoon based on our adventures in the Digital world as well as a few movies." Cody answers and Yolei nods in agreement.

It takes him a few seconds for this to sink in and then he sighs as he shakes his head. "I just know that Tai will have a field day with this." He mutters and Kari seems to grin slightly at her brother's reaction.

"Anything else happen?" He asks, he knows he'll have much to think about later concerning this news of a cartoon show about them.

"You ever wondered why Yami was with Ken three days ago?" His little brother asks and he nods, he had wondered about that but there had been other things occupying his mind at the time.

"Well, Yami met with Ken to talk about Ryo. They got attacked by one of those human turned Digimon, that's why they were racing towards that film crew, they were being chased." TK says and he sighs.

"It turns out that Ken's the Digimon Emperor and the only reason neither of them mentioned it has to do with wanting Ken to contact us." Yolei informs him.

He sighs as yet another secret has been revealed, though this one likely was set up to protect Ken from them pressuring him into cooperating with them. After all, back when they were facing the Dark Masters, he didn't want to cooperate with the group and that caused a whole lot of trouble, though TK believes that it was from the stress of finding themselves confronting more enemies in such a short amount of time.

He had briefly wonder how TK had come to such a mature explanation but now that he recalls Yami being with them, it made sense that it was Yami who recognized the 'heart' of the problem and likely had given TK that reason. Considering what they now know of Yami, it's likely that Yami's group had gone through similar stressful episodes when they were dealing with their adventures.

_Which means that we really got to sit down and have Yami tell us about his group's adventures one of these days._ He muses as the younger Digidestine and himself head out of the classroom with their respective partners being held in their arms, although Patamon's resting on TK's shoulder.

It wasn't long before they hooked up with Tai, Sora, and Yami before they leave the school as Tai and Davis chat about soccer.

- o - 0 - o -

Ken

About two weeks since his meeting with Takato, he found himself in the back rows of an auditorium, watching as... backstage people scamper about on stage altering the scenery.

It wasn't hard to spot Yami, after all, he's the only one in 'costume'. Though it does beg the question, why weren't the actors on stage acting out their lines? And why was that kid making scratchy remarks about why that plant should be over there and not there?

"Kind of confusing, huh?" A voice muses and he turns to find a semi familiar face standing next to his seat. "I'm familiarly sure that when you drop into a rehearsal, you see the actors acting." He says with a slight shake of his head.

"Yea well, Denji's an interesting guy, after all, last year for lack of a proper villain, a play was called off." Tai says moving to take the seat just ahead of him.

"I believe the one that's sprouting out emotional dialog would be Denji?" He asks as once more the guy that had been making scratchy remarks halted those on stage and had them repeat setting up the props once again.

"Yip, Denji Kiyoshi, the head of the Drama club and one of the most confusing students that likely walked these halls. After all, according to Yami, Denji has never left the auditorium to attend classes since Denji declared him the lead villain. The teachers actually stop in here and give out the homework to those that follow Denji's lead." Tai says and even he found that a bit much, after all, even when he taking on the mantle of the Digimon Emperor, he still attended classes.

"But Yami's not a student... is he?" He asks the teen and Tai nods. "He isn't though everyone thinks he is. Most of the homework is review for him from what I figure." Tai says.

"So nobody tried to... get him out of his costume?" He asks and Tai laughs slightly. "Apparently so, after all, Denji has to have something working for him if the principal hasn't expelled Denji and his club members so how hard is it to believe that the same could apply with Yami?" Tai says with a grin.

"Point taken." He says with a hint of a smile on his face, he turns to look back down at the group of kid that were hanging around Yami, it seems that they were talking among themselves for a bit before they would stop and watch the props on the stage before giving Denji side way looks and then they'd chat among themselves once more.

"Has he even handed out the script?" He asks after a few minutes as he gives the brushy haired teen a questioning look.

"I think he keeps editing it during school hours and considering all of this, I'm not surprised. Though I heard Yami talk to TK about the blond joining them during school hours just to review the script and maybe, just maybe, help Denji finish it." Tai says before adding, "After all, TK's mom is a reporter and his dad is into network television so he's got the background to have the 'privilege' of reading it."

"Really? I hadn't known." He admits.

"Yea, Matt, that's TK's elder brother, has his own band, The Teenage Wolves." Tai mentions and he sighs, it seems that he really didn't know the first thing about these people that he, as the Digimon Emperor, had considered below him and 'unimportant' since they weren't 'perfect' human beings.

"There aren't that many Control Towers and you haven't been around to repopulate the Digital world with them. I guess you threw in the towel, huh?" Tai asks after a few minutes of silence and he hums as he nods in agreement.

"I can't being myself to go into the Digital world any more, not after what I had done to the natives that live there. I was perhaps worse then any evil Digimon that existed." He says, his mind going to a certain Digimon proclaiming himself a Dark God.

"Devimon used Black Gears to control Digimon reactions on File Island, the only difference is that you did it on a much wider scale then he ever did and actually went around giving orders, I've yet to think of seeing a hint of Devimon around whenever a Digimon was under the influence of a Black Gear." The ex-goggle wearing teen tells him.

"I think it would help if I knew what you're talking about, but I'll take you at your word." He admits, after all, he really didn't know much about Tai and his group's adventures in the Digital world.

Tai grins widely and says, "Well, since you're here, that means that you have to stick around for later. Yami promised us that he'd talk about his adventures with his group when you made a willing appearance. Who knows what kind of stories Yami has to tell?"

He gets kind of thoughtful about that and had to nod in agreement, "Yea, who really knows..."

He guesses that Tai's already sent out the E-Mail before approaching him, he returns to watching the rehearsal slowly begin to come to a crawling end. He makes a note to phone his parents as soon as possible to inform them that he won't be home for a while. He's sure that they think that he's doing something with Takato and they'd be right if what Tai says will come to pass. He'll have a chance to get to know the kid turned Digmon a bit more.

V - V

Yami

And so they arrived at TK's apartment and they chipped in to order in a great many pizzas as well as two liter bottles of soda. After all, it wasn't just the hungry stomachs of the Digimon that they had to feed but their own as well.

During the pass weeks, he had a lot of time to ponder how he'll begin his tale and to find his resolve to tell it before such a large group of people. His thoughts drifted to the night he just got his red D-Arc and the dream he had that starred Rika and Renamon.

Even to this day, he didn't know why he had that dream, after all, it could have featured Henry and Terriermon or maybe even Ryo and Cyberdramon... but then the last two were likely in the Digital world by then.

_Too bad she and I never got around to discussing it again. I'm sure she wouldn't have kicked my butt if I brought it up later, after knowing us for three whole years..._ He muses, after all, none of the Digidestine have had such dreams, although those few dreams he shared with TK seemed to be so very different then that single dream starring Rika and Renamon.

"You haven't touched your second piece, aren't you hungry?" Patamon asks him and he blinks before turning to look at the orange Digimon, making sure to tap DemiVeemon gently on the head for trying to take one of his slices.

"Yes I am, I'm just busy musing about something concerning Rika and me I guess. Something I never got a chance to really talk to her about... I guess it's kind of late to do much about it." He muses before taking one of the slices on his plate and taking a bite out of it.

"Sounds like someone's got a crush on a certain someone." Yolei says in a sing song way.

He pauses and freezes for a few seconds before feeling his face burn as he realizes what Yolei's implying. "No! It's not like that! Geeze, couldn't you wait until after hearing my tale before making those kind of assumptions?" He asks, although a bit of his anger came from the fact that it reminded him way too much about how Jeri had seemed to imply the same thing when he was fourteen years old.

He sighs as he noticed Yolei's expression and sighs., "That just sounded too much like something I had a talk with one of my friends, it's a sore subject. I'm sorry for snapping at you, you didn't know." He says to Yolei and that seemed to cause Yolei to relax as she nods.

"Anyway, I think I'm done setting up the video camera." Kari says and he can't help but wonder why they need to record him telling this story, but then, it might have more to do with remember his point in time then anything.

After all, they never did get many souvenirs from their adventures in the Digital world. After all, that photograph symbolized the lies they had been given.

It didn't take long before he finished off his portion of pizza. It wasn't long before most of the humans had also finished their meal and were pretty much just nursing their glasses of cola.

So it wasn't long before he found himself, once more, center of attention, the focus of the group. He takes a deep breath and slowly releases it before signally for Kari to turn on the video camera. One the light turns on, he begins his tale. (See Digimon Tamer Episode 1 through 51 for reference)

- o - 0 - o -

Kari

"Wow, just, wow." Tai repeats once more as they head back to their apartment. Not that she blames her brother for repeating the same phrase for the tenth time since they left TK's apartment.

After all, in some way, they never expected to hear about how a Digimon Sovereign decided that it was time to take over and rule a human world, let alone about how a group of college students nick named the Monster Makers create Digital lifeforms, or about a rogue program that not only threatened the Digital world and the Digimon, but went on to invade the human world because it viewed humans as going beyond their natural world's ability to support them.

"It wasn't as black and white as our adventures, was it?" She says to her brother and he nods his bushy head in agreement.

"I guess at least the Devas had some pretty good reasons to try and conquer the human world, well, at least from their view point. What's more unbelievable that these Digi-Gnomes took the light of Digivolution and transformed it into a Digimon." Tai says and she nods.

"It also kind of explains why Yami's so much stronger then most of our villains, after all, it sounds like that Digital that's connected to his world seems to home the Digimon's fighting skills. Which makes those opponents that manage to crossover pretty skilled since not only did they manage to Digivolve to their current level but they survived that long under such conditions... It's no wonder Yami's as skilled as he is even if he's suppose to be human." She says and Gatomon hums in agreement while Tai gets thoughtful.

"I wonder if that downloading the fallen Digimon's data really helps beyond healing I mean. After all, Yami's done that once if what TK says is true. He had downloaded that fish Digimon's data when he deleted him." Gatomon muses.

"They seem to believe it does and from how Yami describes his Digital world, wishes and desires have a way of coming true." She reminds the white cat Digimon who's resting in her arms as they finally reach their apartment building.

"If that were true, then why do these Digimon keep Bio Emerging? There might be something to the idea that they're looking for a human to partner with." Gatomon points out.

"We may never know, after all, Yami and his group have been dealing with such things for three years and they still haven't come up with any definite answers." Tai says and she nods in agreement with that.

After all, from the few encounters with other Digimon, they themselves don't seem to know why they desire to come to the real world only that they have this need within them to do so.

V - V

Izzy

He really couldn't help but feel excitement about what he had just learnt from Yami, AKA Takato Matsuki. His mind is a buzz of different thoughts about learning how this one group of college students were given credit for creating the Digimon that inhabit this other dimension's Digital world.

He could only imagine what it would be like to sit down and have a nice long talk with any member of the Monster Makers, although he would prefer to ask the one called Shibumi since the man has had more experience with the Digital world then the rest of the group.

He's also fortunate that TK and Yami didn't have any problems with him borrowing the D-Arc and he had promised to return it within a week's time.

V - V

Ken

_Hearing the whole of it... I guess I can why Ryo hasn't returned, after all, it sounds like he found some place to belong, although... I do hope that then Yami heads home that he talks Ryo into at least trying to visit, it would be nice to talk with him then to talk about him._ He muses as he rides the subway train back home.

Although he hadn't been thrilled with how late it's been, after all, there's that group out there with their own agenda. It made him wonder why they haven't tried anything yet, but then, there's likely more to it then what any of them could think about, after all, they're not much of a threat since they don't know where to begin looking for this group and their activities.

For all he knows, they only showed themselves because somebody reported seeing Yami as Takato and they had gotten edgy all of a sudden, maybe even panicky...

_As long as I get home safe and sound, I'll be happy._ He decides as he rubs a point on his neck as the train continues on its course through the tunnels of the subway.

V - V

Yami

Things seem to have returned to normal as the end of October finally arrives. Not only did it bring about a change in the air, Halloween, but also, a change in the rehearsals as they, the actors, finally get to be on stage. Although it was only to help with the lighting... But is was something to do other then sitting or standing around watching the back stage crew move about on stage, taking apart and setting up the props for the play.

There was going to be a festival at the local college, one that requests that those attending it to be wearing costumes. It's the same festival that Sora and TK had been talking about a few weeks ago.

He wouldn't mind dressing up, but doubts they had anything that could fit him while he's a BlackGuilmon. He knew that TK has plans on dressing up in as ChaosGallantmon and Matt's dressing up as a monk. He's not sure what the other Digidestine were dressing up as but he's sure they want to keep it a surprise until the last minute.

So, from his position on TK's bed with Patamon resting on the top of his head, likely looking much like how Calumon and Guilmon looked with Calumon on Guilmon's head, right between the wing like ears that Guilmon has on his head. They watch as TK checks himself out in the mirror before putting on the blue cape before picking up the grey lance that's trimmed with navy blue and the shield that totally grey in colour, event he designs on the shield lack colour.

"Looking sharp, TK!" Patamon declares and he hums in agreement with the orange Digimon.

"Thanks you two." The blond says and after lowering the helmet's visor, TK heads out of the room.

He gets up and follows, it's not long before TK leaves, he didn't want to attend the festival in the form he's in and Patamon wanted to watch some Halloween cartoons that some stations have on even though it's only the twenty-seventh of October.

He sighs as he looks out at the city from the living room, a bunch of mix emotions were getting pretty jumbled up within him. He really wanted to attend this festival...

V - V

Guilmon

The school's costume party is today and he hates his costume. At this point he would rather attend the party as his true-self then to wear the costume that Takato's parents had gotten him, his 'grandparents'.

True, he's come to love them a great deal but in many ways, they just couldn't replace Takato, who's pretty much his parent, brother, best friend, and, of course, Tamer. Although it was recently that he remember who he really was, he had never been very comfortable being called 'Takato' from the moment he woke up in that hospital and his 'mom' exclaimed Takato at him.

_I wish I could just go back to being Guilmon again, my life was so much less complicated back then._ He thinks wistfully as he walks towards the park, his mind going over a time when Takato had been there, at his side.

He pauses as he feels something stir within him and as he comes to a complete stop, he finds his vision begin filled with bright light...

V - V

Takato

He groans as his head pounds, it fades after a few seconds, leaving him standing at a slopped posture for a few minutes until he straighten up to his full height.

"I wonder what caused that? And how long am I going to be like this?" He wonders out loud as he takes a look into a mirror like surface to examine himself. He sighs as the fingers of his left hand goes through his shaggy brown hair before he moves his goggles so that they hang around his neck.

In the end, he decided the first thing he needed to do is to have a shower.

"You think TK minds if I clobber a costume out of some of his cloths?" He asks Patamon and the little Digimon says, "As long as he gets them back, I don't think he would mind."

"My thoughts exactly." He muses but before he heads into the bathroom, he pauses and glances at the cardboard where the jello powder is.

After all, it'll wash out, right?

- o - 0 - o -

Takato

_I'm surprised that nobody has yet to call TK a Goth._ He muses as he, for the first time, takes inventory of the cloths that TK has in his closet and draws. He had just finished with the grape jello powder and he's glad that there was a black towel for him to use to dry his hair. As it should hide the purple make shift dye that he used.

With a sigh, he begins to take out a lot of black coloured cloths and jeans. He found a few chains that were likely there to keep ones wallet from getting pick-pocket or getting lost.

He's seen plenty of Goths back home so he's got a good idea on what types of cloths he could use even if he's reluctant to use nail polish and/or lip-stick. The chains would help in that department, though he didn't know what to do about fake piercings and jewelry and he didn't want to go through TK's mother's room looking for such either.

So he just has to make due with that he has and he does so, as once he's put on a pair of black jeans, he then goes on to use a simple long sleeve white and then puts on a simple black vest that lacks the bulk of the others. He then begins to attach the chains about the jean pockets as well as around his waist in the belt loops.

He used a bit of mouse to style his hair and remembers to pick up a pair of shades. Before heading out of the room, he puts the cloths back to where he found them.

As he looks through the front hall closet, he finds a black trench like coat, which he puts on once he puts on the pair of black runners that TK usual wears. He takes sometime studying his appearance without using a mirror.

"So, how do I look?" He asks Patamon as the little Digimon waits for the microwave popcorn to finish popping. The orange rookie hums as Patamon takes his time taking in his appearance. "Great, I guess. Just remember to bring back some candy!" The little Digimon says and he chuckles slightly, he should have known as he shakes his head as he turns away to head out of the apartment.

V - V

Renamon

She almost lost her composer on seeing a red version of the only Digimon who not only defeated her, but told her not to give up hope of finding the right partner while letting her live. Though that was only a few weeks ago, it seems as if it were a life time ago...

_I imagine this is either a Guilmon or some sub-variety that's cousin to BlackGuilmon._ She muses to herself, although she can't help but be glad that Rika's in school or else her partner might have her attack this red version of a Digimon that's likely related to that Digimon called Yami. She rather not find out whether or not he'd let her life if she lost against him.

For a second, the red version of Yami pauses and gives the air a sniff as he glances around. For a second, the Digimon's eyes turn in her direction and she felt her whole being freeze up as memory of looking into eerie yellow eyes that were so so similar to Yami's yellow gaze.

And then that second is over as the red version of Yami heads off in the direction of some kids dressed up in some costumes. The Digimon calls out a greeting and the kids greet him warmly in return.

She wanted to investigate what's going on with this red version but she also didn't want to be far from Rika's side. _Choices choices..._ She muses but she already knew which choice she'll make.

V - V

Takato

It didn't cost a thing for him to walk through the gates of the college to attend the festival. It felt so different, walking about as a human, it's still so odd, like a waking dream as he moves about the various groups, couples, and clips.

He nods at those also dress as Goths one of the group he passes says as one of their number returns with some drinks, "'s up."

He walks pass game booths ranging from shooting hoops to card games to picking out mini pumpkins from a bucket to see which prize you won to a limit of one free ticket lotto just after you entered through the gate.

A lot of students had parents sign permission slips that allow them out of school for part of the day. He expects that TK and the newer Digidestine will likely show up after lunch or during...

The Drama club didn't have rehearsals to day and it didn't take long for him to spot Denji dressed up as a samurai chatting away with one of the instructors, likely getting tips about something he rather not know about.

He made note to stir clear of the other kid as he walks into the building, according a program guide, there should be some amateur films and classic cartoons being shown in the various classes while classic films were running in the auditorium until midnight tonight.

The cafeteria is playing host to various cooking clubs ranging from traditional dishes to totally organic meals to classic dishes from various cultures from around the world. He's privately glad for the large breakfast since the smells weren't causing him to feel like drooling.

Although as Yami, he never did that much but like he observed so long ago within the first few days of being Guilmon's partner, food was rarely far from a Digimon's mind and that did include himself as Yami, though he usually had other things to think about, or to brood about as the case was during the happenings of four years ago.

With a sigh, he waits for a bit before moving towards the map that's displayed by the skeleton that should show which programs are running in which rooms. It didn't take long for the group in front of him to head out, allowing him to get a clear view of the map.

He can't help but raise an eyebrow on noticing different artistic group programs going on in some of the classrooms ranging from painting, computer graphics, clay working, and drawing. It's likely that most of these programs were centered around Halloween.

_Ah what the heck, it's been too long since I've worked with pencil and paper._ He muses to himself as he begins to plot his route to the one of the programs that should be starting soon.

V - V

Guilmon

It was lunch time and he just realized that his lunch vanished with his costume and back pack, which made him hang his head with a sigh as he heads out of the cafeteria, he couldn't stand the scent of all that food...

Once more a familiar, yet half forgotten scent reaches his nose and he glances around, half expecting to see Terriermon or Renamon, though he doubts he'll encounter either since it's he has yet to see either although he had seen Henry, Kenta, Kazu, and Jeri...

"Are you going to show yourself?" He wonders after he finds a spot that the scent seems to be coming from, which was a tree by the chalk shred, the same one he helped Calumon get into in what seems to be another life time.

"So you did sense me before." Renamon says, appearing in the branches of the tree. He manages to mask his startlement, this wasn't what he was expecting, and yet it did make it feels like old times.

"I thought it was my imagination." He tells her. "It's been a pretty long time since I've seen a Digimon around here." He adds.

"I see. Tell me, what kind of Digimon are you? I've seen one like you but of a different colour back in the Digital world." The yellow furred Digimon says and that perks his interest.

"Me? I'm a Guilmon." He tells her and she sighs. "Ah, that explains why he named himself a 'Black'Guilmon." He hears her mutter softly and he felt his heart beat increase, it sounded as if she might know of what became of Takato!

"You didn't... I mean, to say..." He stutters, suddenly dreading the answer.

"Delete him? No, I didn't win our encounter, though I'll admit he was an odd one. He mentioned being separated from his partner and that's why he's in the Digital world. He even told me to call him Yami since that's the name he feels comfortable answering too." Renamon says and he lets out a sigh, although he's a bit puzzled why his partner was using a different name.

"Perhaps you know where his Tamer is?" Renamon asks and he couldn't suppress a chuckle at the thought of Takato as his 'Digimon.'

"Sorry, I just find it... ironic is all." He replies with a grin.

"I suppose that it would be news to you that he temporary partnered up with another until the true partner Digimon of said Tamer was returned. He mentioned that for a time about four years ago, he had done so and that this child might still have the D-Arc belonging to him." Renamon says and he blinks as his mouth opens.

"That would be news." He admits after recovering from his shock.

"It's puzzling is all. I mean, there aren't many humans partnered with Digimon at this point in time, let alone back then." He wonders as he tries to puzzle this out.

"If it helps, he mentioned that the partner Digimon had a... dimensional mishap. There were talks about that time period about a Patamon who had the protection of all four Digimon Sovereign for a while there who vanished in the same manner he appeared. They did mention that an... exchange happened that involved said Patamon, which make me wonder if Yami might know more about then most." The yellow rookie muses, her pose is relaxed and he sighs, the only 'person' who had been partnered with a Patamon was a cartoon character, one that Takato had likely enjoyed watching before he entered into the goggle wearing kid's life.

"Only person that I know of being partnered with a Patamon is TK from that Digimon cartoon show which only has two seasons to it." He says with a sigh, almost wishing that Takato would just Bio Emerge and be done with it.

"There's a cartoon show about Digimon?" Renamon asks and he can't help but be a hint amused by this. "First season begins with seven humans at summer camp receiving seven Digivices. On taking them from the air, they're swiped up in between two waterish looking panels and arrive close to their in-training partner Digimon. There's some introductions between the Digimon and the humans before they try and drive off a champion Digimon." He says, taking a moment before continuing his summary of the show.

"Their partners Digivolve into their rookie forms as each of the children call out their partner's names. They cause the champion to become unbalanced and then there's more introductions as the Digimon try and explain about Digivolution and why they should call them by their rookie names. They're still on this cliff and the champion recovers and causes that section of the cliff to fall into a fast flowing river." He says, one more taking a breather before continuing.

"The Gomamon that's partnered up with one of them calls for some fish to appear and they float down river on the living raft. It's not long before they're walking along the bank and the Digimon begin to get hungry. The goggle wearing preteen has this spy glass and uses it to spy ahead, he spots these telephone booths on this beach. They run the rest of the way only to discover that they don't work and they all begin to get hungry. It's not long before they note the emergency food that the human partnered with the Gomamon has and they take about how long it would last them, if they didn't have to feed their partners. The Digimon mention about foraging for their own food while the goggle wearing preteen shares food with his partner, an Agumon." He says and Renamon seems very interested in this story, even though he's not going into much detail.

"A Shellmon shows up and the other Digimon aren't in any fighting condition, leaving the Agumon to fight alone. As the Shellmon holds the Agumon down, the goggle wearing partner grabs a metal peice of rubble and charges at Shellmon. Surprise, surprise, Agumon Digivolves into Greymon and sends Shellmon packing only to return to his rookie form as soon as the danger is gone. That pretty much sets the tone for most of the adventures, really." He says as he lists the villains that they face off against.

"Their first opponent is a Devimon, next is an Etemon, then a Myotismon that manages to become VenomMyotismon and Agumon and the Gabumon of the group get the ability to become Megas, then they face off against four Mega Digimon who are Piedmon, Puppetmon, MetalSeadramon, and Machinedramon, and finally against Apocalymon. With Apocalymon gone, the humans and Digimon part at the end with the goggle wearing preteen talking about how they'd want to return one day." He says and is about to continue on to summarize the second season when the bell goes.

"Well, I got to go, I hope we can talk some more later." He says to the fox Digimon and she nods as she watches him leave.

- o - 0 - o -

Takato

"That's pretty good." A voice says by his left shoulder which causes him to try and stifle a cry of surprise as he freezes. He turns head to find one of the art students looking down at his drawing from behind him.

"Thanks." He says as he blinks a few times, unsure at how to respond, after all, it was just a doodle of one of the scarier D-Reapers agents, the one that Guilmon and himself had fought while they were Gallantmon Crimson Mode.

"It definitely sends chills down my spine." The young man with hazel green eyes and dark, almost black hair says and he can't help but review what he drew. "I guess you can call it Techno-Organic." He muses to himself, after all, isn't that what all Digimon were in the end? Some kind of hybrid between data and flesh while they exist in the real world?

"Seems to be along that line." The college student agrees. After a bit, the guy moves on and he sigh as a glance at the clock hanging on the wall told him that there is still some time before this class ends.

_I guess that means that TK and them are likely arriving. I wonder if Tai and the older ones will be arriving now too._ He wonders as he takes a look around the room, noticing the younger kids about six years old with their parents, kids about his age and older, and even mothers with very young children like around the age of three.

The class ends and he makes sure to sign his name as Takato Kimura on the picture before heading out of the room. After all, he's already using that as his name so there isn't any reason to change that when out in public.

V - V

TK

"Ah, cool! Check it out, we each get a free lotto ticket!" Davis cries out as the presto leader of their group dress up as a viking charges towards the booth.

"Sometimes I wonder if he's on a permanent sugar high." He muses to the others as they follow at a slower pace. "I think it's just the festive nature of his species." Yolei says in a sage like way.

They all have a minor chuckle about that as they arrive behind Davis as they wait in the line up at the lotto place. He takes some time to glance farther in at the game booths that seems to be all over the front part of the college. His interest spikes on noticing the many hoop games, after all, he's not that bad when it comes to Basketball, he might have joined the school team if it weren't for so many things happening all at once.

"So, did Matt tell you what time they'll be arriving at?" Kari dressed up as a vampress, complete with pasty white make up and fake canine teeth. "I think they're arriving after picking Mimi up from the airport." He answers.

"Mimi? We haven't met her yet, have we?" Yolei dressed up as an American soldier complete with dog tags and fake rifle. He smiles slightly as he turns to look at the purple haired preteen and then down at Cody, who's dressed up as a goblin, well, he thinks it's a goblin since Cody is wearing green face paint and wearing plastic ears with an old English style shirt and pants that looks like something out of that recent Harry Potter movie.

"I think you'll get along with her pretty well, Yolei." Kari answers and Yolei presses her lips together before asking, "You really think so?" He nods his head in agreement, "We know so, after all, she is one of the original Digidestine from four years ago."

"Which one is she?" Cody asks and Kari answers, "She's the Digidestine of Sincerity and is partnered with Palmon." Yolei then asks, "What's she like?"

He left it for Kari to answer as he gives her a guilty look since the helmet's visor is up, allowing others to get a clear view of his face and him a clear view of what's in front of him. The line moves and Davis continues to list where he wants to go, what he wants to do, and what he plans on winning.

As they get closer to the person handing out tickets, he finally spots the older Digidestine, they not only had Mimi, who's hair is dyed a vibrant pink, but also Joe dressed as a mummy. He holds up his lance as they turn his way and Matt raises his traditional monk staff, his way of returning his greeting.

"Who convinced Tai to dress as a business man?" He wonders as he studies the costumes the teens were wearing. "Our dad, surprisingly." Kari answers in a dry tone. "He doesn't even look like the Tai I know and idolize!" Davis cries out and seems to begin to 'mourn' the Tai he knew.

He sighs as he rolls his eyes, although it did harken back to the 'memories' he received from Yami from that latest shared dream they had together where Tai not only cut his hair but became a diplomat. He did wonder, briefly, if the Tai he knows will try for the same occupation...

With a slight shake of his head, he focuses on what Sora is wearing. He can't help but raise an eyebrow at the fact that Sora seemed to have not only dyed her hair a neon green colour, but also spiked it. Most of her cloths pretty much screamed 'punk' since there does seem to be a lot of chains attached to black leather cloths.

_Nice touch with the fake piercings._ He muses to himself as he notices how many hang off of Sora'a left ear and the three that hang onto the right eye brow. All in all, it was fairly scary how much such things could alter his opinion of somebody who had been like a surrogate mother to him during their adventures four years ago.

Mimi moves to block his view of Sora and it wasn't as shocking to see Mimi also dressed as a punk but, again, it pretty much help drive home the fact that cloths really do help one form an opinion of the person wearing them. He glances at Matt before looking at Izzy, who's dressed as a wizard complete with wand if that stick behind his ear is part of the costume.

All in all, all they would need now is Ken and all of the Japanese Digidestine would be attending this college festival.

V - V

Takato

It took him about two hours of Digidestine hunting before he finally located a pair, Sora and Mimi dressed in punk. He almost had passed them by if it weren't for the fact that he recognized that shade of pink with Mimi.

"Sora?" He asks as he gets within a few feet of the pair and the two look started before turning to look at him, both were pretty confused.

He moves the shades he's wearing to reveal his reddish hazel eyes and Sora's eyes widen. "Yami? I mean, Takato?" Sora asks and he smiles slightly as he nods.

"You forgot to include Takatomon." He adds lightly with a bit wider grin as he allows the shades to rest on his nose once more.

"But how? I mean... well, how?" Sora asks and he shrugs. "Don't really know, TK had left just a few minutes before it happened. I had a shower, used some grape jello powder as dye, and then raided TK's closet and draws. It's eerie how many black cloths TK has, I never paid it any mind until now." He admits to the pair and Sora smiles slightly as Mimi's look of puzzlement vanishes to be replaced with a look of understanding.

"Well, it's nice to see met you as a human, Takato." Mimi says and he nods. "It's nice to be human, at least for a little while." He admits.

"It must feel pretty different after all this time." Sora muses softly and he nods as he says in a soft and sober tone, "It is, hopefully you'll never have to know just awkward it can be, spending so many years as a Digimon and then finding yourself human for a limited time for unknown reasons."

After a few minutes, Mimi claps her hands, dispelling the slightly depressing mood. "Well, then, since you've been here for such a long time, you won't mind escorting us two, lovely young ladies about, now would you?" Mimi asks and he bows slightly as he says with a minor grin on his face, "It would be my honor, Princess Mimi, Lady Sora." And then he then offers his arm to her which she accepts as she giggles while Sora seems to be stifling a chuckle before moving to walk on his other side.

After all, even as a BlackGuilmon, his mega form is still that of a knight.

V - V

TK

"Hey TK, take a look at this." Tai says and wonders over to see what has the teen's attention. His eyes widen slightly as he stares at the picture of a very feminine being that sent a slight chill down his spine, he glances at the signature and sighs at the name, Takato Kimura.

"It is rather good, it just might win a prize later tonight." One of the art students says who approached them. "When was he here?" He asks and the student answers, "Early this morning, I think he's still around, after all, the lotto draw is later in the evening."

He shares a look with Tai, he can't help but wonder what changed Yami's mind... or should he say Takato's mind...

"Well, thanks for telling us." Tai says and the student nods before heading back to putting clean paper onto the many desks for the next group to use.

"I wonder what his costume is." Tai muses and he knew who Tai's talking about. "Can't be too well thought out since there wasn't much at the apartment." He answers as he tries to imagine Takato in a dress or something.

"Where to next?" Matt asks as they exit into the hall. "I guess we could always try one of the amateur films." He says and Matt nods while Tai checks the program guide and map that's taped to the wall next to the door.

He can't help but wonder when they'll encounter Takato.

- o - 0 - o -

TK

As he walks home with Takato, he can't believe everything that went on that day, specially the fact that Takato had flirted with both Mimi and Sora and that they flirted back! Of course then they spotted the three of them, they hadn't known that the purple haired kid was Takato but, well, it's one thing to know that both girls were desirable it was another seeing it acted out before their eyes.

He studies Takato out of the corner of his eye as the hazel red eyed boy carries not just the candy that was awarded to him for that picture but also his purchases as well, mostly candy for Patamon to snack on.

"So... you think either your brother or Tai will ask Sora out? I mean, they were giving me the Evil Eye until we split from them." Takato asks and he sighs, he knew what the usually human turned Digimon was talking about.

"That's for them to sort out." He states and Takato sighs but nods.

"Guess so, still, they were pretty frosty to me over the whole flirting thing. I mean, come on, it been years since I had the chance to flirt with girls and I think Mimi and Sora knew that and were just playing along. Besides, for all I know, I might just find myself back in the Digital world of my dimension tomorrow morning! It might be months before I even get the chance to Bio Emerge so that I can find Guilmon." Takato says and he hums in agreement.

"Kind of surprising that Kari won the lotto, wasn't it?" Takato muses after a few minutes of silence, they were just a block away from the apartment. "Yea, it was, but then, I couldn't think of another who deserved it." He admits and Takato hums in agreement.

He wonders how long until Takato transforms back, after all, it's almost seven thirty...

He stops that thought in its tracks, not wanting to even go their at this moment.

By eight, Takato had finished rinsing out the purple jello dye and his cloths had been cleaned. While Takato was showering, he was going through Takato's card deck, studying the different cards that made up Takato's collection, he was pretty surprised by what he found.

Although he did return them to Takato once Takato finish putting on his cloths. As Takato finishes adjusting his yellow goggles, the other preteen begin to glow until suddenly a flash of light occurs and once his vision has cleared, Takato has become Yami once more.

"At least it waited until I got my cloths on." Yami says with a sigh and he can't help but agree.

V - V

Guilmon

"Well, finally!" He says to himself out loud, after all, he had pretty much expected to transform back long before eight o'clock but hadn't.

Unknown to 'Takato', somebody had witnessed the transformation and who suddenly found themselves fainting as a glowing web begins to encase the witness...

V - V

Yami

The month of November began with Denji declaring to them that they're all going to sit down and go over music suggestions, something that should have been expected by the club at large but they hadn't since a lot of them groaned, first the delay with the props and then the lights and now with the music.

He admitted he'd have to give some thought about which song he wants to portray him as he enters onto the stage, allowing him to stay out of the bulk of the discussion while each of the lead and secondary actors tried to think up songs off the top of their heads.

In the end, he intervened on their behalf, pointing out to Denji that this kind of came out of left field for them and that, right now, they're thrown by this sudden demand and that, perhaps, Denji should give them a week to get a list ready like he had given him.

Denji agreed and then for the rest of the rehearsal they read through their scripts while sitting around in a circle while Denji added his two cents by trying to get more emotion out of them all, which include the minions and others that were to die during various scenes within the play, likely killed off by either the samurai, himself, or by their own hand to regain their family honor in the play.

After all, they were trying for realism here, to portray a bit of how such things had operated in the pass.

Before they left, they all handed in the scripts since Denji doesn't want what's going to happen within the play to be known outside of the circle of the Drama club, not even by their parents or siblings.

Already it's seems like it's going to be a rough month as he left the school wearing a red poncho that Mimi had bought for him to wear before she left on the fifth of November, just two days ago.

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

"Oh come on! Pretty please with a cherry on top!" Kari asks as she gives him her best puppy dog eyes and he could just imagine a sweat drop appear by his head as he stares into the eyes that were so similar to his own when he's human.

_I'll give her a six out of ten, but then, few could beat Calumon's puppy dog eyes when the little guy decides to bring out the big guns._ He muses softly to himself as blinks before turning his head to glance at Gatomon, hoping that the cat Digimon might be able to do something about her partner and her sudden obsession with reading the script.

The digital cat gives him a bemused expression so he returns to studying Kari's expression. "I promise I won't tell anybody." Kari says as she tries to up her cuteness factor.

"**Yami**!" Davis bellows as the goggle wearing preteen comes stomping towards them, causing both Kari and him to turn to stare as the carrier of the Digi-Eggs of Courage and Friendship gives him a murderous look.

"_What are you doing with_ **MY** Girlfriend?!" Davis growls and he can't help but give Davis a seven out of ten since Davis definitely has the surprise factor when it comes to looking scary.

"Davis . . ." Kari says with a sigh while he feels Gatomon leap onto his head and settle down between his ears. Kari blinks and gives her partner a questioning glance while he likely looks startled about this action.

"What? I wanted to lie up here after seeing Patamon do it so often if only just to see what it's like." He hears Gatomon say and he could just imagine the grin on the white champion's face that went along with that statement.

Kari gives him a questioning look and he shrugs, he doesn't have any problem with Gatomon being on his head, she might be a bit heavier then Patamon but she's likely lighter then Veemon and the rest of the Digimon partners. "It's no different then having Calumon ride around on my head when I'm human." He adds and Kari smiles slightly as she nods, likely relieved by his attitude.

_Although Patamon might be a bit jealous, after all, I think I've come to be his favourite perch._ He muses to himself while Davis gets this startled look on his face before Davis recovers to once more to demand answers about Kari's previous performance.

"Just one minute! Why were you flirting with Kari?" Davis shouts as he points an accusatory finger at him and he sighs while Kari says, "He wasn't flirting with me, I'm not your girlfriend, and I was trying to get Yami to tell me about the play that he's starring in."

"I don't see why you're asking me, I'm not going to divulge a summery of the play, I will respect Denji's wanting to keep this quiet." He says to the pair, though it's more focused on Kari then on Davis.

"Those words fill me with such joy! I am so honored to have a noble and honorable actor among my cast!" Denji declares from behind him.

He slowly turns around to look at the kid that seems to have stars for eyes and he can't help but feel that sweat drop appear once more as he gawks at the head of the Drama club. "Already I feel the passionate flame of gratitude filling my being! That's it! I must begin on the sequel!" Denji declares, throwing in a pose before racing back to the school to go collect his notes before heading home.

"I am now overcome with the desire to know about this play if he's going to write a sequel." Davis says once Denji vanishes into the school. "You do realize that I might not be around to act in that second play, right?" He points out to the two Digidestine while Gatomon still sits on his head.

In the end, as they recover, TK and Cody exit out of the school and head towards them, Yolei had business with Matt's band so she's long since departed.

"Denji looks pretty fired up about something. You should have seen him racing through the halls, heading straight for the auditorium. I almost expected to see burn marks on the floor." The blond tells them while Patamon seems to have focused on him and Gatomon with a puzzled look before the orange Digimon looks bemused by the fact that he had Gatomon on his head.

"Yea, we know. He was inspired by my defense of his wishes against Kari's inquiry about the summary of the play. He did his usual speech and then a pose before racing inside to collect his notes to start on a sequel." He tells the two newly arrived pair of Digidestine who were carrying their partners in their arms, although Upamon might have preferred to have been squashed into Cody's jacket since the little guy seems to be shivering every so often, likely because unlike Patamon, Gatomon and himself, he's at a much lower stage of evolution then either of them.

True he's wearing the poncho that Mimi gave him but he really didn't need it since more Digimon could survive in different climate conditions. It was likely why he never been too bothered by the heat of midday during the few times he was moving about in it when he had been living in that dessert layer of the Digital world. Although he never was in much of a hurry when he had been, which also might have helped to keep him from dropping from heat exhaustion.

As he is muses over that, they were slowly heading out of the school gate while the others begin to discus their recent adventures in the Digital world as they search for the other Digi-Eggs.

V - V

TK

He sighs as he reviewed the recent happenings against Myotismon and his two hench-mon. There were some good points, like not having to worry about BlackWarGrey and the Control Towers and yet there were some bad points, like nothing keeping Myotismon from going straight to kidnapping kids and it didn't help matters when that organization that had that drug that could turn humans into Digimon has been helping Myotismon in collecting a large number of kids.

Toss in Deamon and his lackeys and it's not really surprising that Ken had been kidnapped, again in his mind, by Myotismon and that group and that those copy spores had been implanted into those kids that they had kidnapped. A group that numbers more then what those memories of the second season told him.

Luckily though, that group that were 'native' to Yami's world had added some kind of delay to the kids, something that had upset the Myotismon controlled adult, he can't really think of the man as anyone other then Myotismon even though the man's just hosting the Digimon's 'spirit', which probably translates into data.

They also received that energy from Azulongmon's Digi-core, so Patamon can now Digivolve into MagnaAngemon once more.

"So, which song did Yami pick from your collection?" Patamon asks as they walk to the school to addend the opening night of Denji's play. Matt, Yolei, and Izzy had likely arrived early to get everything set up for the camera equipment that his father got for them.

"I think he choice that song Animal from that band, Three Days Grace. I can't say it doesn't suit him, since it does, although I'm sure he could have found a better one." He answers.

It wasn't long before he spots Ken hanging about the school gate with Wormmon in his arms. He smiles softly at seeing the supposed boy genius. "Hey Ken, come to see the play, huh?" He says as he speed walks up to the rarely seen Digidestine. "Yea, I am..." Ken says and he nods as his smile grows a bit.

"Then lets walk in together. I'm pretty sure we're early." He says and with that, kind of half dragged, half led the other through the school gates and towards the building.

- o - 0 - o -

Ken

A voice comes over the sound system as the curtain remains closed as the mood and setting of the play is set. 'In the kingdom of Yuu that lies in the country of Jin, a young and powerful priestess is born. Her parents named her Sora in hopes that her powers will grow without limit into the great sky above them.' The narrator pauses before continuing as the back ground music alters slightly.

'But in the country of Jin lurked an evil presence that few dare spoke about, a presence simply called Gekido, Wrath.' The narrator continues, 'None living in the country of Jin remembers a time when Gekido hadn't roamed the lands, causing havoc among the citizens of Jin. Even the Daimyos of the various kingdoms of Jin have yet to vanquish the evil that Gekido personalize so the Emperor of Jin began to invest in various temples, hoping that the gods might take pity on them and send them the means to rid the lands of Jin of Gekido.'

The music continues to darken as the narrator continue to speak, 'On Sora's third year of birth, the young girl child was visited by a monk who had received a vision from the gods, telling him to seek the one named after the vastness of the sky in the lands of the bravery, for that child shall hold the key of breaking Gekido's power over the lands of Jin.'

'And so, once young Sora had been tested, she was given to the temple in hopes that she shall fulfill her destiny. And so young Sora trained for ten years, being shuffled from one temple to another as word reached Gekido's hears of this child's destiny to break his power.'

'But Gekido was old and possessed a patients greater then that of mortal men. For in secret the evil creature named Gekido took command of a temple shrine between the boarders of two rival kingdoms and waited for the day that the temple council sends the young priestess straight into his waiting clutches. And so Gekido's trap was sprung just days shy of Sora's fourteen birthday.' The narrator says and sounds of battle get pumped over the speakers.

But there was more before the curtain opens and for the play to begin. 'Those escorting the young priestess were killed within seconds of them entering into the shrine by Gekido's minions, they neither had time to send a message out or to properly defend themselves. Within hours, Sora was brought before Gekido and on seeing the slip of a woman had laughed. Unimpressed by Sora, the entity spared Sora's life but he stole her eyes so that he was the last thing that she ever saw.'

'It would be four years before anyone noticed the silence about the young priestess. When the Emperor ordered that the young woman be brought before him, to see if she has received any wisdom from the gods on how to rid his lands of the demonic entity that they called Gekido, the temple wasn't able to fulfill his wish and it was only then did they launch an investigation. When they learnt of her last location, the two Daimyos of the local kingdoms send out their samurai to check on the temple shrine.'

'So great were the two kingdom's rivalry that instead of working together to assault the shrine, they fought, causing the two kingdoms to go to war with the shrine as the prize. And so these two kingdoms continue to war as our story begins...' The narrator says as the lights finally dim allowing the spot lights to supply the light for the stage as the curtain opens to reveal a traditional court where nobles were attending on the Emperor.

"His lord acknowledges the diplomat of the Kingdom of Chuugi." The emperor's chamberlain announces to the crowd of nobles that were seated on their cushions, holding paper fans. From off stage a new actor comes forward and crouches before the minor platform where the Emperor of the country of Jin rests.

"My Emperor, what is it that you wish to ask of my humble being?" The crouching man asks. "His lord wishes to know the status of the rescue of the young priestess from the dark and treacherous one's clutches." The chamberlain says after bending down to listen to the 'Emperor.'

The diplomat asks with the barest hint of nervousness, "Isn't this a bit much, most benevolent one, to do all this for a woman? Surely by now those attending the temples could do more then anything an unproven slip of a woman could possibly do."

The Emperor's eyes narrow and the chamberlain clears his throat before asking in a steel like tone, "Are you saying that our master doesn't know his own wishes, diplomat? Are you saying that you know better then our divine Emperor?"

He can't help but raise an eyebrow as the actor playing the diplomat tries to beg for forgiveness for implying such. He had to admit, the performance seems fairly natural as the chamberlain dismisses the diplomat from Chuugi and then calls for the one from Rei to come forward with the same kind of news.

"I am told by my legitimate lord that we are getting the inference from the cowardly Chuugi as they seek to deny you of this priestess of who you wish to speak with. We hope that you would be so kind as to ask the Daimyo of Chuugi to recall his soldiers and samurai so that we might begin our assault to reclaim this most gifted priestess." The diplomat from Rei says, he can't help but find that to be a very real response in the arena of politics back then.

"I don't understand why he said that, after all, this isn't real, right?" Wormmon asks as the diplomat from Chuugi calls insult on the diplomat from Rei as it seems that the chamberlain was believing the 'lies' coming from the other's mouth.

"Actually, that's likely how it would have worked back then, Wormmon. As the narrator had said, the two kingdoms that those actors are supposedly from are rivals and making your political enemies look bad before the Emperor and others would be a step towards ruining their fortunes." He tells the green rookie softly and guards arrive on stage to arrest the diplomat from Chuugi for baring live steel before the Emperor.

If this had been real, those from the kingdom from Chuugi would soon find themselves struggling to get back into the Emperor's good graces or keeping their status at court. "I never thought Denji would go into that much detail." TK says softly to his left as the chamberlain declares that the Daimyo of the kingdom of Rei has his approval to assault the temple in his name.

The diplomat repeatedly bowed from his position on the ground as he thanks the divine Emperor for trusting in the power and might of the Rie kingdom.

The curtain comes down once the spotlights dims and the narrator begins once more, 'With the kingdom of Chuugi in disgrace, it wasn't long before the Daimyo of Chuugi is forced to call back his forces or else lose face before the Emperor by defying the support that the kingdom of Rie now has. But the Daimyo would not give up on letting the Chuugi claim the maiden hidden in that shrine...'

The curtain opens and the spotlights brighten to give them a better view of the stage. They find a very well dressed actor on stage, pacing as his wife is seated by a desk with an ink set close to her right hand. Two bodyguards stand at attention at the entry of 'room.'

An actor, the lead of good guy of the play arrives dressed in red samurai cloths with two plastic swords resting in the belt around the actor's waist. "Let him in." The pacing Daimyo declares and the two bodyguard move their spears, allowing the star to enter into the study.

Within seconds, the lead good guy is crouching before the Daimyo of Chuugi kingdom says, "You wished to see me, my Daimyo?" "Yes, I did Kizuna. I have a mission for you, one that could save our kingdom from ruin by our deceitful and petty rivals from Rie. As you have heard, the Daimyo of Rie has stolen our rightful claim on the shrine that likely has the priestess of destiny that the gods have told will free us of the dark one's presence in our country." The Daimyo says and then moves to a cushion to sit down.

"Through deceit, our rival in Rie has forced me to call back my vassals so they could lay siege on this shrine. I have my reason to suspect that Gekido might have his talons in the Daimyo of Rie, for how else could the Daimyo trick our regal and majestic lord and master and cause the Emperor to cast us aside so casually? But I think we can use this to our advantage, young samurai." The Daimyo says to his vessel.

"Though I am humbled that you have such trust in me, my lord, I must ask, what is our advantage in this?" Kizuna asks and the Daimyo smiles slightly and looks a tab more relax. "Why, the element of surprise, young samurai. For now Gekido doesn't expect us to act and will be preparing to relax his guard on the temple shrine since it is his puppet that now is given the task of assaulting the temple. I have trust in your skills to slip into the temple and rescue the maiden priestess out from the demon's very nose." The Daimyo says.

"But that can't be, I mean, why would the Daimyo lay blame on the other Daimyo when his diplomat is the one responsible for the trouble." Patamon says softly. "It's a trait that's fairly common, laying blame on everybody but yourself. I did it often enough while acting as the Digimon Emperor." He says softly as a ninja appears to give an update of the forces that guard the shrine.

It wasn't long before the curtain closes and the lights dim.

- o - 0 - o -

TK

The narrator begins once more while the backstage crew moves about behind the curtain, altering the props like they rehearsed for a solid month.

'And so Kizuna packed lightly for his mission while in the court of the Daimyo of Rie, preparations were underway for the assault. Although both Daimyos tried to keep secret their plans, it didn't stop Gekido from hearing of them and planning on how to best use this for his advantage.' The narrator says and the curtain opens to a changed set that had very few hints of the study it had been just moments ago.

"It is such a pity that you are not held at the shrine, isn't it miko?" The black coloured villain with crimson markings says followed by pleasant growl as Gekido turns to address the lead actress playing the role of the heroine of Sora. Sora doesn't say anything as she stares down at the floor.

"It is too bad that our Emperor has grown so impatient with his vassals, but then, trying to destroy me has always been the goal of your rulers since I arrived in these lands and began to recruit vassals from the local Ogre tribes, goblin gangs, and kitsune clan. But then, mortals such as yourselves never could tell the difference between a wife and a cousin." Gekido says, causing the beings seated about the court of monsters to chuckle and jeer.

"What are your orders, mighty one?" An actress dressed up as a fox-girl asks. Gekido gets to his feet and moves to pick up a large axe from a rack of weapons. Gekido tests the balance of the weapon and then turns to face the kitsune.

"How long as it been since human blood has covered our bodies, Kikyo?" Gekido asks with a cruel grin on his face, one that sent a few shivers down his spine even though he knews that Yami's just acting. _He didn't have to do it so well though._ A small voice says within his mind.

"Far too long, mi'lord, far too long." The kitsune says in a husky voice and her sentiments were shared with the rest of the room. As Gekido moves from the weapons rack, a few of the Ogres move to take some weapons off of the rack while the goblins began to chat among themselves while most of the kitsune headed off stage, likely to go rally the troops.

"Who moves with darkness of the night?" Gekido shouts at his followers as he punches the air with the arm that's holding the axe. "Gekido, Gekido!" The others in the room chant and then Ogre with three horns shouts out, "Who is it that strikes fear deep into the heart of all?"

Once more in a chant the extras call out, "Gekido, Gekido!" One of the two kitsunes that remain in the room calls out, "Who calls forth the demons of the night?" And once more they chant, "Gekido, Gekido!"

"Blood calls to blood, kin calls to kin!" Gekido chants whirling the axe in his hands as he continues, "Shades of night, I call forth my right! As my right, take my might! With my might, take flight! Fly this night oh shades of the night, my enemies to see your might this night!" Gekido snarls and smoke bombs erupt on stage but Gekido continues on with his rhythm.

"Blood calls to blood, kin calls to kin!" Gekido bellows and the others chime in, "Blood calls to blood, kin calls to kin!"

Gekido turns to face the entrance of the room and with a sharp motion, brings down the axe to point to exit. With a roar, all the extras charge out of the room, soon leaving only Gekido and Sora on the stage.

"You can't keep him from me." Sora says not really look in Gekido's direction. "True, but then none of the threads say he has to be _whole_. After all, you aren't as long as I keep your eyes from you." Gekido says with a smirk.

"Fiend." Sora growls and Gekido chuckles. "Oh yes, remember that feeling, priestess, for as long as you have that feeling filling your heart, I shall never be gone from this world. It only makes you more **human**." Gekido says and with that the villain of the play makes his dramatic exit.

"He really does his part pretty good, doesn't he?" Patamon asks. "I think it's the viral tendencies that's allowing him to pull off that kind of performance." Wormmon pipes in.

"Likely, having the 'black' in his species' name only makes him more... more... incline to listen to those instincts." Wormmon adds before the narrator begins, and Patamon hums in agreement.

"Or more aware." He says with a slight frown as he recalls a few times when Yami had been pretty... feral.

The narrator says, 'And so Gekido and his followers head for the shrine to spring his trap, to cause more chaos in the country of Jin. For as long as the Emperor of Jin and his vassals believed that the young priestess is being held at the temple shrine, they won't search any where else for her. And without her sight, the few guards left to keep her from running off had an easy time of it guarding her, keeping her from escaping from Gekido's fortress.'

'That night also allowed demons to move about in the realm of dreams. Causing all of the nobility to experience a nightmare beyond their ability to put into words. The Emperor wasn't exempted from their wanderings either. Throughout the country of Jin, few got restful sleeps that night.' The narrator pause for a moment before continuing.

'It took a week for the Daimyo of Rie to assemble the largest force he could muster. After all, if he succeed in this task, the Daimyo could see the his star rising in the court of the divine Emperor of Jin. It would also secure the fall of his rival, the Daimyo of Chuugi. After a few days to make sure they had enough supplies, the Daimyo himself marched at the head of his force, secure in the knowledge that he could not fail.'

'But samurai Kizuna of kingdom Chuugi did not have to worry about moving with a large force like the Daimyo of Rie. In fact, by the time Gekido's forces finish arriving, Kizuna was a day's ride from the temple that was the focus of Kizuna's mission.' The narrator says after a few seconds, the spotlight begin to brighten as the curtain opens to revealed a forest area with Kizuna leading a 'horse' with packs on it.

As Kizuna moves towards some rocks, the 'horse' begins to whine and pull away. As Kizuna tries to regain control of the 'horse', a pair of kitsune appears from behind the rock with daggers and from the surrounding trees, three goblins with maces.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" One of the fox girls muses. "Han, Han, Han, can't we see the packs? I think we got ourselves a trader posing as a samurai." The other kitsune says while the goblins move to surround Kizuna.

"Be gone foul beasts or feel the power of my blades." Kizuna says as he lets go of the halter, allowing the 'horse' to flee as Kizuna hands go to his swords resting in his belt. The two kitsunes have scowls on their faces and the goblins growl at the samurai.

"This mortal did not just call us what I think he did, did he sister?" Han asks in a hard voice. "I think he did, sister, I think this unimaginative fool of a male call us _foul_." The other kitsune growls while the goblins hefted the maces up.

"That brings back memories." He muses softly as Kizuna takes un-sheaths his sword. "I bet its the ones about Angewomon fighting LadyDevimon." Patamon muses softly and he nods. "It really does." He admits as Kizuna slowly begins to kill each of the minions, but doesn't see the reinforcements arriving with a net until its too late.

The scene ends with a goblin striking Kizuna in the back of the head, knocking the samurai out. The lights dim and the curtain closes over the laughter coming from the minions of Gekido.

'And so our hero finds himself captured by the followers of Gekido and taken into a dark room to await an audience with our villain, Gekido. But Gekido had other things on his mind then the arrival of one lone samurai. For Gekido was too busy making arrangements of how to give those that seek to capture this shrine a taste of a very bitter defeat, even though they were still weeks away from arriving to do battle with his followers.' The narrator says.

'After leaving his enemy alone in a dark room with little for food and drink for a week, Gekido's plans for the temple were near completion so the evil Gekido decides to meet the fool who thought he could slip through his net of scouts.' The narrator says and on that note, the lights brighten and the curtains open to reveal a new arrangement of props with Gekido seated on a wooden chair with a small saucer of what appears to be sake in his left hand, his yellow eyes half open as a kitsune attends him.

Kizuna is brought before Gekido by a small squad of four Ogres, two had maces while the other two had spears. "So you are the one that my scouts found coming from the east." Gekido says and then takes a sip from his saucer before continuing in a lazy fashion, "It seems that my hospitality does not agree with you."

Those with Gekido snicker as Kizuna moves to get onto his knees so that he may look upon the beast that is head of the army. "You discriminate this shrine by your mere presence, vile one. I do not fear you and your fellows! For I am samurai, I am living and breathing symbol of honor and duty! Your master does not scar me." Kizuna declares in a foolhardy matter.

"It is not the Way of the Warrior to be shamed and avoid death even under circumstances that are not particularly important. It goes without saying that to sacrifice one's life for the sake of his master is an unchanging principle. That I should be able to go ahead of all the other warriors of this country and lay down my life for the sake of my master's benevolence is an honor to my family and has been my most fervent desire for many years." Quotes Gekido before taking another sip from his saucer and Kizuna looks startled.

"I know your codes, boy. How else could I become as successful as I am if I do not have something binding them to my service? If I had no banner to rally them by?" Gekido tells the hero of the play causing Kizuna to gasp in horror. The kitsune pours more sake into the saucer.

"You're only confident because I am bound by these ropes, beast!" Kizuna growls as the samurai tries to struggle to stand. "You don't even know who you are talking to, do you Kizuna of the kingdom of Chuugi? If you can guess who I am in three tries, I just might cut your bonds and allow you to preform seppuku, that is, if you can guess rightly." Gekido says, watching the hero through half lid eyes with a highly bored expression with a hint of amusement coating his tone.

"I don't care who you are! You're just an underling of that demon, Gekido!" Kizuna shouts out, trying to get to his feet but one of the Ogres keep the samurai from standing up. In response, Gekido laughs a sinister chuckle that sent shivers through his body, it takes a few seconds for him to remind himself that Yami is only acting.

"Oh yes, you can be sure that I'm acting in 'Gekido's' best interests." The villain says before taking a sip of sake. "I believe that Ryouji might be able to make our guest here so much more comfortable." Gekido says to the Ogres and they chuckle as they drag the samurai away.

Once the samurai has been taken off stage and Gekido drinks from his saucer. Then a goblin scout comes onto stage saying, "My lord! The advance scouts of the Rie's army have been spotted two days journey from here."

"If the scouts are so close then the main body should be at least four days behind them." Gekido says, moving the saucer before him, swirling the liquid within the saucer before downing it in one gulp. The kitsune moves and pours more sake into the saucer.

"Your orders, my master?" The goblin asks, standing at attention. "Pull back from that section of the forest, order the human mercenaries companies to patrol that part. After all, we want the humans to be in shock when we march onto the battlefield. We wouldn't want that surprise to be spoiled now, would we?" Gekido says slyly and the goblin nods eagerly at that before bowing before heading off stage.

Gekido sips from the saucer as the lights dim and the curtain closes as the narrator begins to speak once more. 'And so the armies of the kingdom of Rie arrive within a week's march of the shrine. The scouting force begins to lay the foundations of a siege camp when they weren't scouting the terrain, observing the human mercenaries that Gekido employs.'

'And so the reports sent to the generals of the army from the scouts told of human occupation at the shrine since they only saw human companies moving about the area. The Daimyo of Rie's confidence soared at the news, for he could send reports hinting that his rival in the kingdom of Chuugi might have been the one responsible for the capture of the priestess.'

'By the time the main body of the army arrives, Gekido once more sends for our hero, Kizuna.' The narrator says and the curtain opens as the lights brighten to reveal a slightly changed props but otherwise it was pretty much the same as the last scene.

Gekido stood tall with his arms on his hips as he studies the beaten form of Kizuna who's now wearing rags for cloths with some bits of red paint in place of caked blood. "Has Ryouji manage to educate you in the ways of the world yet boy?" Gekido asks.

Kizuna doesn't say anything and after a few seconds, Gekido grins. "I see, so you still hold onto the idea that your cause is just even though Ryouji gave you visions of the how your world really works? Just look at the injuries you caused to yourself in hopes of dispelling those thoughts. Just how many tables have you destroyed in your efforts to kill yourself, boy? Three? Five?" Gekido muses and its then did he notice that Kizuna wasn't bound by ropes.

"I believe the count was nine my lord." One of the Ogres says and Gekido smiles as he nods. "Ah yes, that sounds about right. After that Ryouji had to ward the table to be unbreakable if I recall." Gekido says with amusement oozing from him.

"Anyway, since you've come this far to see the priestess I'll let you on a little secret." Gekido says and after a few seconds Gekido moves to stands a bit closer to the prisoner. "She hasn't lived at this shrine at any point in time. My vassals captured her as soon as she arrived with her escort and then spirited her out of this place after within seconds of her escort's bodies falling to the ground. She's been living in 'Gekido's' fortress ever since." Gekido says.

As Gekido moves away the samurai seems to collapse into himself as he falls to the floor, his body racking with sobs. "Take him to the fortress, put him in the care of the miko. I'm sure those two will be happy to 'see' each other." Gekido says and the small company of Ogres nod as two of them move to pick Kizuna from his position on the ground.

- o - 0 - o -

Ken

"Master, what shall we do now? The armies have arrived and some of the human mercenaries are beginning to fret." A kitsune asks once Kizuna is taken off stage.

"Just hand them more gold, that should quiet it them down. After all, pay a man enough and they'll walk bare foot through the gates of eternity and challenge the god of death to walk back through them once more." Gekido says and the kitsune smiles before asking, "And perhaps allow them free access to chilled sake?"

Gekido grins toothily as he nods, with that, the kitsune hurries off stage to do as bid. "And so it comes together as I knew it would as it had back then and so it shall be in times to come." Gekido muses just loud enough for them to hear, the microphone likely helps with that.

The lights dim and the curtain closes. 'And so Kizuna is sent to the fortress where the priestess's to rescue is being held. Kizuna was never bound once Ryouji finished with him.' The narrator says.

'The problems with the human mercenaries did go away after a generous amount of gold was given to their companies as well as a very large ration of sake for each company. Must like Gekido knew it would.'

The narrator pauses before continuing, 'The Daimyo and his generals were already opening the victory sake as they went over the maps and deployment of enemy soldiers. So assured of victory that they never noticed the lack of Intel on the temple itself and what numbers guard their 'prize'.'

'And so after two days the Daimyo and generals finally launch an attack on the mercenaries. They slaughtered most of the undisciplined companies as the army presses forward towards the shrine. But unknown to the armies belonging to the kingdom of Rie, Gekido and his forces pull out of the temple and began to circle about them. After pressing towards the shrine for a full four days, the trap within the temple kills the leaders of the army and with them dead, Gekido and his vassals move into the chaos of their deaths to slaughter them.'

'The survivor flee to the capital to report to the Emperor.' The narrator says and the curtain opens as the lights brighten.

"I see. So it seems that evil one had her all this time. It is likely that she is already broken to his power." The Emperor says in a grave way and those survivors just crouch there, saying nothing.

"You may go an prepare your final rites." The chamberlain tells them and they get up from their positions before heading out of the room.

"Bring me my priest, I which to speak with him about this matter." The Emperor says and the chamberlain does so, heading off stage, leaving the Emperor alone on stage, pacing slightly.

It wasn't long before the chamberlain arrives with an actor dressed up as a priest. "You may go, chamberlain." The Emperor says and the chamberlain bows repeatedly as he backs off stage.

"You and your council claims that this priestess shall break Gekido's hold on my country. And yet, you have not mentioned that she is in his clutches for years! How can she do as foretold if she's tainted by him?" The Emperor says angrily.

"The gods would not have chosen her if she could not bare the strain of her burden. The gods have decreed that Gekido's time on this world has come to an end, it is only a matter of time before the foretold time comes." The priest says calmly with his hands hidden in the long sleeves of his kimono as the Emperor paces on stage.

"You expect me to sit around, waiting for a _girl_, an untested _woman_ to do a man's job?" The Emperor snaps at the priest, using the most of the same words the Chuugi diplomat had used less then a month ago.

"If you want him gone, then yes, you have to put your faith in the gods otherwise you just play right into his hands as your forefathers have done, my lord. Have not the kingdom of Rie been thrown into turmoil with the loss of their Daimyo? Have not the kingdom of Chuugi fallen low from your favour? Surely you know your history better then most, after all, how many kingdoms have fallen during the times that they've hunted for ways to defeat Gekido?" The priest says sternly.

"The gods will break him, my lord, just be patient. The time draws near, I feel it in my bones. Do not seek to provoke this demon in any way, my lord or you will find yourself broken like your great-grandfather." The priest says in a softer tone.

As the Emperor sits down to contemplate, the priest bows and walks off stage and in doing so, the lights dim and the curtains close.

'And so the country of Jin is thrown into chaos once more as rumors of what happened to the Daimyo of the kingdom of Rie spread. The stories grew grander and more wild until what little of the truth had been lost. People cried out for the Emperor to do something to protect them and their families.'

'As the kingdom of Rie gets embroiled in civil war between relatives of the previous Daimyo, the Daimyo of Chuugi sent a generous donation of gold that he was spared such a humiliating and deadly situation, after all, he only lost a single samurai while the kingdom of Rie lost most of its army and it's Daimyo to a trap set up by Gekido.'

'Kizuna appeared days ahead of Gekido and his army. It had broken his heart to see the miko destined to break Gekido so weak looking, so frail. It shattered the halves of his heart to learn that Gekido had stolen the girl's ability to see. Kizuna vowed right then and there that before he died, he shall see Sora freed from Gekido's grasp. Unknown to Kizuna played right into Gekido's hand by making that vow...'

The lights brighten and the curtains open to reveal Kizuna and the blind priestess Sora. There doesn't seem to be any goblins about, the lights weren't that bright, and the scenery seems to be more like a cave then the other scenes that came before this act.

"Calm down, Kizuna. Pacing won't help solve anything." Sora tells the samurai in a stern voice, her head turned towards the pacing Kizuna. "How can I be calm? How can you be calm? He stole your eyes, your ability to interact with our world!" The samurai declares as Kizuna turns to look at Sora.

"There are other ways to view the world, Kizuna. And as for why you should calm down, its simple, our time to confront the ancient will come in due time. By trying to press the issue now, you'll do what he want you to do and we'll fail, which will allow him to continue to exist in our world. Be patient, Kizuna, as long as we're in his fortress, we are safe from indirect interference that could also make us fail. We were meant to be captured by him and to be his prisoners for a time. If you can not trust yourself, trust me and our gods, for they will lend us aid when we need it, not before." Sora says to Kizuna before she turns her head away to bow before a discarded statue that has more then a few dents in it.

Kizuna didn't look very comforted by Sora's speech but did stop pacing to first stare at the statue with a frown and then gazes at Sora, his expression softens before a sober look grows upon Kizuna's face. Within seconds, Kizuna begins to go through the piles of trash. After a few minutes, Kizuna begins to pile broken weapons out of the trash heaps.

Once Kizuna moves from the larger pile of trash, the samurai begins to study each weapon. "It just might work." Kizuna says thoughtfully as he hefts a broken spear and an axe with a broken wooden hilt after looking at snapped blades be they for swords, axes, or daggers. It wasn't long before Kizuna pulls out a thin knife once he moves to the table where the statue is and begins to pry the head of the axe off of the wooden hilt.

As expected, the lights dim and the curtain closes, signaling the end of the act.

'And so Kizuna from something to occupy his time while he waits for Sora to finally agree to try and escape from Gekido's fortress. While Kizuna and Sora wait patiently within his fortress, Gekido began to set some of his plans into motion that even though he may fall before the pair, his influence in this world will continue. The villain even proceeded with a very risky venture, one that not even the gods themselves know if it will succeed or not.'

'And so days become weeks, weeks became months, and the season of summer gave way to autumn which gave way to winter. Finally the day came, the day of the winter equinox, the day that Sora had been waiting for since Kizuna arrived within at the fortress...'

The curtain opens to reveal a much larger set, one that not only had what appear to be Gekido's set of rooms, but also a hallway as well as thin rice screens. There were two places for actors to enter onto the stage from off stage. There were some Ogres stationed outside of the large room that Gekido was resting in. They could hear soft snorts coming from Gekido.

Off stage, they can hear Kizuna asks Sora, "Are you sure he won't wake?" They hear Sora's voice answer, "Every equinox, Gekido must slumber, it isn't a question of will he wake, its can he wake."

"But why didn't we do it during the autumn equinox?" Kizuna asks. "Because, not only is this the winter equinox, but winter is connected to the element of water which is in opposite of Gekido's element of fire. Not only can't he wake but all of his enchantments are weaker this day then anytime of the year! Today not only can I get my eyes back, but he's ties to our world are at their weakest as well." Sora explains.

"That... actually sounds very well thought out." He admits softly and his three comrades hum in agreement as the pair appear on stage, with Sora keeping a hand on Kizuna's left shoulder as she follows him on stage.

"Makes you wonder what other elements Denji had linked up with seasons." Patamon muses as it wasn't long before a fight broke out as Kizuna rounds the 'corner' while Sora waits for a few seconds before slipping behind the fighters to enter into Gekido's chambers.

Kizuna falls to the ground as the axe he had been using flies far from where he landed. In panic, Kizuna grabs what's avalible, which was a dagger and uses it to cut the towering Ogre's leg, hamstringing him as the Ogre falls to the floor. Kizuna stabs the Ogre in the chest, 'killing' him.

With the last Ogre guard dead and alarms sounding, Kizuna uses the 'walls' to get to his feet, making sure to grab a sword before going into a stance even though he's 'limping'.

While Kizuna was doing that, Sora finished unsealing a box that had the image of an eye carved on it, a minor bit of smoke and Sora's 'sight' was returned to her as goblins begin to appear on stage being lead by a kitsune.

With a war cry, they charge Kizuna one at a time and they watch as the weaken samurai tries to defend the hallway while Sora begins to go through the items within Gekido's room until she happens upon an old wrapped object. As the priestess unwraps the item, Kizuna begins to falter under the assault of fresh goblins.

The priestess reveals a pair of swords with white ivory hilts and as Kizuna falls to the unslaught of goblins, Sora calls out, "Kizuna! Catch!" The two sword sail through the air and land not far from where Kizuna is.

A flash bomb is set off as Kizuna touches the swords and the goblins and their leader cry out in terror as they back away. "Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" Kizuna cries at the top of his lungs once the samurai is standing and within seconds, charges at the goblins and the Kitsune, driving them off stage.

While that's happening, Sora seemed to find what she was looking for, a jeweled black dagger. "Give me the strength needed to do my task." Sora prays softly.

As Sora gets up, she moves to the resting body of Gekido holding the dagger in her left hand. Once her right hand is on Gekido's head, she gives a war cry of her own as she lowers the blade, likely right at the spot where the spine and head are connected.

With that done, she then plunges the dagger into her chest and falls to the floor.

A few seconds later, Kizuna appears on stage carrying the two swords, he drops them as he sees Sora laying on the ground. A cry of anguish escapes from his throat as the samurai rushes to Sora's side. As he weeps, all other lights dim while a bright spotlight shines on Kizuna.

Thunder rumbles out over the speakers and a thunderous voice says, 'Wake, young maiden, your time has not yet come.'

Thunder rumbles once more and all of the other lights brightens as that one spotlight dies. "Kizuna..." Sora says and Kizuna declares, "Priestess!"

With that, the curtain close as all of the lights within the auditorium brighten as the narrator says, 'And so Sora is given new life, the hate that Gekido had worked so hard to bloom within her chest dies with her old life, leaving her feeling only pity for the ancient being who has caused so much suffering in the world of men.'

'Kizuna kept the twin swords that Sora had discovered while Sora threw the black dagger into the closest pit of fire. They stole away from the fortress while Gekido's vassals tried to get organized, thus ends our play.' The narrator declares.

Within seconds, a dim of clapping drowns out the music that started to play as Kizuna moves from behind the curtain, a few seconds later, the music changes once more before Sora comes from behind the curtain and etc for Yami, aka Gekido.

- o - 0 - o -

Yami

"They sold how many copies?!" He exclaims, totally stunned by the number that TK had told him. "You heard correctly the first time, 'Gekido'." TK says teasingly.

He growls as he gives the blond a glare, it's been three days since the last night of the play and he's been avoiding the school like the plague. After all, Denji hadn't been _happy_ to learn that he would be leaving soon and had chased him a good five blocks as the Drama club head shouted out offers to get him to remain for another semester.

It had taken a lot of creativity to finally shake Denji from his tail and he had then wrote a letter of apology which pretty much says that if Denji finishes the second script before he left, he'd take it with him to read. If he liked it, he promised to come back by the end of the school year to preform it. He even said to contact him through TK since the blond has been and likely always will be his main connection to this dimension.

After all, TK still has that Hazard symbol on his chest and he didn't know how to get rid of it. It did make him wonder just hopes it doesn't cause TK harm...

"I still don't appreciate you telling Denji to use me as a contact." The blond reminds him as if the Digidestine of Hope was currently reading his mind. He flicks his tail in a dismissive way from their hiding place by the bridge in Highton View Terrace, Patamon had been positioned in a higher spot so that one of them had a better view of the area.

After all, some of the kids with copied spores were beginning to bloom and that's what lead them to this bridge since it is the closest portal leading out of the real world. It didn't help that odd vans have been parked not far from their hiding spot. He could smell something odd coming from those vehicles, but he hadn't been able to get anyone to allow him to investigate them to see what secrets they hold. He was rather put out since they keep growing in number...

Although he can't really blame them for not trusting him when it comes to large vehicles, after all, he had ruined a van's driver seat and drove around the fog covered ward help conceal Myotismon's activities from outside of that ward.

_And then least not forget about the more recent one when we were trying to rescue Ken... I'll admit, I had never drove a motorcycle before that night but at least I managed to keep up with the semi-truck. I also don't see the problem with Davis' hair, either, after all, he likes his hair spiked and it was._ He thinks to himself as he looks away from TK.

He takes a sniff and frowns, that scent... it smelt familiar.... Patamon caws like a crow, the sign that the orange rookie has spotted one of the fake spore carrying kids.

TK's D-Terminal beeps and it didn't surprise him as TK reads out loud, "Three kids spotted. Sora." TK types away at the keys of the D-Terminal while he presses his lips together. As TK finishes, the blond gets up and takes two steps out of the cover.

"Coming?" TK asks and he answers, "It would look less suspicious if I moved out of here on my own after a few minutes." TK looks thoughtful and then nods. "Ok."

He watches the blond head towards Sora's hiding place, Patamon likely already waiting for them. His yellow eyes flicker to the hiding spot and then to the closest van. With a sigh, he counts to hundred before moving out of the cover, heading as casually as he could towards the closest van.

After all, his gut tells him that there's something about those vans that were important...

A casual look around reveals that nobody's paying him much mind and he then opens the side door and hurriedly climbs in. He raises an eyebrow as he realizes just how much space there was. _Oh... wasn't there something about enclosed spaces... I really wish I remember what Henry and Kenta had been saying about it, but then, I had been too busy watching Calumon bug the others into playing 'stripe' poker with him..._

And so, he moves to explore the large amount of space that seems to totally disagree with the size of the van that it's concealed in. He can't keep his eyes from lighting up as he finds a large number of scattered pages next to a worn note book. After a quick glance around, he picks up the lot and heads off to the marked area for restrooms so that he can read them without anyone spotting him.

His D-Arc bounces against his chest as quickly walks straight through the door and after a bare look, heads into one of the stalls. He closes it and locks it, that done, he grins slightly at the sight of the toilet. _Well, they do have to have something for their Digital member to use._ Were his thoughts as he closes the lid and moves to sit on the tank so that his feet can't be seen from under part of the stall.

V - V

Kari

It didn't take them long to get there, after all, Yolei and Cody had chipped in for the taxi ride, the very reason why they had been carrying the money at all. True, taking a bus or the subway might have been cheaper but it would have taken longer to get to the bridge.

As she pauses to watch the taxi to speed away, she sighs and give herself a minor shake before turning to catch up with Yolei and Cody, their partners were in their knap sacks. She gives the vehicles the briefest of looks before focusing on the group of kids on the bridge.

"I really wish this wasn't happening." She admits softly to herself. "Wishing isn't going to fix this mess though, Kari." She hears Gatomon pipe in and she can't help but sigh as she hums in agreement with her partner's statement.

"Doesn't mean I have to like any of this." She admits with a sigh as they finally made it to the hiding spot where the others were hiding out at. For a second, she wondered where Yami was but then decided that the crimson marked Digimon was likely off doing some kind of mission.

"Any sightings of Oikawa or Arukenimon and Mummymon?" Yolei asks those gathered about the tree. "Not yet but they'll more or less make their appearance as more of those kids begin to show up." Her brother says and most of the Digidestine hanging about the tree nod their heads in agreement.

Then Patamon pipes in, "Hey! Where's Yami?" The little orange Digimon begins to look around for the crimson marked rookie.

TK sighs while they all began to glance around as they try to find the black rookie. "You know, I bet he's in one of those vans." Gatomon muses and TK groans but Tai says, "Well, it seems that we don't have time, look!"

Tai points and they all look at the area of the bridge to find Arukenimon and Mummymon herding the kids off the bridge while pairs of people move towards the vans that line the parking spots on either side of the street. The traffic seems to be gone while the figure of Oikawa stands in the middle of the street with a computer. One by one, the vans moved to line up behind Oikawa while humanoid Digimon began to appear on the outskirts of the group of kids.

"I guess Yami was right about those vans." Upamon muses from Cody's arms. "I guess so." Sora agrees as they head towards the large group standing slightly behind Oikawa.

It wasn't long before the in-training Digimon Digivolve into their rookie forms while they move to confront the group on the street. "Hold it right there! Let those kids go, you banshee!" Davis calls out and Oikawa smirks and presses the enter button on the laptop.

A large golden coloured light portal opens up before Oikawa and within seconds, the group of kids with humanoid Digimon follow Oikawa into entering into said portal. The vans then follow seconds after the group vanishes. They also manage to get through the opening of the portal just as the third van drives through the portal.

- o - 0 - o -

TK

_Ok... I knew it was a strange place but this... this is just weird._ He thinks to himself as he stares at the winding road that's laid out in wacky way. There were reef like structures hanging about in the air, some purple in colour while others were in yellow and black.

He trues to look upwards at the 'sky' and finds a portion of it looking like it came from a spider web made out of a blue substance. For a second, he thought he saw something flicker but shrugs as he turns to find the trucks beginning to alter in structure.

Suddenly one of the trucks breaks apart as something within the truck slices through the interior of the van. A war cry erupts as a voice cries out, "Atomic Blaster!" A light show later and a black Digimon with dull grey metal armour covering their shoulders and arms.

"I think we might have found Yami." Gatomon muses as the cybernetic black Digimon roar as humanoid bug Digimon erupt from the same van that Yami's destroying. "I wonder what he's called now... I mean, he's not BlackGrowlmon or ChaosGallantmon." Tai wonders and he shrugs as a few glance in his direction.

"Let's see... Ah got it! That's BlackWarGrowlmon, he's an ultimate level Digimon of the virus attribute. He's a cyborg type who's attacks are Atomic Blaster and Radiation Blade." Izzy says from his position on the ground with his laptop out.

"Gee, I wonder if he's big enough." Yolei wonder dryly and he smiles slightly as Yami begins to target the other van once he got rid of the human turned insect Digimon. Those in the front seats flee out of their vehicles, trying to escape before they explode.

"Shouldn't we try and stop him?" Cody asks and he blinks before forcing himself to look away as he suddenly remembers who they were chasing. "Uh oh..." He says as he watches as some of those kids begin to transform.

"What's... ah. I see." Sora says, likely sighting what's caught his attention. As Oikawa moves to take the energy from the sprouting spores, the kid would then begin to glow just enough to block their view of the kid's skin as the child's body alters into a new form.

"I think we should stop what's going on over there." He says and the others agree, it wasn't long before all of the Digimon with them Digivolve to their usual armour forms and for Wormmon, champion form. Flamedramon charges forward with fire surrounding him as Halsemon, Nefertimon, and Stingmon take to the air while Digmon races on the ground.

Pegasusmon pauses before taking to the air, giving him a look and he sighs. He knew what he had to do so he takes his D-3 and remembers what that scene had been like. Light flashes from his hands as he focuses on having Angemon and MagnaAngemon join the fight.

Although, he privately wishes he could some how, some way, help Yami achieve mega without Yami using his portion of the Digital Hazard. After all, it had been anger that had been the focal point of how Yami warped Digivolved into ChaosGallantmon. It would help if there were mega Digimon on their side since that is what level Myotismon will be achieving once he absorbs that energy from those fake spores.

V - V

Yami

He felt the van start up as he manages to get halfway through the puzzling notes and in the end, he sighs and just shuffles through them, skimming each until he reads about how they managed to locate the supposed 'core' of the Digital world in another dimension. They had plans of heading to said world and then trying to trap this 'Yggdrasil' so that they can finally and truly use Digimon as a weapon for military purposes as well as ending Digimon free will.

That pretty much made him see red and it wasn't long before he used Pyro Grenade within the restroom. As human turned Digimon enter into the ruined man's restroom, he growls before launching himself at them. Caught by surprised and overwhelmed with his onslaught for a split second caused most of the Digimon without an exoskeleton to be either knocked out or deleted.

Fresh strength began to flow from his chest area while the string holding his D-Arc is sliced off as one of the recovered insect Digimon try and behead him. He can't remember if the D-Arc hit the ground or not since he found himself too busy to really care what happens to his Digivice just as long as it doesn't break, he's happy since he could always recover it later, after destroying as many of the van as he can as so to put a very large and very sticky monkey wrench in the works.

*Whooutd*

Startled by that rush of air, he blinks as he brings a hand to take out the dart. He turns to look at the Digimon with the gun and a surge of anger begins to battle it out with whatever knockout drug the dart contained.

With a howl, he pulls more at the energy flowing within his body and it wasn't long before he's cocooned within a sphere of light. His hide peels off and the frame of his body expands. As seconds tick by, red beams of light come out from certain sections of his body as he goes from champion to ultimate.

The light breaks away to reveal him as his ultimate level body, BlackWarGrowlmon. After slashing the walls of the van with his blade, he cries, "Atomic Blaster!"

The space pocket seems to explode around him as his attack rips through the last bit of defense the van had, allowing him to see the outside. It wasn't long before the assault by the insect Digimon ends once he deletes them. He takes aim at one of the other vehicles while he's dimly aware of more Digimon coming to confront him.

He roars as that van erupts into flame and takes aim at another van, ignoring the little voice in his mind that's trying to tell him to be care of where he's blasting or else he might hit one of the Digidestine or that group of kids.

Dimly the presence of the two angel type Digimon flying through the air with they flying horse Digimon causes him to blink and focus on those three for a few seconds before he sobers up to begin looking for TK. "I just know I'm going to have a major headache when this is all over." He muses out loud to himself before he feels something hit him in the back.

"Radiation Blade!" He snarls as he turns to confront another swarm of human turned Digimon. He manages to fling a few of the Digimon at the fleeing line of van, causing a minor traffic jam, though one van's already farther along on the road and he pauses as he watches it vanish into another portal, leaving this wishing dimension.

_I wish I hadn't allowed my anger to cloud my judgment. I'm sure I could have found a better way to stop them all before that one got away from me._ He thinks as he slashes at the enemy Digimon charging at him. _This would be so much easier if I were either ChaosGallantmon or Gallantmon since I would be slender and less bulky._

Suddenly a familiar voice says calmly, "Bio Merge Digivolution." It wasn't long before he felt a very familiar feeling. He finds himself surrounded by silver background with the image of TK floating before him. "Bio Merge Activate!" TK declares, he watches as TK's D-3 morphs into a D-Arc that seems to be very similar to his golden one with the exception that TK's D-Arc had silver trim on a green background.

He feels TK within his being as his skin frame bursts to reveal ChaosGallantmon's silver and blue armour as he calls out, "BlackWarGrowlmon Digivolve too..." And then in a combine voice, **"ChaosGallantmon!"**

The background vanishes and they stand once more in the wishing dimension. _"Wow, everything looks so small!"_ TK says as they glance about. _"What do you expect, TK? We're a mega level Digimon. I'm sure you remember how tall I became last time I became mega."_ He muses while everyone seems to be staring at them.

"TK? Where did TK go?" Kari asks and they turn to look at the group of Digidestine once more. **"Hey you guys, what's up?"** They say with causes most of others to gasp as they likely hear the bit of TK in their voice.

"TK!" Tai exclaims and TK voice says without a hint of him, "Well, yea, I guess so. I also somehow morphed my D-3 into a D-Arc during our Bio Merge too. You wouldn't believe how amazing this feels! It's like I can take on the world!" He chuckles within their being as he points out, _"Well, as nice as this is, we might want finish destroying the vans before we're forced to focus on what's happening with Oikawa since I'm sure that MaloMyotismon will be making an appearance soon."_

_"That reminds me, what got you tick enough to Digivolve into BlackWarGrowlmon?"_ The naked blond within the silver coloured sphere with rings of a silvery white hovering about the sphere. With a sigh, he focused on that bit of information and pictured it begin transferred to the blond. It wasn't long before TK begins to swear in a creative fashion.

With a nod from TK, they continued his mission of annihilating the remainder of the van and those defending them while leaving the Digidestine and their partners to confront the large floating mouth that signals the beginnings of MaloMyotismon.

V - V

Guilmon

He blinks as a light appears and as the ball of light fades it reveals his Tamer's D-Arc. He smiles sadly at the Digivice for a few seconds before taking it out of the air. "Takatomon..." He says softly as he holds it close to his chest.

Then suddenly the golden D-Arc comes to life and he holds it out. A light comes from it and then it reveals not just sight but sound. A dual voice cries out, **"Demon's Disaster!"**

The attack is aimed at a van and he blinks in confusion. _Why are they destroying that van?_ He wonders but he can't take his eyes off of the hovering screen that's giving him a view of where his partner is.

So he finds a spot to sit down and watches the events unfold wherever Takato is at this moment in time.

- o - 0 - o -

TK

They finished with the van as well as the adult human turned Digimon. Those kids that had been transformed weren't happy about their transformation and had moved away from the battle field to mourn their passing humanity. _"You think we didn't have a way to transform them back."_ He hears Yami muses and he sighs.

_"But they don't know that."_ He points out and he feels Yami agree as they turn their gaze from the group of children to the Digidestine who weren't doing anything, although Davis seems to be trying to snap them out of it. _"Oh yea, he did that mind trick. Oh look, Davis figured out that trick of multiplying his partner."_ Yami says as they watch as ExVeemon and Raidramon make their appearance while Izzy, Sora, and Tai snap out of it by having Pegasusmon, Angemon, and MagnaAngemon guide them through it.

**"Demon's Disaster!"** They declare as they decide to target MaloMyotismon as the mega turns his attention to the group of children huddled together. The attack hits the evil mega in the left shoulder, causing one of the mouths to vanish.

The mega cries out in pain. "Why can't I read you?!" MaloMyotismon growls as he clutches his shoulder. **"You know, that's easy to answer, there's two minds in this body, not just one, but two."** They say as they move into a different stance as they hold the shield to face the other mega.

**"Now then, why don't you just do give into your cowardly nature and start running away? After all, this is your second time being a mega, you weak nerve fool. You obviously just don't have what it takes to stay a mega since you have such a weak constitution. You were better off as a Ultimate since you lived far longer then you ever do as a mega!"** They state in a matter of fact voice.

"I'll make you eat those words!" MaloMyotismon snaps as the mouth on the right side opens. **"I highly doubt you know the ins and outs of your new body while Yami's highly familiar with our body. You don't stand a chance battymon. There's a reason why we're have Destiny as part of our name, it's because we're favoured by those how run the Digital world. You and others like you will never truly win because there will always be others to pick up where we left off.** The state calmly and confidently, MaloMyotismon's face screws up into a foul look.

"Crimson Mist!" MaloMyotismon shouts and they leap into the air to avoid the jet of mist. They cry out as they descend, the lance slices the mega's chest while MaloMyotismon tries to dodge the blunt of their attack, which had been aimed at the other's face.

MaloMyotismon lashes out with his claws but they block that with their shield. They counter attack by using their weight as they jab their lance forward, right into MaloMyotismon's right knee cap before they leap back as MaloMyotismon screams out in pain.

"You know, we wouldn't mind a piece of the action too, you know." Pegasusmon says dryly. **"Our apologies. You guys can take it from here then."** They tell the rest of the Digimon, though there weren't any DNA Digimon among the crowd, but then, that had happened when they were facing BlackWarGreymon.

Though instead of splitting apart, they remain merged together so they can defend any attacks launched at the human partners. _"So... you think he'll open that portal?"_ He asks Yami from his position from within ChaosGallantmon.

_"I doubt he has the will to throw off our comments, he not only doubts his success in his survival but the injury to his knee makes him feel weak. This dimension will only allow those with confidence in their abilities to succeed. Wishing isn't just enough, you have to have the mind set and the drive to act on such desires."_ Yami says and then after a minor pause, _"That's how I think it works at any rate. Henry and the Monster makers had been highly interested in how the Digi-Gnome do what they do. After all, they don't grant the wishes of everyone."_

_"Huh, you know, that does make some kind of sense. I wanted to help you go mega and I guess you wanted to go mega, right huh?"_ He muses and Yami hums in agreement as Angewomon uses Heaven's Charge to hold MaloMyotismon while Nefertimon and Pegasusmon uses Golden Noose to help hold MaloMyotismon while the others prepare their attacks.

_"Yea, I had been, I wanted to become either Gallantmon or ChaosGallantmon. I also regretted allowing my anger to get the better of me. If I hadn't allowed it to cloud my judgment, I could have found a way to destroy all of the vans before that one got away."_ Yami states in a steel type tone that hinted at anger that's likely directed at himself then at those responsible for the vans.

_"You do have a bit of an anger problem, but I think I blame the Digital Hazard for rewarding your expression of it."_ He admits as the other Digimon's attacks cause MaloMyotismon to scream out in pain while Davis, Cody, Yolei, Ken, and Kari call out encouragements. As the smoke clears, it reveals a very injured MaloMyotismon who seems to have developed an expression of loathing.

_"Huh, I never thought of it that way. I guess it makes sense, I always do feel a rush of energy flow through me whenever it happens. I never really questioned where it came from either."_ Yami muses thoughtfully. he feels a slight smile tug its way onto his face.

_"I wonder if you'll be able to Bio Merge with Patamon once I'm gone."_ Yami suddenly wonders and he feels his jaw drop ever so slightly as he blinks. He closes his mouth with a slight snap and tries to think of reason why that couldn't work.

_"I wonder if we'd Bio Merge to Seraphimon."_ He wonders after a few minutes in which MaloMyotismon tries to delete the children who not only had those fake spores but were transformed into Digimon once the possessed Oikawa absorbed that energy. MagnaAngemon defects the attack that's targeting that group.

_"I think there's another angel that you might be able to transform into, I think he's called Dominimon, though there's nothing official about his existence, just a bunch of rumors really."_ Yami says and he hums thoughtfully as MagnaAngemon creates Gate of Destiny and the others begin to herd the mega into its clutches.

And so ends Myotismon's threat for once and for all. _"Glad it's over."_ He says and Yami hums, within seconds, they un-merge from their Bio Merge from of ChaosGallantmon.

V - V

Guilmon

He couldn't believe his eyes, true he had seen something that seemed like a scene out of that cartoon but to see TK up close and personal, he felt a bit faint as well as dizzy since not only was Takato with a group of supposedly fictional group of characters but his Tamer had been Bio Merged with said blond.

"Great work you guys!" TK calls out and the image shifts to the group of Digimon. As they transform back into their rookie forms, the extra Digimon fade. "TK!" The orange Digimon called Patamon shouts while that's echoed by the other Digidestine, although he's not sure why Tai, Izzy, and Sora were numbered among that group since weren't suppose to be in that wishing dimension, well, they weren't in the cartoon but it seems that they were now.

"Yami!" Patamon says and moves from floating before TK to perching on Takato's head. _That answer that._ He thinks lightly as he continues to observe the scene going on before him.

"Ok, so, what now? I mean, how do we get out of here?" Davis asks after they congratulation each other. "I think if you wish hard enough to go to either the Digital world or to the real world, it'll open a gate to either opinion." Takato answers, he can't help but note the different voice but then, he had a different voice then when he's a Digimon too.

"I think we should get Gennai to examine them. So I vote the Digital world." Sora says and 'Yami' turns to look at the group of Digimon, he's not sure where they came from but he's sure that when Takato gets here, he can explain.

The others agree and Takato sighs. "I think its time for me to head home." Takato says softly and he smiles slightly. After all, how often has he wished for Takato to be by his side since he remember who and what, he really is?

"You know, I wish we could send a copy of that tape with you." Tai muses and 'Yami' sighs while TK adds lightly, "And a copy of that script that Denji labored over too." 'Yami' groans and his interest was piped.

"Where is your D-Arc?" Izzy asks and it wasn't long before the screen moves rapidly as 'Yami' begins to look for it. "I think it came off while I was in that restroom..." 'Yami' groans and he can't help but smile, it seems that although his partner is going by another name and in a different form, he's still the same old 'Goggle-Head' as Rika would say.

"I wish you were here now, Takato. I really missed you..." He says as he feels that ache within him.

Suddenly the screen fades and he blinks as something begins to happen about a foot away from him...

- o - 0 - o -


	62. Looping Naruto: Time as a Samurai

**I Don't Own Naruto!**

- o 0 o -

**Naruto**  
**Age: 4**

_Well s**t._ He couldn't help but think as he stares into a mirror of some shop he managed to sneak into on waking up in an alley. He runs his digits through his dirty ratty blond hair, he couldn't help but notice minor red highlights, likely from his hair soaking up a bit of his blood from receiving head injuries.

_Pretty depressing to know I was getting targeted at this age..._ He adds in a distracted kind of way as he tries really hard to focus enough to try and mold his chakra since he wants to change his appearance before anyone noticed him in this clothing shop. A very difficult task considering his body is starving, sore, and feels like a set of cloths feeling way too tight but, finally, just as somebody comes out from the backroom, he manages to add more red to his hair and to make his whisker marks vanish; he couldn't do anything for his cloths or his eyes.

"Oh you poor dear! You're filthy! Come with me and we'll get you cleaned up." The elderly lady says in a grandmotherly tone.

He resists the urge to roll his eyes as he takes hold of the offered hand, allowing the elderly woman to guide him towards the washrooms. He bites his tongue to keep from laughing at the woman's antics, knowing perfectly well that if he hadn't managed to alter certain aspects of his appearance, he'd have been kicked out of the shop with the 'kind' woman shouting threats about what would happen if he dared return.

Once the dirt and grim had been scrubbed from his hair and his face, the lady has him sit by a corner with some toys. He gives into his childish urges to play with the toys but keeps an eye out so that he could make his escape since it wouldn't do for either his altered appearance to faint, causing him being thrown out in a very quick, hurtful fashion or for his fictional mother not appearing before the store closes.

His chance comes when a small family enters looking to purchase a new wardrobe for their eldest for the beginning of the new semester at the Ninja Academy. He also resists the urge to take the stuffed purple rabbit or any of the other toys. He sighs in relief, more then a little surprised how hard it had been to fight the temptation to take a toy.

As he wonders through the streets, he makes sure to re-apply his disguise so nobody recognizes him. A few click in a disproving manner at the sight of his bloody, ratty cloths but nobody stopped him offer him new ones either. He was just another orphan who wandered away from their minder, a child who's the responsibility of said minder too. Leaving people to leave him be, occupied with their own lives then the life of one of Leaf's many orphans. Which was fine by him since he may look like a toddler, he's anything but.

He did tire too easily and almost fell asleep a few times when he stop to rest. He also had to release his disguise because of how trying it was to keep it running. Neither his mind or body were in any real shape to handle using chakra, his body starved and his mind trying to keep him from acting his body's age.

By the time evening has arrived, he finally decides that it's time to do something about his hunger. Making sure his disguise is still working, he walks over to a table that had yet to be cleaned now that the supper rush is over and serve as slowed. He manages to climb up onto a chair and begins to grab what's left to first eat it and then to put it into the cloth napkin to take away with him.

He couldn't help but glance around as he does so, pretty much expecting somebody to show up to shoo him away but before a serve even comes to the door, he's done and is jogging away from the restaurant to eat what he grabbed in an alley a block away. He's more then a bit relieved that what he had stolen hadn't been too much since it means that he won't get sick; something he only vaguely remembers experiencing when he was young.

He studies the cloth napkin and then folds it up before pocketing it since he could find future uses for it. He has had experience in doing his own laundry(not like he had a choice) and he did recall a simple chakra control exercise he heard about during a few loops where he managed to attend other Chuunin Exams in other villages. He never got around to confirming if it was an actual exercise but it sounded like something he could practice at a moment's notice.

_I don't think it's safe to give tree or water walking a try at this time. Might want to remember to pick up a few leaves for the leaf floating exercise though._ He muses before trying to list what other chakra control exercises he could do without being in a practice field.

He yawns a bit as he wanders about one of the neighborhoods, he is thirsty and it seems easier to sneak a drink from one of their garden hoses then to risk going out of the main part of the village to visit a pond or stream out in the training fields. As he walks around, he couldn't help but notice how new most of the houses seem, which makes him wonder about the year.

In the end, he finally found a part of the village that still hasn't been worked on and after investigating one of the houses, he found some ruined beds that still have sheets. He manages to drag the ruined bed out from some fallen beams and then searched around for a pillow. He sighs as he manages to get not one but two out from under the beam, using some chakra to help increase his strength.

As he curls up on the bed while cocooned in the blankets, he couldn't help but wonder about what happened to cause this neighborhood to look like it served as a ninja battle field as exhaustion won out and caused him to fall asleep while holding one of the pillows as if it were a stuff animal.

**}-=T=-{**

Sunlight broke through his deamless sleep and it took a few minutes before he finally just groan and gave into the fact he couldn't remain asleep with sunlight in his eyes. It took him a few moments to realize that he wasn't in his apartment or in a sleeping bag, he doesn't panic as he instead tries to recall what happened.

He lets out a sigh as he remember and smiles in a sheepish fashion. It didn't take long before he got a much better look at the room he spent the night in as well as the condition of his bed, sheets, and pillows. Shaking his head, he begins to look around for some paper and ink so he can store the lot in a make shift storage scroll. He wasn't going to touch the rest of the house simply because it's more then likely the house has already been looted and what's left likely isn't worth the trouble for him to try and fix.

He's more then a little relieved that he found an intact ink bottle since it meant he wouldn't have to use his own blood in substitution of the ink. He didn't relish the thought of searching around for a knife so he can cause himself to bleed. He's not sure how powerful his healing ability is at this point in time or misjudging how deeply he cut, causing himself to die of blood loss.

After all, the youngest body he's ever woken up to experience a loop in had been a week before his tenth birthday. True, he found that during those loops of that setting, he still can't seem to become a Genin earlier then age twelve but he could improve his physical growth by simply eating healthier food and modeling his physical training schedule after Gai and Lee's own. It had moved him to tears when he actually reached around six feet in height and had a more finished look to him then anything in his previous loops.

Its one of the reasons why he picked up medical training in hopes of achieving that kind of body without him starting out as a ten year old. He is still polishing those skills in fixing up stunned growth and malnutrition in teens and adults. His studies had led him to be able to regrow Lee's chakra coils too, among other medical 'miracles'.

He leaves the bottle of ink under a floor board, hiding it just so he knows where one is when he needs it. One never knew when one might need in the coming times until you lack it. While he didn't know how long the little cashe will remain hidden, he does plan to keep an ear open so he can visit this neighbor before any rebuilding begins just to recover that ink bottle.

_Might even take a gander around the rest of the houses too._ He muses silently to himself as he walks out of the ruined two story house. His stomach has yet to wake or else it would be growling impatiently to be filled.

With a single hand sign, he once more disguises himself as best as he can walk through the village without being harassed for being the Demon Brat. As he tours around the village, once more getting a feel of his birth place. He also manage to steal some grapes from a fruit stand that's manned by some teenage girl who's fighting off sleepiness, which is likely why he got away with it too.

He also caught his first sight of a group of Uchiha that weren't the familiar three Uchiha who he's come to know like the back of his hand. Which is why he just stood there for a few minutes watching said clan members until they left his range of vision. _That's pretty shocking... Although, I wonder how many Uchiha have the Sharingan?_

He finally rests in a park and after reapplying his disguise, he takes out the cloth napkin and began to cover it with his chakra. It takes about three hours before he managed to get the square bit of cloth to, for a few seconds anyway, fully stretch out while he's holding only one corner.

He manages to get the square bit of cloth hold it like a wooden panel or tile for at minute before he lost control of the chakra coating the napkin. He loses more then just interest by then as his stomach growls, reminding him that he has had more then those few grapes. With a sigh, he gets to his feet and heads in the direction of the closest shopping district to scavenge or steal a meal.

He steals a persimmon, grape tomatoes, and some scraps of tables, adding a few more napkins to his collection. As he eats his meal, he hears a quiet conversation talking about the latest events happening in Hidden Leaf. He is a bit puzzled by the mention of the war with Hidden Cloud until he recalls that the treaty with that village hadn't been signed until he was six, which help to impress upon him that he's much younger then six too.

_That explains that ruined neighborhood. Must have been some battle to engulf a neighbor like that. Summons must have been part of the battle._ He decides.

"I'm fairly glad that I'll be leaving the village soon. It's a bit unfair, keeping a hard working merchant like myself here as they investigate us. I'm going to be late for the rest of the stops now." One of the men says and that brought him up short as he realizes something.

"I'm not in the academy... Nor a ninja." He muses softly to himself. _Which means I don't have anything holding me here... and they can't label me a Missing Nin either._ He thinks to himself as he realizes that he finally has a golden opportunity to leave Hidden Leaf behind, to hit the road and wander around about these countries without needing a mission to take him there.

"I might not get another chance like this either in my other loops." He mutters. _And I've learnt pretty much all that Hidden Leaf is willing to teach me, unintentionally or not._ Which lead to another thought of, _I could learn a different profession too. Maybe become a business-man or trick my way into getting adopted by a samurai to learn their tricks. I mean, clear out a few casinos and then approach some down on his luck samurai into adopting me._ His mind raced with the possibilities since for the first time, he doesn't feel any pressure to remain a ninja as his profession.

After all, nobody had been willing to even teach him how to be a decent ninja, so why would anyone take him on to teach him another profession? And then there had been the times where he tried to learn another profession on his own, the council would then pass some law about passing a minor test to qualify to possess certain, key components for one of those profession.

It always set his teeth on edge at the fact that the Third never countermanded those laws, saying that the council is in charge of the civic side of the village and did have the authority to pass said laws. _Civic council my a*s, they're adding their two cent into Ninja matters so it's only fair for the Hokage to have a voice when it comes to civic matters. This is a military village after all, making the Hokage the ultimate authority in the village._

Then he sighs as he already knows why the Third's position didn't have the authority it needed. Which had made Tsunade's position even more rocky because not only does she arrive after spending decades away from the village but the council passing laws in her absence so they could keep their power. It also didn't help that Danzo had his own ANBU forces to support the council's decisions.

_If it weren't for an outside threat, Hidden Leaf would have had a civil war on its hands in under five years..._ He muses to himself, not the first time and likely not for the last time. _God, you might as well ask all the village ninja to hand in their headbands so you can give them police uniforms, turning this village into a civic one; totally getting rid of the position Hokage all together._ He muses sourly as he begins to head for the warehouse district to steal a couple of things before leaving the village.

**}-=T=-{**

**Yuuta**  
**Six Years Later**

_Da*n brat... If only he wasn't so darn good at picking this stuff up._ He thinks as he watches the ten year old meditate under the waterfall.

Since they were the only ones in the area, the brat's usually disguise isn't up, allowing bright blond hair to fall around the shoulders as water runs from the head down to the rest of the body. The brat's body is very muscular with little in the way of body fat. No scars marred the brat's body and it's likely that there never will be scars either considering how fast and effective the brat heals.

_The problem is, and will always be, that this charade will come crushing down when the right people get motivated to dig around. Then I'll be force to watch as they cut the brat down before being asked to commit suicide to banish the dishonor of taking in and teaching a whelp of 'common' stalk._ He thinks to himself, already feeling a dull ache in his chest at the thought.

He had come to regard the brat as his son or as his grandson and the thought of witnessing the brat dying causes his heart to ache. _I shouldn't have taken the brat's offer and money. It would have been better if I had just gone to the monastery to become a monk._ He thinks as he watches a couple of birds flutter over to the brat and land on him for a few seconds before taking off.

_He could have done well as a ninja._ He muses to himself as he takes a sip out of his water skin. "He's got the right kind of drive that will make him successful in any kind of work he pursued, creative, and sharp instincts when it comes to screening people." He muses softly.

_He's his father's son._ He muses as he studies the young demon container, the first container of the legendary Yoko non Kyuubi. _Well, their lose seems to be my family's gain, if our enemies continue to dismiss us as un-important._

"Still, they should have taken better care of him..." He mutters softly to himself before shaking himself out of those lines of thought as he takes up his two swords and began some practice of his own.

]+)-**M**-(+[

**Naruto**

He slowly stretches after he reaches the bank after being under that water fall for the pass day and half. He climbs slowly up the bank to where the camp is, pausing at the sight of Yuuta practicing his skills using his personal pair of swords. The family pair remain back at the estate's family shrine.

He smiles at the sight, more then a little eager to practice with his own pair, though they were just training blades. He couldn't help but reflect on how successful his gamble had been when he had approached a very drunken and bankrupt Yuuta within eight months of leaving Hidden Leaf.

_Just after I finally pulled off a Shapeshift into a seventeen year old and cleaned out eight casinos within a week of each other._ He muses as he moves to get dress and maybe grab a bite to eat before practicing with his training blades.

_Still surprised he didn't insist on bring an escort of servants to attend to our needs while we train._ He privately muses as soon as he puts on the matching breast plate for his training swords, allowing him to empower them in typical samurai fashion. He's had plenty of clones reverse engineer samurai armor and then re-create the armor until it could be passed off as something created by a genuine master.

_It wouldn't be long before I can come up with a prototype that can be transported around. Going to have to be accompanied with a special tent though._ He muses as his thoughts seem to circle around his ideas of improving what the samurai class has to negate chakra of offending opponents. It's why samurai are the go to guys for enforcing the country's lord's will.

Though only ten years of age, he's physical features are very unrecognizable from what his previous experience at being this age. Particularly when it comes to beginning a new loop in a ten year old body. For one, he's much taller then a ten year old has a right to be, he's got a solid slab of muscle, which pretty much means he's not scrawny looking in any way. _I could pass myself off as a thirteen year old if I have a mind too._

He jerks out of his thoughts as Yuuta begins a sparring session. Within seconds, thoughts of anything but the spar vanish from his mind.

**}-=T=-{**

"Seems there's been a shake up in Hidden Leaf." His instructor in the ways of the samurai informs him and he glances up from his meal. He couldn't help but stare dumbly at Yuuta as he tries to wrap his mind around the fact that something happened to the Third Hokage.

He glances over to Leaf Chuunin but the man doesn't seem to react, likely already knowing of the change. "Really... How does this affect us?" He asks after flickering his eyes to the scroll the ninja had delivered in a slightly curious fashion.

"Not really, although from the sounds of this Goro is pushing for a war with Hidden Cloud. Seems that there's new evidence of an old incident involving a ninja clan, the Hyuuga clan I believe." Yuuta muses, clearly bemused at the idea that the ninja village going to war without the offical backing of the Daimyo .

"I wasn't aware that the Hokage controlled a country..." He says in a dry tone, he notices the slight stiffening of the ninja but that's it. "I do believe that Hidden Leaf is a village located in the Land of Fire, which means that Hokage can't cause an international incident with another country without at least consulting with our Daimyo." He adds and he could tell that the Chuunin looked alert at what he just implied.

_I know that Hidden Leaf has more freedom then most villages but still... It's pretty arrogant of Danzou to believe he can just declare war because of something that's at least four years ago._ He privately thinks, he wasn't stupid, he knew who's really pulling the strings of this so called 'Goro' the Hokage.

"Our dear Daimyo seems to be willing to indulge this... Goro. For now at least, at least until this war interferes with our hiring of ninja for our various tasks." Yuuta says and he couldn't help but find that explains the war with Hidden Sound, and possibly with a certain organization.

"It wouldn't matter if this Goro had a fetish for cattle or makes a hobby of collecting pretty boys or, more common, gambling debts a mile long; just as long as we still have a supply of ninja to hire we don't care what goes on within the village." Yuuta explains, pretty much summarizing the common attitudes that circulate throughout noble circles.

_That... pretty much explains a whole lot._ He decides while the Chuunin justs presses their lips together, clearly not liking the implications of what Yuuta had said of the 'Hokage'. _I wonder what would happen if I manage to get a bill pass that forces everyone in the village to become nudists?_

"Shall we send a reply?" He asks, glancing meaningfully at the ninja still within seven feet of either of them. Clearly listening in on their conversation, not that the ninja had any other opinion...

_If it had been me, I would have interrupted within seconds of the conversation to put in my two cents._ He reflects, which kind of made him sigh mentally. He's never figured out how he always managed to get away with speaking his mind.

_But then, I've never had to deal with samurai, at all._ He admits. _And there's likely a very stronge connection between the two._ He adds privately with an ever so tiny upturn of his lips.

"Our presence is requested for an upcoming festival, but that's a month away." Yuuta states in a dismissive manner as he rolls up the scroll. The man gives a look that clearly says 'you are dismissed.'

Within seconds, the Chuunin vanishes in a whirl of leaves and he sighs softly. He glances off in the distance as it finally sinks in that there's a new Hokage ruling over Hidden Leaf and it wasn't his 'granny'. He knew things would turn out differently without him living in Hidden Leaf but, he's always been around to witness said changes.

"It's not as if this effects you, you know." Yuuta says and he blinks as he turns to regard Yuuta for a few seconds before finally nodding.

"True, it's just... Hard to wrap my head around the idea of this village having any kind of authority to go to war." He admits, which is very true considering his current studies in how to be a samurai in Fire Country.

Yuuta studies him for a few minutes before just accepting that, deciding not to push it. "We'll be moving camp." Yuuta informs him and he nods, he could only wonder if there will be some kind of attempt upon either of them.

True, nobody seems to take them seriously at the moment but this is a golden opportunity to try and kill them while they're away from the chakra fortress.

**}-=T=-{**

**Three Years Later**

He glances down into the arena as his mind slowly chews over the changes that have happened to Hidden Leaf. He's particularly stunned at the fact that there have been more then a few clans that have moved out of Hidden Leaf, like the Inuzuka clan and the Yamanaka clan.

_It says something when a clan that values loyalty decides to vacate their 'home' after living within it for at least four or so generations._ He thinks to himself, he had become quite fond of baiting Kiba. _I knew Leaf had rot... but, I never thought it could be bad enough to drive any of the ninja clans away..._

He touches his blades before glancing towards the Fire Daimyo's wife, suddenly wondering if his position as her honorary guard could hint that the Daimyo doesn't particularly like the changes occurring within his village of mercenaries. He has come to be known, in samurai circles at least, as a very gifted swordman and becoming well known for his management of Yuuta's fallen fortune, which is slowly growing despite the debts the family has accumulated.

He also became aware of how many ninja were hidden within the crowd. At first he just passed it off as the invasion but now... he wasn't sure what to think since this was an unknown situation for him, something that he did enjoy but also found a bit frustrating since he couldn't predict what's to come. _I know changing a few things can affect things on a scale from mid to large size things but I've never been able to totally changed things on this scale before. Just think, it all started because I just by picking up and moved away at age four..._

Though not wearing the chakra armor, he is wearing a modified training breast plate that he had developed. He had managed to create plans for it and then aged it so it appeared older then it actually was before handing it over to the Fire Daimyo. The man hadn't been impressed at first but within the last year, the Daimyo had approved the plans, which has allowed him to finally commission the breast plate.

_Definitely a sign that all is not well in the land of Fire._ He muses as he reflects on that particular event before recalling the other changes that have been showing up within the few years. Though he's been among the ruling class for almost a decade now, he still has a lot to learn about what goes on within the minds of the nobility. He had always thought they came up with the strangest and silliest things, but he had learnt that while true as such things do come from not really having to deal with the consequences of their action, he also found they often had way too much time on their hands and were frankly bored during most of their time when not dealing with business.

_Not a very good combination, that._ He admits as he glances up at the box where Goro, the so call Hokage of the village is sitting with the Kazekage. He noticed a very familiar one armed, elderly man sitting between the Kazekage and the puppet Hokage.

_Ah well, what's done is done and it's not as if everything will right itself when the next loop begins._ He reasons to himself as he focuses on the match between Neji and a grim looking Choji. He never wouldn't have believed that Choji would have Neji fleeing before him but down on the arena, that's what's happening.

Neji would try to strike but Choji's always spinning about, making it hard for Neji to close one of the chakra points. But Choji couldn't keep spinning about throughout the match, which does give Neji a chance to strike a few blows. He couldn't believe how slow Neji's attack is, so different then the Neji he remembers and faces off against in the normal stream of things.

"The Hyuuga boy looks ready to drop." The wife of the Fire Daimyo muses to her neighbor. "That he does, that he does." Was the answering reply.

He frowns at the sight of Neji panting, he raises an eyebrow as Neji rubs a spot on his chest. Neji then coughs and shivers, he's never seen Neji like this before. _I've never seen him sick, have I?_ He wonders as he resists the urge to grip his swords.

He glances through the crowd and finds somebody making a handseal. He blinks for a few seconds before he creates a shadow clone to investigate said person. He could only imagine what the clone will find. _A snake likely._ Before his clone could take out the hidden nin, Neji falls unconscious after being sent flying into a wall by Choji, ending the match.

"I wonder why it took so long?" One of the neighbors, wealthy merchant, wonders. "The out come was already pre-decided after all."

"Pre-decided?" He couldn't help but ask and the man explains, "Goro placed a lot of money on the Akimichi getting first place in this examine. Everyone gave the Akimichi long odds in succeeding against the Hyuuga, only makes sense seeing as this Neji had been rookie of the year back in the academy."

"I heard rumors that Hidden Leaf is insisting on all of their ninja getting seals place upon their bodies to help keep their secrets from getting stolen once the nin is dead." The merchant's wife says and he feels a lump develop within his midsection.

"This is the first I've heard of it." The Fire Daimyo's wife muses with a frown. "Don't the Hyuuga already place said seals upon their branch members?" His lord's wife wonders and he nods in agreement.

"Perhaps, I won't know personally. Although, considering some of the things I've heard, the Fifth Hokage doesn't seem to care about such things." The merchant's wife replies and he just couldn't help but shake his head at the danger that seems to have gripped his village by the throat.

_And so the ninja of Leaf become slaves..._ He thinks to himself. _It sounds like something Orochimaru would do to his 'ninja'. Oh wait, he already does!_ He adds bitterly, though he soon begins to try and control his emotions.

It seems just being back to this village seems to rub his nerves raw, making it hard for him to act the part of an aloof samurai bodyguard. He's more then a little glad when, during Gaara's match, the invasion happens. It offered him a chance to do something about his frustration at the changes his village has gone through thanks to Danzo and his puppet Hokage.

He didn't have to go far from the Fire Daimyo's wife's side, more then a few ninja, which include Leaf nin, tried to approach. It seems they weren't aware of the properties of the modified breast plate. They likely weren't aware of the fact that it can generate a chakra shield like the full set of armor, even if the field covered wasn't as large as the full set of chakra armor. Not that it mattered once they got within blade range as many lost their arms, knee caps, and then heads to his twin blades.

"Didn't expect much of a fight, eh?" He muses at one of the three Root members trying to get pass him after witnessing the death of their commander. As one, they try a jutsu but it never touched him while he takes out another member of the squad.

"Don't you like it? It's the latest in chakra armor. It's not as bulky as the real thing, so it doesn't cover the same area but it works just the same. So, piss off and go do something useful like counter this invasion!" He snaps as he takes on a defensive stance, not that he expects them to do anything other then to complete their objective.

He knows that most of the nobles close to him were likely just faking this, which means that there were witnesses to this attempt by Leaf ninja to abduct the Fire Daimyo's wife. It will likely cause the Fire Daimyo to come down on the village because of this attempt at treason on Danzo's behalf. It's likely one of the reasons why the Root members believed that he wasn't dangerous too.

In the end, the remaining members fell back to regroup or whatever. He glances about the stands, more then prepared to kill all those looking to get within reach of his blades. He ignores the slight fidgeting that some members of nobility do around him, he wouldn't be surprised that more then a few were sick from the blood being splattered about the air.

About two hours later, the fighting ends and he finds himself escorting the Fire Daimyo's wife and friends out of the village. He could only imagine what kind of reports are going to be founded upon the Fire Daimyo's desk before the week is out.

_I wonder what Yuuta's reaction is going to be..._ He wonders to himself. He couldn't help but have grown fond of the old samurai, especially since he'll likely never have any contact with the man once this loop is over and done with.

**}-=T=-{**

**Yuuta**  
**Days Later**

_What deity have I offended now?_ He wonders as he stands before the Fire Daimyo's desk. He just knew it had something to do with the brat's performance as the man's wife's bodyguard to Hidden Leaf.

"What is your take on the latest sake coming out of Moon Country?" The Daimyo asks him, catching him off guard for a second before he considers the question.

"I have yet had a taste of it as my shipment has been back ordered." He answers honestly. "But then, having a coup tends to cause all sorts of problems to such things." He adds, it had been fairly hard to learn about the coup but then, the brat did try to have an ear on foreign affairs that don't concern them.

"Really? I hadn't been aware that was common knowledge." The Fire Daimyo says as the man glances up at him after finishing signing some documents. "Not even the prince himself knows of it."

"My ward seems to enjoy ferreting out any and all news in regards to foreign affairs. If only he pays half as much mind with local affairs." He says and the Daimyo seems to think on this for a few moments.

"Well, I'm sure young Asa has learnt his lesson in that regard." And then after a few seconds, adds, "It seems that Hidden Leaf had been invaded by Hidden Sound, Cloud, and Sand during the last Chuunin exam and Asa fended off various attempts upon my wife during it."

"That includes from Leaf itself." The Fire Daimyo adds in a very blank tone but he felt the hairs of his neck raise up. "It seems as though my ninja need a gentle reminder of why one doesn't bite the hand that feeds them."

He's suddenly feels very glad that he's not a ninja.

**}-=T=-{**

**Naruto**  
**Year Later**

He rides through the gate without the two Chuunin guard stopping him, but then, he had only gone on his daily ride. He's been stationed within Hidden Leaf since the Daimyo's forces finally stormed through what little defenses Danzo had managed to erect within a month's time after the Chuunin Exam. The true battle hadn't been getting into the village but subduing and rooting out the pockets of Root ninja commanding various strongholds within the village itself.

They did try to take as many of the ninja alive as they could but they didn't have much luck since those seals upon all regular branches of ninja had a death function, killing the ninja instantly when it looked like they were going to get captured. True, the area within the chakra shield did protect the ninja from their seals but when they left that field...

Rare was the Chuunin and Jonin that survived to see Hidden Leaf, there were plenty of Genin though that survived and were promoted simply to fill the higher ranks of the village positions. He could still recall seeing Iruka among the dead, something he hadn't expected and rarely witnessed. It's one of the reasons why he plans to kill Danzo and every Root operative he can get his hands on in the next few loops. He plans to prolonging their suffering for hours, he couldn't risk doing days without them likely getting rescued.

_Danzo is never going to get this powerful in the future. I don't care if I have to kill the whole council, never again._ He vows silently to himself at the sight of twelve year olds marching around in over-sized vests. It wasn't just the ninja population of the village that have undergone a transformation but also the civs.

"Can't wait for those two clans to arrive to take over." Yuki, a nephew of the Fire Daimyo, mutters to his right while astride upon his white gelding warhorse. "This is so depressing..." Yuki adds.

"Depressing or not, we are here under orders. Orders from your uncle." Kozue, the third son of his family, reminds Yuki.

"We're only here for the experience this occupation provides us." Yuki counters and he listens to their bickering with half an ear, more then a little curious as to how he ended up friends with the pair before he remembers his usual selection of friends and just shrugs the matter off.

"This is probably the safest way to get this war experience without a war going on." He agrees with Yuki. "But don't forget that what we did here is a reminder to all ninja of who really holds sway over their lives and ultimately, their rights." He says, glancing over his shoulder at the pair.

"Can't believe they allow it to get so bad... These ninja always valued their rights and freedom so highly..." Yuki says as they arrive at the stable.

"Like it really matter in the end, what's done is done. Nothing short of time travel can change the past." Kozue states in a matter of fact statement.

"Are we so sure these ninja haven't figured out how to pull that off?" Yuki wonders and he couldn't help but chuckle at how close to the mark Yuki almost hit. Kozue sends him a flat look that reads 'why are you encouraging him?'

"Considering what they're seal masters are capable of, I wouldn't put it pass a few to figure out how to loop time." He says with a slight grin upon his face as he dismounts off of his own gelding, a young cherry bay.

"Not like their seals have helped them much if at all." Kozue points out and he just shrugs as Kozue walks pass while leading his liver chestnut gelding through the open doors that a stable boy is holding open. Yuki just sighs as the nephew of the Fire Daimy follows their by the book friend.

There were other young samurai stationed within Hidden Leaf but most of those have a tendency to treat this like a vacation or follow the lead of those that do at any rate, which often puts the three of them on the outskirts of that social circle.

It wouldn't surprise him that in a few years, Yuki heads off to a become a monk since Yuki isn't cut out to be a samurai and it's unthinkable that a direct blood relative to the Daimyo would try and pursue a profession of some kind of tradesmen, even though Yuki's own father had been a very gifted one.

Kozue, being the third son, means that he'll never inherit anything from his father, thus making Kozue somebody nobody felt like associating with for the simple fact that Kozue won't be able to really amount to anything in social circles, even if Kozue's elder brothers died, they were old enough to have their own children and thus one of those are more likely to inherit the position as head of the family. Most third sons usually become monks but as Yuki wasn't cut out to be a samurai, Kozue wasn't cut out to be a monk

He doesn't ponder why he wasn't included into the currently forming social circle that's coming together in Hidden Leaf. After all, he was adopted and stands to inherit a family that's still recovering their standing after suffering years of set backs. While it helps that he's clearly skilled as he's slowly helping his adopted father's clan businesses and holdings more prosperous. And he's a capable samurai, already a favorite of the Fire Daimyo's and he'll likely remain so, most still don't see much of a future for the clan he stands to inherit and many were fearful that he's a bit too loyal to the Fire Daimyo.

Considering how court politics work, a little disloyal was to be expected among the nobles, which samurai number among. It was a place of plots and intrigue, where rivals publicly get along with each other but try to ruin reputations of those rivals in hopes of benefiting from their falls by adding enemy holdings to their holdings. In someways, they weren't so different then what goes on within Hidden Leaf's council but the differences come about in how slowly those plots come to fruition and how many generations said plots have been going on.

It had taken years for such plotting to bring down Yuuta's family to where it is and it'll take years for him to restore it back to what it had been, even when he's using every bit of knowledge he's grained during previous loops to do so. _And even then, one word from the Fire Daimyo and it would all be for nothing._ He muses privately, not that it really matters since in less then a decade, this loop will end and everything he worked for will be erased anyway.

_I wonder if the next loop will start with me being twelve?_ He wonders as he takes off his horse's tackle before rubbing the gelding down. _I wonder if it'll be before the team assignment or after the mission to Wave?_

As he muses over such things, he just nods as Kozue and Yuki walk out of the stable after changing out of their riding cloths, leaving the stable boys to deal with their mounts instead of doing so themselves. He only attending to his mount because he could use the distraction and he's still got an independent streak a mile wide despite his new position in the world.

Memories from month old clones slowly begin to file into his mind as those clones dispel themselves. He'll create a fresh wave once he's done in the stable. He did frown ever so slightly as those clones that were tasked with trailing after the group of teens come in.

_Looks like I got something new to deal with._ He muses before thinking about how to break up that social circle as swiftly as possible since he rather not deal with assassination while in this village.


	63. The Belt: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

- o 0 o -

**I don't own Buffy.**

- o 0 o -

"This is so not going to work and you know it Buff." He says to the much changed Slayer who had recently come back from the death viva his amazing resurrection abilities that he learnt during a first aid course. The semi blond wolf monster just snarls and gives him a very pointed glare, causing her now mismatched eyes to glimmer in the sunlight as they head for the site he's been preparing to perform a magical ritual that will hopefully allow his good friend Buffy to finally take off the enchanted belt made out of some kind of canine, wolf apparently, since the Hellmouth struck again just before summer vacation.

_We all were told to leave the belt be, but she just had to try it on._ He thinks to himself as Buff finally turns away to begin trekking towards the ritual site that they choice simply because it was in a secluded spot not far from Sunnydale. He just knew this ritual wasn't going to work, after all, Will is the aspiring wicca of the group.

_And we've only been researching for about a week to boot._ He admits while Buffy growls softly and for some bizarre reason his mind alters those growls into word which then arrange themselves into sentences. He hadn't known Buffy had gotten a few of those curses but it made sense since Buffy has decided to stick close to the docks, which likely lead to her overhearing sailors cursing, giving the transformed Slayer a new vocabulary when it comes to swearing.

While an amazing ability to be sure, the ability to understand Buff in her current form had grown old fast. Particularly since Buffy had suddenly decided to become chatty, something that she hadn't been before she put on the enchanted leather belt. Though it likely had to make up for the fact that nobody but him could understand her new default setting in the language area.

_Not having anyone understand her might just be the reason why she's opened up her emotional flood gates. Well, at least until she discovered that I understood what those growls and snarls meant._ He admits as he once more follows after the huge deformed wolf that was his friend and crush.

Semi blond and brown locks of hair spray out like a mane, going pass Buff's newly altered shoulders, hiding her altered pointed ears pretty well. Buffy's hands contain four thick fingers tipped with thick black claws, talons even, with the thumb being farther back on the hand then a normal human one. The same holds true for Buff's feet, though the big toe has moved up the foot so it's not touching the ground. The limbs were oddly enough, the same length even though Buff's legs are now molded after the back legs of most double bent legs.

Buffy's new appendage just kind of hangs limply in the air behind her, only moving slightly side to side as Buffy walks either on two legs or on four, although he believes Buffy is more suited, graceful even, when walking and running with all 'paws' touching the ground then just the back two. Unlike Buffy's semi blond and brown mane, the fur upon her tail is totally a soft brown as was most of the fur about the back paws. It seems as though the front part of Buffy's body is more blond then the back part of her.

Buffy's newly shaped head did indeed seem to focus around having a muzzle, elongating and narrowing Buffy's face. A slightly black nose at the tip of it with a mouthful of sharp looking teeth. More threatening looking then most vamps' and demons' teeth. Buffy's right eye looks human, it's the left one that seems to be set in black with a dark amber for the eye color, it's pretty hard to pick which of the eyes were the most unnerving given Buffy's new look.

_I wonder how much of her new bulk is fur?_ He wonders while carrying the notes he made about the ritual they're about to do this day at noon. They hope doing the ritual during the middle of the day would help counteract the belt's nighttime magical nature.

They had other items that symbolizes the taming of one's feral nature too since the belt is about embracing one's inner wolf or what one considers their inner beast. They were to help with the outer protection of the ritual. He's fairly glad that the ritual they were about to preform didn't have strict rules of how to go about it, heck there was a bunch of notes and suggestions about how to personalize the ritual to try and focus on what part they want to target for purification.

They finally arrived at the ritual site and he begins to take off the plastic they set up yesterday to keep local wildlife from messing with the drying paint he used upon the ground. While he's doing that, Buffy fumbles around with the key to unlock the chest that contains the items generally used for purifying ones self since he had brought the 'taming' items today.

Slowly they begin to set the stuff up with him taking the colored candles to set them up in the correct place within the painted rune diagram with the belt around the outer part being set up to act as a shield to keep the wildness within Buffy from escaping so it doesn't cause any chaos in the world beyond the ritual ground marked out by the painted lines and various Nordic runes mimicking a modification the book suggested when dealing with ones inner realms.

"This is a really bad idea, Buff. Neither of us are trained in magic and we live upon the Mouth of Hell! Which is chaos central, might I remind you. We're not tempting fate, we're about to pretty much inviting it in for cake and coffee!" He says once more to try and talk Buffy out of what they're about to do.

_:I refuse to remain looking like a monster, Xander! I was suppose to spend the summer with my dad and I can't, now while I look like this.:_ Buffy softly growls and ends with a snap of her jaws. _:Who knows when Giles and Willow find something to solve this problem? It could be months! I'm not prepared to wait that long and I doubt this town can wait for the Slayer to return to normal either.:_

He presses his lips but in the end, just shakes his head as he glances through his notes, looking for the incantation that will trigger the mystical diagram. Buffy carefully steps between the painted symbols to take her place in the ritual drawing upon the ground. He moves to stand at the point of earth, which is north and begins to walk in a counter clockwise fashion as he begins to speak the trigger in English since he's hasn't seen the need to brush up on his Latin.

He finishes saying it by the time he found himself in the south position of the diagram but only begins to repeat it while still walking outside of the painted circle. He did this until he's walked around it for four times. He then glances into the circle to find that yes, the candles have lit up but other then that, nothing.

Then the flames of the candles suddenly grew to a full foot, causing even Buffy to jerk and snarl but that's all that Buffy did. He watches as the painted runes located within the inner ring begin to not just glow white but take on different colors, the colors representing the four elements. Red for fire, brown for earth, green for water, and blue for air.

He began to go through the notes to try and find a reason for the common white paint to take on other colors. Though privately, he already knew that the Hellmouth has just struck again and the only thing he could do was prepare for the worst while the outer protective ring take on a black and steel gray color.

A flash causes him to be pushed through the air for about a foot or two and as he recovers his vision, he finds that the black and gray outer ring has vanished while the items contained within said ring glowed a soft color silvery blue. He looks towards the center to find Buffy floating at least four feet in the air with glowing runes of the four elements being featured upon Buffy's furry body. He couldn't see any real part of Buffy's face as her muzzle is pointed straight up in the air, giving him a very good look of her throat though.

"Hopefully, we'll make it out of here a live..." He muses out loud as he stands up, not bothering to brush off the dirt on his pants and shirt. He frowns as a soft snarl erupts behind him and he glances behind him only to find a puma.

The puma studies him for a moment before leaping over him and into the mystical diagram. He's a bit stunned when the feline transforms into a semi-naked woman. Then the woman glances in his direction and everything goes black...

Hours Later

He groans as he finally opens his eyes and then he blinks them while trying to move onto his other side. Sleep still has its hooks on him and doesn't want to let him go, although with sunlight beaming down, he pretty much had no choice but to finally sit up and rub his eyes. He frowns as he finds himself resting on a table top and it doesn't take long before he notices that what he thought was sunlight wasn't, it was just the overhead lap.

"Good to see you're awake Xander. Though you did chose a rather inconvenience place to nap on though." He hears Buffy say.

He jerks his head and glances over at the Slayer. He recalls two different things before he supposedly fell asleep and he's not sure which was to be believed honestly as one set does indeed have him getting up onto the library table and taking a nap while the other had to deal with some kind of ritual Buffy and him had been doing, though the reason why seems a bit fuzzy...

He quickly gets off the table before glancing around in hopes of noticing why they were there in the first place. "Remind me again why we're in the library during summer?" He asks his amber eyed friend.

"Just going through a crate of new books and weapons." Buffy answers and he shakes his head. His memories over the last week felt fairly off, he's just not sure why though as he thinks through the boring first week of summer.

It wasn't long before Willow walks through the doors with a box of donuts and a bag with soda in it. Thus causing him to snap out of his thoughts. "Hey Xander, glad you decided to wake up." His oldest and dearest friend says.

"Must have been the late night movie I watched." He says and frown as he notices a crimson tail poking out behind Willow. He couldn't help but feel as though something was off at the sight of it, although noticing that Buffy had a tail causes him to wonder if something is wrong with him, although he did note that he does lack a tail, which seemed to relieve him for some reason.

As he moves to have a donut out of the box, he really can't help but feel as those the world is off kilter slightly. _I just can't put my finger on why that is though..._ He muses as the two girls chat about their upcoming run, a time where they finally shed their current form for a time to enjoy the raw power of their other form.

_Did Buffy do something to her hair?_ He wonders as he taps the top of his soda, ignoring the desire to picture of Buff and Wills running about in the furry nude, chasing after nutty squirrels and jumpy rabbits. Or imagining that there were females racing about like that at this very minute.

_I'm sure it'll come to me._ He decides as he finally opens the bottle but pauses to greet the G-Man who just exited out of his office with his nose in a book. It didn't take long before Buffy asks Giles if he's sure Giles and him would be able to manage a full night without either Willow and herself around.

- o 0 o -


	64. Maleficent's Choice: Danny Phantom

**- o 0 o -**

I don't own Danny Phantom

**- o 0 o -**

Danny

Energy pools around his fists, causing a more intense green glow to appear to visibly as he dodges blasts while hugging the wall as he flies straight up. His current opponent called herself Maleficent, a grown ghostly woman wearing cloths that he's pretty sure Sam totally approves of while welding a brown staff that is tipped with a navy blue crystal sphere with blue, gold, and silver stones circling the crystal sphere.

He first set eyes on this particular ghost when Maleficent was hanging around the football field after school as the soccer team practices. The supposed Disney character had vanished after a quick scuffle and the second time was during gym class where the woman had summoned this energy trap that she then sent after a classmate who's on the track team.

Naturally, he manage to keep the strange thing from engulfing the kid and after taking the fight outside of the gym, he tried to get this ghost's plans but this particular ghost kept a 'stiff upper lip' as they brits say. Before departing, Maleficent blasted him into the roof of the school.

This particular encounter started with Maleficent coming after him while he was human, trying to make it home before his curfew. He, of course, transformed into a ghost and it didn't take long before Maleficent to reveal just how out-classed he is in terms of power, causing him to flee until he can come up with a plan while Maleficent tailing him, not letting up on her attacks.

_Just what is it that this ghost want anyway?_ He couldn't help but think as he finally flips over to counter attack. A much larger energy beam shots forth, only catching Maleficent slightly by surprise but a shield quickly forms to block his attack.

With a pause in the other ghost's assault, he charges at Maleficent with the intent to use physical means to defeat the enemy since it's clear that Maleficent isn't going to run out of power to fire at him. The shield's color changes from pink to green, his fist slams into the green shield.

"May, may, resorting to physical violence already? How... boorish." Maleficent says with amusement.

He jerks back away from the shield but not quick enough as the shield transforms into a sphere with him inside. He pounds on the shield from the inside but it does give. "Let me out of here!" He shouts as he watches as Maleficent turns her back to him.

Maleficent doesn't say anything as the ghost holds the staff before her with both hands. As he watches, the blue crystal begins to glow and those stone floating around the crystal speed up. Seconds later, a green rift opens that leads into the Ghost Zone.

Powerless to do anything but float helplessly in the sphere, he is taken into the Ghost Zone. He turns around and watches as the portal the ghost created closes, keeping him from using it to return home. With the portal closed, he finally glances around the Ghost Zone, trying to find a familiar landmark that he could use to guide himself to the Fenton Portal.

"The ghost-boy, eh? An odd choice for an entry but acceptable." A male voice says and he quickly turns to find an elderly looking ghost dress in the classic wizard look, complete with long white beard and tiny spectacles resting upon the guy's nose.

"Glad you approve." Maleficent says in a dry tone and once the ghost wizard hands over a sheet with a number on it, the she-ghost drifts forward, pass the unnamed ghost. He couldn't help but grow more confused about what's going on, particularly once they enter into the large black colored stadium as he spotted other ghosts walking about, each dressed in classic cloths.

"Need help finding the stables, Male?" A cheeky ghost inquires to Maleficent. The other ghost pales and backs away before Maleficent with fear shining out of the ghost's glowing green eyes.

"I remember where they are." Maleficent states as his captor moves towards a set of stairs. A few ghosts snicker at the cheeky ghost, finally cause the guy to fade from view from embarrassment.

_What, stable?_ He thinks, his eyes widening. "He said stable, didn't he? Last time I checked, I don't eat hay." He says, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You obviously never read up on witches, have you boy? I believe you're about to receive an interesting lesson then." Maleficent informs him.

"I don't like the sounds of that." He finally says and as they're halfway down the stairs, he hears muffled sounds, sounds that did send a minor chill down his back. "I'm not going to like this, am I?" He wonders out loud.

"Probably not, but you and the others will return to normal once this tournament is complete." His captor states calmly and he couldn't help but murmur about how 'comforting' that sounds in a sarcastic tone. It's clear that Maleficent ignores that as he finally glimpses stalls along both sides that house horses that were sporting the typical ghostly aura.

"I'm shocked they're even going to allow you to enter that halfbreed. It seems you are rusty in your racing skills. You might as well give me your legendary collection now and get it over with. It would be less painful that way." He glances to his left to find a witch ghost dressed in white and looking pretty much the opposite of Maleficent's choice in cloths.

_Its like having Sam and Paulina standing before me... Only sounding smarter then Paulina ever has..._ He muses as he waits to see Maleficent's reaction since his capture hadn't moved since this Paulina style ghost began talking.

"I see you're taste in stud remains consistence, Aurora. All muscle and not brains." Maleficent answers and from his angle, he notices a condescending smirk upon the goth style ghost's face.

"He can't be that bright if he got himself captured. I guess being the Savior of the Ghost World doesn't require a lot of brains." Aurora counters and he couldn't help but say 'Hey!'

"And yet I don't recall you coming up with any plans to deal with Pariah Dark. Now if you excuse me, I must give young Daniel prepared for the coming trials. I'm sure it didn't take much to not just transform your choice and have plenty left over to create a good quality fetch." Maleficent states and before the white theme ghost could think of a rely, his captor continues down the hall.

"Looks like this room has seen better days..." He couldn't help but mutter under his breath after trying to engage his captor in conversation a few minutes after they left Aurora behind. He tried not to stare at the various horse housed within those stalls, not sure what he would see if he stared into their glowing eyes. Nor did he want to imagine what it would be like to be in their shoes...

The door moves inwards and then slides to the left side of the wall, allowing Maleficent and his prison through. Torches light up dimly once he's within the room. With out any motion from Maleficent, his prison moves to the center of the room and as his prison vanishes, something forces him to transform into his human form.

As he tries to transform back into a ghost, he watches as Maleficent holds her staff high in the air once more. He begins to back away as the crystal begins to glow brightly while those stone begin to rotate rapidly around the blue crystal sphere. Seconds as he's about to bolt to the right, Maleficent slams the butt of her staff down on the stone floor.

His vision swims while his nerves suddenly feel raw. He falls forward and by the time his senses sort themselves out he finds himself laying on his side. He a grunt, he gets off of the floor and rears slightly before falling down onto all fours, his fears confirm as he glances down to find silvery white hooves.

"Not bad, a little on the short side, but that is to be expected." Maleficent muses, causing him to glance in the witch's direction, he fells his ears flattening and he lets loose an angry bellow. Not that this stops the black clad ghost from approaching him.

He moves away from Maleficent's out stretched hand while trying to snap at said hand, just stopping an inch short of Maleficent's fingers. "Good to see you still have that spirit, you'll need it." Maleficent says and he jerks as Maleficent moves her staff, only to find a halter appearing about his head.

He shakes his head, trying to get free of the halter, Maleficent seems content to allow him to try and free himself. As he stand there, slightly dizzy from his attempts to shake it off, Maleficent easily grabs hold of the halter on his right cheek. He snorts as he turns to glare into Maleficent's green gaze.

Maleficent pulls gently on the halter and he just sighs, it's clear that acting out would only amuse Maleficent. He follows Maleficent out of the room since Maleficent has a good hold of his halter, which help keep him from falling behind. They would come to his assigned stall a few rows to the right of the transformation room, an area that doesn't seem to be very populated since his only neighbor is four stalls to his left and on the opposite side of the row.

He watches as food and water appears within the stall within seconds of standing in it. He glances around at stall, trying to ignore the fact that he's extremely pale looking horse. The smell of grain and water suddenly made him aware at how hungry he is.

He stares at the two pails, not really wanting to eat the grain but after feeling around his mouth, he finds he really doesn't have much of a choice since he lacks fangs to eat meat. He slowly lowers his head and walks up to the pail holding the grain, he noses the surface but doesn't take any as he doesn't feel hungry enough to take a bite.

He turns to the pail filled with water and pauses to stare down at his face, a bit surprise to note that unlike what he expected, his eyes were glowing a pale blue color instead of the more common green. He almost knocks the water over as he snaps his head to glance over at Maleficent who seems to have snorted.

His ears flatten and he glares at her for a few seconds before drinking his fill of the water. Once that's done, he couldn't help but wonder what to do next seeing as he doesn't want to eat the grain but doesn't have anything in the stall to take his mind off of what's going on.

_I wonder how long it'll be before Tucker and Sam launch a rescue mission?_ He wonders as he moves to the opposite wall to lay down. He has had a pretty trying day after all.

Maleficent

She waits until the ghost-boy-turned-ghost-horse drift off to sleep. She couldn't help but have a slight smile upon her face as she stares at the very pale white stallion with glowing silver hooves and sporting blue eyes. _I'll wait until he's eaten some of the grain before giving him apples and carrots._ She think as she touches her staff on the wall of the stall.

She watches as a protective shield expands around the stall, she rather not take any chance considering how venerable the teen is at this particular moment. She walks away from the stall and as she gets closer to the entrance leading into and out of the stable, she finds other shields protecting other stalls, meaning that their 'owners' have left for the night.

She hadn't wanted to capture such a high profile person to use for the race, she could only hope that the fetch doesn't dispel or raise a lot of suspension too early since the fetch does need to last until this tournament is over since she's fairly certain that young Daniel's friends wouldn't haste to launch a rescue mission.

_Perhaps I can purchase a camera and take shots of him as he is to use as blackmail material. I doubt he would want his friends to know of his transformation._ She muses with a smirk upon her face as she heads for her reserved rooms.

Danny

_I just had to win or place in all of those other races, didn't you Fenton? You just couldn't let anyone out shine you, eh? I'm so stupid..._ He mentally groans as he waits for the gate to open. He's not sure how many races that need to be done but this tournament is coming to an end as each race gets run.

_At least they don't expect us to have jockeys on our backs._ He thinks for the hundredth time since he fell asleep in that stall. He presses his chest up against the gate, ignoring the urge to rear up to slam his hooves upon the gate like a few of his fellow racers.

A buzzer sounds and the gates surge open, finally allowing him to escape those starting boxes. His ears flatten as he thunders forward to join the rest of the 'pack' while his head lowers slightly. His nostrils open wide as he breaths in a large amount of air in one stride and exhales in preforming another stride.

No ghost powers could be use upon the track while the race track is in-session for an actual race or for training purposes. He had hoped to escape while out on the track but it wasn't meant to be. He hadn't done much while out on the track during his practices, he pretty much sulked and glared hatefully at Maleficent.

He feels somebody trying to force him to give way, so he just sped up and tried to get more into the inside rail. His teeth clinched as he increases the length of his strides. Slowly he approached the front of the pack; most of those leading the pack had gone all out at the beginning and are being forced to slow down.

In some ways, he can ignore reality and recall what it is like to fly through the air back home. He recalls the sensation of wind causing his hair to get messed up, the feel of weightlessness, as if gravity was only an opinion to him. Then his lungs begin to burn and his legs begin to ache, causing him to remember that he's not capable to achieving that flight ability until after he's been returned to normal.

Anger boils up in his midsection, causing him to push aside those feelings. He remains on the leader's heels, gently reminding the golden mare of his presence behind her. He doesn't recall crossing the finish line but does realize he must have as the crowd cheers and minor displays of fireworks erupt from the stands.

His anger reseeds and he slows down, moving more to the palomino's right while the black stallion who came in third moves to his left. He finally slows to a walk as a large pair of doors open wide to allow them to head back to their stalls where they'll receive a shower and personal grooming session from their 'owners'.

He does glance backward, noting that this race seemed to be a few yards longer then the last race he ran in as they had raced passed a statue of the minotaur with the claymore instead of the statue of the pan playing satyr. With a swish of his tail, he picks up his pace as he turns away from staring at the various statues.

_God, what did I ever do to deserve this? It's so humiliating being offered a treat like some kind of pet... So glad that nobody I know has seen me like this, I'd never live it down..._ He thinks to himself as he heads for his stall, not reacting much as water suddenly rains down upon him before he makes it to the stable rows.

He shakes his body, sending water drops about while also being hit by other droplets sent flying from some of the others. He just grunts while a few of the others whinny softly, almost chuckling at what happened. A certain bulky teal colored stallion bellows after rearing up, clearly intent to display how angry he was, about what, he doesn't know nor really care since they've had a fairly trying race.

Others move out of the teal's way, some rushing forward down the rows while others just back up. As the teal stallion drops down onto the ground, the teal's ruby red eyes turn towards him as he moves unhurried forward, noticing that he's not very impressed with the emotional display. While he could sympathize with the other stallion, he just didn't see how throwing a fit would help speed things up.

The teal snorts and paws the ground while glaring at him. He makes a soft rumble while glancing away from the teal stallion, not picking up his pace, although he finds a few of those before him have stopped moving to watch the teal stallion. He just sighs as he hears steps coming towards him.

_Just back off, buddy. You really don't want to mess with me._ He thinks at the teal stallion who is coming towards him with flatten ears. He turns his head just so he has a clear view of the teal stallion with his left eye.

The teal pauses and for a time, they stare at each other until finally, the teal turns his head away and seems to sag, as if collapsing in onto himself. He moves and nudges the other stallion, nickering softly at the other, finally, the teal shakes himself and replies with a soft neigh.

With the confrontation over, everybody continues on their way back to their stalls where their 'owners' were waiting.

- = **Break** = -

_This is getting old..._ He thinks sourly as he stands once more in the starting gate. He doesn't know how long its been since these races started but if he heard Maleficent right earlier, the last race of today will mark the end of the tournament. Although he doesn't really trust his, 'owner' it did sound as though that for those who managed to place will be receiving minor metals and for the winner, they will be receiving a trophy as well as never having to worry about getting chosen to run in another tournament ever again.

_Wonder if they'll keep that promise..._ He muses to himself as they wait for the buzzer to sound so they can leave these gates far behind them. He also reminds himself to wait until the statue of the swordsman before going all out since this race will be going pass all of the statues on the right side of the track, the finish line was located around that left bend.

_And lets not forget that I'm finally facing off against Aurora's chosen racer._ He thinks as he glances a few places to the right. A ruby colored mare with glowing yellow eyes seems to be staring down the race track with an intensity of some kind of bird of prey.

Shaking his head, he waits for the announcer to finish speaking since it usually signals that the race will be beginning very soon. His body tenses, ready to spring forward as soon as the gate open wide. He's not disappointed as the buzzer sounds and the gates open second later, allowing them to spring forward, some exploding out of their gate.

He matches his speed with those hanging out at the back of the pack. He notices that the ruby mare submitted by Aurora is in the middle of the pack. He glances away as he focuses on who's in the lead, making sure to keep his speed steady.

Hooves pounding upon the ground as heavy breathing surrounds him, his own breathing being just as heavy. Bits of the track arc in the air until they fall to the ground or hit a fellow member of the racing pack. Hoof prints litter the track before him, he couldn't help but note as he keeps a steady pace.

As they make it half way, he begins to speed up as does the rest of the pack, causing the leaders to be forced to add more speed just to remain at the head of the pack. He moves slightly more outside of the pack since most were struggling to get as close to the rail as they can. Without anybody before him, he lets loose, lengthening his strides as he focuses at the turn pike.

Slowly he passes by the mid-section of the pack, coming to be at least sixth as five others race before him. He feels more then sees somebody to his right as he continues to try and over take the fifth human turned ghost-horse before him. A flash of red out of the corner of his eye confirms that its the ruby mare trying to over take his position.

He pointedly ignores the mare, more concerned with trying to go up a position. Suddenly the one in third seems to stumble and then finally fall, rolling slightly on the ground. He manages to leap over the others who hadn't reacted in time to avoid the fallen.

He ignores the sounds of frustration and anger behind him, more occupied trying to make it pass a baby blue stallion in second then anything. It wasn't the first time something like this happened and could, likely, be the last time it happened all things considered.

In the end, by the time the horn sounds, he has placed third of this group. With the race over, the other two before him slow down and so does he. Almost as one, they glance down the track, to see what has become of the fallen and those the had been tripped up because of it. He does note dimly that the ruby mare placed fifth, not that he particularly cares.

_Seems like I passed, wonder if these means that Maleficent wins that bet seeing how I placed third and will be racing in the final race of the tournament..._ He wonders as he slowly walks towards the open doors that lead to the stable, their stalls. _I wonder how much of a sore loser Aurora is..._

Maleficent

She couldn't help the smirk that graces her face, particularly given how red Aurora's face is while sporting a murderous expression. "How could that half-breed win without using any ghost powers?! He's scrawny, weedy looking teen! He doesn't have the build to be anything but a sprinter!" Aurora screeches as she finally turns away to go attend to her charge.

"Looks like you haven't lost your touch after all, Maleficent." Merlin says while Nimue stands on the elderly seeming man's right. "Though it sounds as though Aurora will be in a state for the next decade." The famous man adds as Aurora finally just screams in outrage, so over come that she couldn't find any words to describe her anger.

"Too true. Although I fear the boy will not be up to placing in the final race, but that doesn't matter much now, seeing I had only picked in order to fulfill the bet Aurora and I made after our most recent argument." She says to the legendary figure.

"Sadly, I have to agree on that, but otherwise, I can see why young Daniel has managed to make such an impression upon the worlds are large. Who knows, I might have to greet the lad in person one day to congratulate him on his performance here today." Merlin muses and she stifles a chuckle at the thought since she gets the feeling that the teen won't want to be reminded by these events.

"I'm sure the lad would be honored if such a thing happens." She manages to say with a straight face. With a nod, the greatly admired dead man moves to go congratulate the other two who sponsored winners with Nimue keeping pace with Merlin.

Once out of the sponsor box, she teleports to the stable entrance and then walks through the rows, heading for her charge's stall to bush the currently pale white stallion and to be sure that he hasn't pulled anything.

Danny

He groans softly and slowly rolls onto his side. It takes him a moment to realize that he wasn't in his stall anymore nor was he a ghost-horse. He quickly gets out of his bed and moves to look at the calender to see what day it is.

He's a bit shocked to find it had only been two days since the day he had been captured by Maleficent, transformed into a ghost-horse, and raced in that tournament. He slowly shakes his head but as he glances to the mirror, he almost jumps at the sight of a bronze medal pinned up to it with a note under it.

He glances around as he slowly approaches the dresser upon which the mirror is attached. The medal lets go of the mirror's surface and the letter falls slowly to the top of the dresser. He catches it before it does so and reads it.

_Congratulations on placing third, young Daniel. To be honest, I hadn't expected you to place at all in the final race as you lacked the right build and the stamina to make it around the total track, though I knew you possessed the right heart to be a great race horse, also known as pigheadedness._

Enjoy the next few decades, young Daniel for the next tournament will be held in about fifty years hence. Not sure whether or not I'll be looking you up for that one as of yet.

Maleficent

He just sighs as he stares down at the bronze medal, not sure just what he's feeling while doing so.

_Like heck I'm going to be doing **that** again. Once was enough._ He decides as he glances to the window at the sound of birds chirping.

**The End**


	65. Hollowed Lifestyle: NarutoBleach

**- o 0 o -**

Don't own Naruto or Bleach!

**- o 0 o -**

???

Shaking its body, a slightly furred raptor shape Hollow raises to its feet. This Hollow's mask covers the upper part of the Hollow with a dinosaur's appearance, ending just a few inches after the glowing amber eyes. Other then having white claws, this Hollow sports a short mane of blue fur growing where the white mask ends, the rest of the Hollow is pitch black.

This Hollow stands roughly four feet while standing upright and is roughly a good seven feet from nose to tail tip. The hollow hole rests in this raptor Hollow's chest. The hole is roughly three inches in diameter.

The Hollow taps its raise foot claws on the sandy surface of the Hueco Mundo while the raptor like Hollow glances around in a bird like fashion with quick, sharp head movements while bringing its forelimbs close to it chest and turning the clawed three fingered 'hand' to face each other while slightly balled up.

Then very suddenly, the raptor like Hollow sprints forward, heading off in a random direction. The Hollow continues to race about the dunes of the Hueco Mundo as hours turn into days and days turn into weeks. Though the raptor came across other tracks upon the sand dunes, the raptor Hollow didn't give them more then a slight look before continuing on its way.

Finally a petrified forest of white trees finally appears on the horizon of the raptor Hollow. The raptor Hollow slows before reaching the trees of this strange forest until the beastly spirit stops just a mile away from the nearest tree. The Hollow glances around the area, clearly cautious as to what to expect of the forest.

The raptor Hollow's masked head cocks this way and that with its pale yellow eyes blinking every so often. The raptor Hollow bends down and sniffs a patch of sand before suddenly vanishing from its position as something serpentine in looks bursts out of the sand just a few feet before where the raptor Hollow had stopped.

This new comer sports white sections of armor all along its back. Each white bony plate has a spike upon it. The serpent Hollow's head appears more like crocodile or alligator's head then a snakes. This twenty foot long Hollow also sports along its sides fins.

The raptor Hollow screeches loudly at the sand swimming Hollow while holding its forelimbs stretched out and head lowered. The raptor Hollow's body is tense, more then ready to spring forward to attack the other Hollow at any moment.

The sand swimmer Hollow's fins dig into the sandy surface of Hueco Mundo and swings its head to the side to get a better look at its current prey. A single glowing yellow eye stares at the tense raptor like Hollow and then, with a blink, the sand swimmer quickly lunges forward while swinging its massively build head complete with reptilian snout, jaws wide in hopes of clamping down upon the smaller Hollow.

With a squawk, the raptor Hollow turns and quickly races in an arc, trying to get behind the much longer Hollow. Not that it helps as the serpentine Hollow seemingly follows after the bird sounding Hollow. The tail end of the sand swimmer moves, though not before the raptor noticing the club at the end of it.

The raptor Hollow picks up its pace, heading straight for the forest in hopes of the sand swimmer giving up on hunting it. The sand swimmer does follow the raptor into the forest but is soon attacked itself by an ape like Hollow who had been attracted by the commotion between the raptor Hollow and the serpentine Hollow.

The ape like Hollow doesn't notice the raptor, allowing the newly arrived Hollow a chance to make clean its get-away while the other two Hollow fight it out.

**Years Pass**

The raptor Hollow studies the clearly injured Hollow before it, a Hollow that appears in the shape of a bone covered monitor lizard. The monitor puffs up and hisses at the raptor Hollow sporting blue hair. The lizard like Hollow's tail moves in a minor arc, displaying the spikes growing about tail's surface.

The raptor snorts softly at the monitor Hollow, the raptor is more curious as to where the lizard's attacker is since it's bad form to leave something as injured as the monitor Hollow alone. Though the raptor would have no problem finishing off the three legged reptile Hollow stationed within this open stretch of forest, some instinct within the raptor Hollow kept it from charging forward to consume this 'prize'.

The raptor quickly tries to bolt away but this 'rock' formation suddenly springs to life and tries to grab the raptor Hollow, but only gets a fist full of sand and feeling of the raptor's claws digging into its back. The inorganic looking Hollow roars and tries to make a grab at the Hollow attacking its back. The raptor Hollow falls back as an arm tries to grab at it, causing the raptor to be much closer to the injured monitor Hollow.

The monitor and raptor stare at each other for a second, each not sure what to do concerning the rock like Hollow. Their staring contest ends as the rock Hollow begins to charge up a Cero in its 'hand'. The raptor Hollow lets out an alarmed sound and moves out of the way, only for the hand to follow after it.

The monitor lizard Hollow completely forgotten about as the rock Hollow decides that the healthier raptor Hollow has priority. Thus it surprises both the raptor and the rock Hollow when the monitor Hollow suddenly lunges forward, biting into the rock Hollow's ankle. The raptor Hollow chirps in a startled way before hissing as it lunges towards the rock Hollow's chest, attacking this rock Hollow's hole.

The rock Hollow manages to kick the monitor away and throw the raptor in the direction of the monitor. The rock Hollow stares at the two other Hollows, expecting the two to attack each other but neither of them do more then glance in each others' direction before charging at it once more.

The raptor concentrates its attack on the upper part of the rock Hollow while the monitor focuses on the bottom, as it is the only part it could reach as the monitor lacks the raptor's build for leaping upon opponents. The double teaming causes the rock like Hollow to become frustrated and to stay on the defensive.

Time passes and as no new opponents arrive, the three continue fighting, each growing weary but the two more animalistic Hollows began to tag team the rock Hollow, allowing for a few moments rest while the rock like one receives none. Once the raptor feels that the battle has gone on long enough, the raptor Hollow begins to focus energy into it's claws and teeth while the monitor Hollow keeps the rock Hollow busy.

The white claws seem to glow softly and when the raptor opens its mouth, glowing pointed fangs can be seen. The raptor Hollow leaps, this time aiming for the throat of the rock Hollow. The glowing claws and fangs enter neatly through the white outer coating of the rock Hollow and as the rock Hollow pulls the raptor off, the claws leave glowing trails about the chest area of the rock.

When a large foot claw suddenly lashes out, slicing into the chest hole of the rock Hollow, the rock screams, dropping the raptor. After a few seconds, the monitor powers up a Cero and blasts up into the chest. Bits of outer cover flies through the air and once the rock Hollow is laying on the ground, both Hollow beginning attacking and devouring the uncovered bits of the rock Hollow.

Within seconds, the spirit particulars that make up the rock Hollow finally break and are absorbed by the two feeding Hollows. Then, the two remaining Hollows stare at each other for a few seconds before the raptor heading north, leaving the monitor to head off in a southeastern direction as best as it can considering it has three legs.

**Two Centuries Pass**

Guided by instinct, the raptor approaches a field where Gillian are created. The raptor Hollow is edgy and is jumping at every little thing while hanging around the edge of the field. The scent of many Hollows litter the field and the raptor drools slightly at the smell, but still doesn't move into the field, content to hang around the edge of the field.

Then, over time, a number of other Hollows appear, many baring an alien, yet delicious scent. The raptor swallows and shakes its head, focusing in on what's about to happen in the center of the field. The raptor Hollow is torn between joining the gathering Hollows and being cautious about the other Hollows that keep appearing.

Then, as if some unspoken signal is given, the Hollows within the field bodies begin to become unstable until they finally break apart while their skull masks remain. A huge black mass seem to pause and the masks begin to try and race each other up to the 'face' of the forming body. The raptor watches in awe and dread as one of the masks fits itself upon the face.

At which point the other masks are absorbed into the black mass. With a mask now fitted upon it, the mass begins to finish forming a huge body, white spines and armor jet out of the massive body. The raptor lies down and trembles at the massive Hollow as it roars.

The raptor shakes even more as answering roars ring throughout the area. The newly formed Gillian moves through the forest, heading off to another place where Gillians live and battle. The raptor just watches the huge Hollow go, its appetite gone, for now at least.

After a while, the pull within the raptor fades and the raptor gets to its feet. With a single look in the direction the Gillian had lumbered off to, the raptor Hollow heads for hunting grounds as far away from the Gillian fields as possible.

**Years Pass**

The raptor Hollow subtle watches these new being that seem to be resting a distance away from it. The raptor Hollow felt an odd loathing for these beings that seem to be traveling after a goat like Hollow that walks upon its back legs. The raptor knew that the goat Hollow had found new hunting grounds that weren't within the dead forest that it continues to call home.

The raptor couldn't help but think that, just perhaps, the goat-man Hollow's new hunting ground and this group of beings were related to each other. The raptor had encountered plenty of fellow Hollows who seem to vanish and then reappear carrying alien scents. The raptor knew that those that did so would, in time, vanish completely from Hueco Mundo.

The raptor hadn't cared about such things before, believing that whatever those Hollow had hunted and finally turned the tables and hunted those Hollows; consuming them. It was the nature of how things worked within Hueco Mundo and the raptor didn't see any reason why said nature continues to be true else where.

Now though, the raptor's interest in the going ons have been piped and though some instinct within the slender Hollow is screaming at it to run away, the raptor's curiosity kept it from following that course of action. Thus the raptor remained within a mile or two of the straight group of beings but also planned to run if those beings moved to attack it.

The only real mark of time passing has been when the group would travel for a long stretch of time and then stop for a minor stretch of time before traveling once more. The raptor couldn't help but be curious as to what the group could be doing during those pauses but believed it to be some kind of trap, so the raptor kept its distance.

_They're making those sounds again..._ The raptor muses as the group begins its usual routine. The raptor sighs wistfully, ever since the group has arrived, they have made these sounds that struck a cord within the raptor Hollow, as if the raptor should know what those sounds mean.

Soon, the group is on the move and the raptor waits a bit before following after. The raptor knew that the group was getting closer to the 'den' of the goat-man Hollow as the raptor has come to know the forest very well as the years advanced.

The raptor Hollow continues to resist the urge to head for those fields where Gillians are created, though the raptor couldn't help but wonder if there couldn't be a way to skip that part of a Hollow's evolution.

A bellow echos through Hueco Mundo and the raptor hurries forward, eager to see how well the group is fairing against its fellow Hollow. The raptor isn't disappointed as it gets close enough to get a much clearer look at the strange beings and, of course, a good look at the goat-man Hollow. As the raptor watches, the group its been following for four stops were using gray looking spikes, _swords_ it recalls, to attack the goat-man Hollow.

Over the course of the battle, the group doesn't just rely on their swords but also using spirit energy to cause things to happen. The raptor watches as the goat-man Hollow finally falls to the ground and then as the butt of one of the swords is slammed into the mask, causing the mask to shatter, revealing a head that is very similar to the group's.

The raptor lowers its own head to touch the mask upon its own head while a brief exchange goes on between the unmasked Hollow and one of the members of the group. A soft sobbing carries through the air and the raptor watches as the but of the sword is pressed into the forehead of the unmasked Hollow.

The raptor jerks slightly as the unmasked Hollow's body vanishes, leaving the group of seemingly human beings alone where they stand. The raptor squawks when one of the member glance in its direction. As gracefully as the raptor could, the Hollow turns tail and races away, hoping that it doesn't become their prey as the goat-man was.

Miyako

"Should we pursue, sir?" One of her classmates asks as the strange looking Hollow sporting, of all things, a snort mane of blue hair. "It has been following us since we arrived here, in Hueco Mundo."

"Tsh, leave the coward be, we've spent enough time here. Let's get that gate open so I can wash this sand off." Officer Shizen states.

_Still, I think I'll add it into my report._ She decides as the gate back to the Soul Society opens, allowing them to return home.

???

The raptor sniff the site where it last saw that group of seemingly human beings. The raptor sighs softly, finally relaxing as it realizes the scents of the group never left that fight site. The raptor chirps softly before turning to glance at the now empty den.

The raptor investigates the hole but doesn't find anything out of the ordinary and so leaves, not caring if another Hollow decides to take it over. The raptor preferred to be nomadic within the forest as it kept its life interesting. _Always new Hollows to see and enemies to avoid._

**Century Passes**

The raptor Hollow screams as it is pulled into along out of its only remembered home. It lands hard in what appears to be a rice field. The raptor spats out plant fibers and blinks rapidly at the sudden change to the atmosphere.

As the raptor gets to its feet, its opponent has already recovered. The huge turtle-man Hollow giggles and sometimes break out into song about how a 'lowly' Meno Hollow struggling against the 'great' Adjuchas known as Sancho Lalo. The raptor Hollow found the song to be much worst then the other's giggling.

_He's toying with me! How dare he! I shall enjoy the look of disbelief and dawning horror when I'm standing over it, ripping into his hole!_ The raptor Hollow thinks, its eyes flashing red for a brief few moments as the raptor's anger rages for a short time before subsiding.

The raptor goes over what little it has observed of its opponent, which isn't much but for the first time in its life, it won't allow this to end, not even if it is absorbed by this Adjuchas. The raptor won't settle for anything less then consuming this one, be it from the outside or from the inside.

And so the raptor launches itself at the other, claws glowing with energy and the turtle-man Hollow doesn't move, thus claws break through the turtle-man's chest armor. The turtle Hollow howls while touching the marks the raptor's claws have created. Not that the raptor paused to give the turtle any real time to do much other then defend himself.

The raptor found itself tired too quickly and the raptor pulls away, not happy that the turtle managed to hold an arm over the chest hole since damaging the hole tends to cause the Hollow to be 'knocked' out. _At least he won't come out of this untouched..._ The raptor thinks with a great deal of satisfaction as the turtle-man punches the raptor's head, the raptor feels the web cracks upon its mask.

Then, suddenly, the raptor finds itself before a huge cage. Within seconds, the form of the raptor is shed and a young blond man stands where the raptor once stood. "Kyuubi..." The blond says.

Naruto moves to the cage and the dead man stares into the depth of the cage to find it not only empty, but the back part gone. "Guess the fox finally found a way out..." The blond mutters softly, running a hand through his bright golden locks.

Then something gets knocked over and the dead ninja turns to look behind him. "Well, I'm sure as hell ain't going to go out without a fight. My afterlife might suck but it is my afterlife." Naruto states, remembering exactly what had happened that caused him to end up before this cage.

The blond charges up the technique that the ex-ninja had learnt during the search for Tsunade while charging towards the white vortex that seems to be eating away at the blond's mind. Naruto leaps and holds out his right arm that contains the Rasengan made up of blue and white energy.

The ball hits the vortex's center and a huge explosion occurs, engulfing Naruto.

**Hours Later**

Naruto clutches his hands and, to his surprise, finds that he now sports a thumb. Next, the ex-ninja moves his tail before finally opening his eyes. A groan escapes as the twelve foot long, raptor like Adjuchas slowly moves to stands on first all fours and then just on his hind legs.

As an Adjuchas, Naruto now sports a pair of ears and sports a pair of strange orange with red striped tendrils that poke out from a few centimeters after the predominately white mask that covers the top part of Naruto's snout and head. Instead of glowing amber eyes and short blue mane, Naruto now sports glowing blue eyes and bright yellow fur around the head and middle part of the tail, which seems to form an A with a single stripe of fur on the top and a stripe on either side of the tail.

The rest of Naruto's body is black with a thin layer of white fur covering most of the chest and growing down to about the hips of the back legs. The creamy white fur covers the forelimbs and Naruto's legs. The pads upon the hands and feet were colored red while the claws being a off white. (Search up **Psychoraptors**((owned by Freakzter)) on DeviantArt for an over all adult picture of Naruto's Adjuchas form)

Naruto glances around the rice fields that he landed in and had faced off against that insane turtle-man Hollow. Naruto moves down the hillside farm, keeping to the paths while doing so. It felt like forever since Naruto had seen a sunset and so once away from the fields, the strange Hollow finds a spot to lay down to enjoy the view of a setting sun, careful about the large dewclaws upon his feet.

By the time the sun fully sets, Naruto is ready to explore this seemingly new world that his enemy had brought them to. _Going to have to keep watch for Shinigami... Don't want to tangle with them._ Naruto thinks to himself as the new Adjuchas Hollow gets up off the ground.

Picking a random direction, Naruto takes off at a slow runs in that direction. Stars slowly become visible in the clear night sky as the typical night life slowly comes alive as the Hollow moves through the country side of the Living World.

**Months Later**

_What a waste..._ Naruto couldn't help but think as the ex-ninja stands at an edge of a battle field, watching as the dead continue to fight, not even aware that they're dead and should be concerning themselves with something else, like keeping eyes out for hungry Hollows.

The raptor like Adjuchas glances upwards to the circling dragonfly looking Hollow that seems to have lay claim to this battle field. The other Hollow dive bombs the ground traveling Hollow, causing Naruto to hiss while ducking out of the flight path of a fellow Hollow. The flier fires a few stingers from it's long, flexible tail and, finally, Naruto just moves on since he isn't really hungry enough to fight and consume the irritating bug like Hollow.

A few miles away from the battle field, Naruto pauses as the raptor like Hollow senses a large group of spiritual beings coming down the road the mammalian raptor Hollow has discovered. Naruto moves off the path and continues until he's found something to duck behind. The raptor also suppresses his spiritual pressure as best as he could.

Minutes pass and finally, a group of five humans come walking down the road. Each having a bow strung about their shoulder and grim looks fixated to their faces. Naruto watches as they walk pass, his body tense for flight or fight.

Once they're gone from his sight, Naruto still doesn't move until he feels a battle take place. Naruto sprints for a few hours up the road, wanting to put a lot of distance between that strange group of spiritual empowered humans and himself.

Naruto had come to the decision not to eat pluses and humans since he's pretty sure doing so attracts the attention of the Shinigami, a group of fellow dead humans that have taken it upon themselves to keep Hollows out of the Living World. Naruto's fairly confident that to attract a Shinigami's attention is to cause havoc among humans, killing those with untapped spiritual potential just to consume their powerful souls.

After a while, Naruto slows to a walk, at which point he goes from running on all fours to walking on two. The ex-ninja turned Hollow sighs, pondering the thought of returning to Hueco Mundo for a time, he doesn't know if that group got a taste of his spiritual presence or not. For all he knows, that group didn't go after him because they didn't consider him to be an immediate threat.

Naruto frowns as he muses about the fact that he feels homesick by being in this world. A homesickness not for Hueco Mundo but for Hidden Leaf, a place that he's not sure even exists any more...

With a sigh, Naruto causes a Garganta to open and returns to the Hueco Mundo without a glance back into the tempting World of the Living.

**Five Centuries Pass**

As it rains, Naruto watches as a little boy with orange hair and a vast amount of spiritual pressure follows the lure of a Hollow named the Grand Fisher. The over seven centuries year old Hollow growls softly in disapproval at this Hollow's choice of 'prey'.

As the boy's mother races towards the bank where the child is standing before the lure, Naruto is already in the air as the 'main' body of the Grand Fisher appears to strike a death blow on the boy so the fellow Hollow can consume the resulting soul that comes out of the broken body. The claws hit the mother and a moment later Naruto's foot dewclaws dig into the Grand Fisher's mask while Naruto's fangs and front claws dig into the Hollow's unprotected back.

The Grand Fisher doesn't stand much of a chance as Naruto manages to kick the mask off of the Hollow's head. Within seconds, Naruto breaks the Grand Fisher's now weak neck. As the would be child eater's body breaks apart and gets drawn into Naruto, soft cries of Mommy echo through the stormy atmosphere.

Naruto turns to the scene, sighing softly at the sight of blood oozing out of the claw slashes upon the mother's back. "Please help my mommy..." The orange haired child begs at him, startling Naruto quite a bit since the child should be afraid of him.

Finally, Naruto bends down and licks away the blood, not sure if his saliva had a healing factor in it or not. _Couldn't hurt to try..._ Naruto admits while ignoring the fact that it's a little too familiar to have the coppery taste of blood within his mouth.

As the woman begins to groan softly and flex her hands, Naruto steps away from the child's mother. "Mommy?" The orange haired child asks hopefully.

"Ichigo..." The woman says before becoming unconscious once more and the claw marks still slightly oozing blood.

"We need to mommy to daddy. He'll know what to do." The newly dubbed Ichigo says and stares up to him with a hurt puppy look.

"Fine, climb onto my back." Naruto says after a few minutes. The raptor Hollow drops down to allow the child up onto his back before raising slightly to pick up the other. With that, Naruto moves away from the bank while Ichigo grabs a hold of his tendrils like riding reins.

It took a rough hour to finally get to a local clinic within the area. Naruto gently lays Ichigo's mother down by the entrance, Ichigo gets off of his back to move to his mother's side. Within seconds, Naruto's walking up the side of the building and breaks a window to grab a doctor and then holds the man over the street for a few seconds, making sure that the man saw Ichigo and the boy's mother before putting back into the building.

With that, Naruto continues his climb to the roof. "Bye, Mister Raptor! Thanks for helping my mom!" Ichigo calls out and he shakes his head, bemused by the boy's innocents.

**Seven Years Later**

Ichigo

"Why are we here, Ichigo? Shouldn't you be in school?" Rukia asks him.

He doesn't answer as he stares into the river while mentally going over the day his mother almost died. The day he witnessed one Hollow devouring another, the one that caused his mother's injuries consumed by a Hollow appearing almost like a dinosaur, like a raptor.

_"Fine, climb onto my back."_

"A Hollow had lured me to the bank of this river about seven years ago." He finally says. "At first, it looked like a girl my age. I don't recall what happened really but suddenly, my mom is laying on top of me, bleeding and there's this colorful dinosaur leaping onto this rodent looking thing. I managed to get out from under my mom, trying to wake her up while the dinosaur manages to cause the rodent's mask to fly off and then, second later, a sharp crack comes from the two."

He sense rather then sees Rukia giving him a sharp, pitying look. "Then a Shinigami showed up to chase the Hollow away?" Rukia asks and he laughs.

"No, nobody showed up and in the end, I pleaded with the colored Hollow to help my mom. It bend over and began to lick the blood off. A few seconds afterwards, my mom woke for a brief few seconds before returning to being unconscious." He tells Rukia.

"I told the Hollow that we should take my mom to my dad and the Hollow then tells me to climb up onto its back. It carried my mom in its arms while I grab hold of these strange extensions growing from the Hollow's head." He can still remember their color. "We made it to a clinic and after gently putting my mom on the sidewalk before the clinic, I climbed down to be by her side."

He snorts as he recalls what happened next. "The Hollow then climbed up the side of the building and on reaching a window, punched through the window and then grabbed ahold of this doctor that was next to the window. After dangling the guy outside for a few, the Hollow pushes the guy back into the office before climbing up to the roof, that's the last I saw of it, by then, people were coming out of the clinic to help my mom."

"I'm sure the doctor didn't enjoy that." Rukia says and he snorts softly. "So you come back here annually in hopes of seeing it again?" Rukia asks after a few seconds.

"Nay, I come back here to imagine what my life could have been like if that Hollow didn't show up to kill the attacker and decide to help. To remind myself that of what could happen if I'm not quick enough... not strong enough." He murmurs the last few words under his breath.

"What would you do if you ever encounter that Hollow again? The one that saved your mother's life?" Rukia asks him.

"Guess it would depend on the circumstances." He finally tells Rukia after a few minutes.

Naruto

The mammalian raptor Hollow sneezes and Chico says, "Bless you." Naruto glances over to his 'old' buddy, the one the raptor had teamed up with to take down a certain rock like Hollow centuries before.

"Somebody must be talking about me. That was, what, the seventh in the last fifteen minutes?" Naruto muses as the neo-chimera looking Chico continues to tinker with this hand held TV.

"You Japanese and your superstitions..." Chico mutters as the four handed Hollow begins to move to another position now that Chico has screwed the battery protector back on the hand held TV. The insect wings get spread and Chico begins to hover at least four feet in the air.

Naruto watches passively as his fellow Adjuchas buzz around the park that's devoid of human life. "Did we really have to come this far north just to get a stupid signal? Couldn't we just ghost through a motel to find a working cable connected TV?" The ex-ninja inquires.

"Why go to all that trouble when we have this?" Chico asks him, twisting one of the four eye stalks towards him while Chico's main pair of eyes are focused on the tiny TV screen. Suddenly as Chico raises an extra foot in the air, the much shorter Hollow chuckles and within seconds, Chico causes the volume on the hand held TV to go up.

Naruto raises his head into the air before getting up off the snow covered ground. A few seconds later, Naruto pushes a picnicking table over and then climbs onto it to see the tiny screen, careful to avoid Chico's fluttering wings. _What we do to watch the latest episode of Friends..._ The dead blond muses softly to himself.

"You know what would work with this? Popcorn or something chocolaty." Chico says and other then Naruto's pointed ears lowering slightly for a few seconds, they perk up as Joey begins to say something.

"We should invest in some kind of satellite or disk so we don't have to always find this signal." Naruto remarks during a commercial talking about the satellite TV.

"And where would we store it when we're in the Hueco Mundo? I mean, humans will steal everything that isn't nailed down!" Chico says, flickering a very reptilian tail.

_And we won't?_ Naruto wonders but snorts softly. _Of course its not as though we steal it to sell it..._

"What the hell are you two doing?" Naruto pauses and glances over to see some Shinigami staring at Chico and him with a finger drifting between Chico and the raptor like Hollow.

"Trying to watch Friends on NBC. And you?" Naruto asks in a very prickly tone in turn.

"But... but... but..." Shinigami stutters, clearly flabbergasted about seeing not just two Adjuchas level Hollows but seeing them not trying to kill each other or hunt down a Plus or three.

"Shhh... Rachel just showed up with a date!" Chico says and with that, Naruto returns to looking over Chico's top shoulder.

"Maybe I shouldn't have laughed when Moena mentioned how oddly Hollows behave up here..." The Shinigami mutters before leaving.

"Yea, yea, tell Moena we're still considering her offer about doing that time share." Chico says just before the new guy gets too far out of hearing range.

**Few Months Later**

"Why are we here again?" Naruto asks Chico as they followed behind this huge group of Hollow heading for this Las Noches place. The ex-ninja couldn't help but be wary of the idea of a Shinigami wanting to go to war with their fellow Shinigami.

_It's almost parallel to what Orochimaru and Mandara did when they decided to destroy Hidden Leaf..._ The mammalian raptor thinks to himself while Chico says, "No more hunger, not more dealing with those voices..."

Naruto blinks, true the raptor Hollow knows about the hunger but the voice one was news to him. "Oh..." Naruto trails off.

"Plus, we are Adjuchas class Hollows. Which, if I recall correctly from that speech that girl says, means that there's this chance that we'd be able to avoid going to the fighting pits." Chico says and Naruto blinks slightly.

"Their going to make us fight for this... honor?" The ex-ninja asks slowly. The raptor really didn't like the sound of that as it causes him to recall the fighting pits a certain snake had created in order to see how well the test subjects were fairing...

_Ok, first order of business once I look more human, train. Train like I've never trained before. Second order of business, gather as much information about this guy's goal. Third, make a list of everything this guy has at this finger tips, be they just kitchen stuff or cloths. Fourth, figure out how to take control of Arrancar creation thing and see about creating a convincing fake. Fifth, kill the Shinigami guy and everyone loyal to him before running off with said Arrancar creation item. Sixth, spend rest of life turning every Hollow in Hueco Mundo into Arrancars._ Naruto tells himself, making a mental checklist for what to do once he becomes an Arrancar.

"I wonder if they'll be able to do something so we can get satellite channels here in Hueco Mundo?" Naruto muses out loud after they get within a few miles of the Arrancar fortress base commonly known as Las Noches.

"That would be great, won't it?" Chico muses thoughtfully. "I wonder if they've got computers... I always wanted to work with one..."

"You only wanted one to play games on." The ex-ninja couldn't help but remark as their guide is greeted by another group of seemingly human Hollows. A certain woman Hollow with green hair gazes over the group of Menos before gazing upon Chico and Naruto.

The mammalian raptor Hollow watches as the woman's eyebrow raises slightly after the Arrancar takes in his facial features, likely staring at Naruto's orange with red striped tendrils or glowing blue eyes, after all, Hollows with other eye colors other then yellow are rare. _I wonder what happened to that red eye sand swimmer?_ Naruto wonders ideally while they stop a few feet behind the assorted group of Menos.

"Looks like somebody likes what she see." Chico says to him, elbowing Naruto in the neck. "Wonder if she'll still think so when you're an Arrancar..."

The ex-ninja snorts softly, highly doubting the idea that the woman Arrancar with green hair is thinking such things. After all, Naruto's pretty sure the dead aren't interested in such things.

_Its not as though she's the only one interested in me..._ The raptor like Hollow muses as most of the welcoming committee were studying him as subtly as they can, not that Naruto's all that surprised since he is rather colorful compared to other Hollows no matter their class.

"Menos over to the right! Adjuchas to the left!" Their guide orders and with that, Chico and Naruto moves to the left while the rest move to the right.

"Names?" A pink haired Arrancar man asks once they had gotten close to the welcoming group.

"Naruto Uzumaki." The mammalian raptor Hollow answers.

"Really? How... interesting." The pink haired Arrancar muses while writing that down on the clip board.

"Chico Tadeo." The neo-chimera looking Hollow answers.

"Follow me please, I'll take you to see Lord Aizen." The pink haired Arrancar says, most of the other group begins to leave as they followed the pink haired guy.

Some of the group head off to the right while what remains head back into the fortress by following them in before heading off in different directions. Naruto kind of relaxes with them gone, the dead blond hadn't liked having so many powerful beings so close.

"I must say, I've never encountered a Hollow as... colorful as you, Uzumaki." The pink haired guy muses after a few minutes of the three of them walking through the building.

"While as a Meno, I had a short blue mane and typical yellow eyes." Naruto says to the Arrancar, he's a bit reluctant to speak with this one. There's something of this guy that reminded him of a certain someone, he just can't remember who at the moment.

"I did become an Adjuchas when a Hollow named Sancho Lalo opened a gate to the Living World within seconds of our fight. Once Sancho was defeated, I was became as you see me now." Naruto sums up how he achieved Adjuchas, though he left out a lot of important bits.

"Really? I've never heard of a Hollow going up a class while in the Living World... I wonder how else that has affected you..." The pink haired guy muses and Naruto feels all of his fur stand slightly up.

Naruto wasn't looking forward to any future encounters with this guy now that he has a general idea of why the pink haired man creeps him out. _Great, another mad scientist... Why did I think Hueco Mundo would be free of this brand of bastard?_ Naruto wonders to himself.

They finally arrive in what appears to be a lab and pinkie gives them a glance before moving into the room. "My Lord Aizen, I have brought two new Adjuchas class recruits who wish to serve in your army." Pinkie says, bowing to about waist level.

Naruto lays eyes upon the power hungry Shinigami for the first time, a man with dark brown hair done up in a slightly messy style. Aizen's brown eyes home in on looking upon the mammalian raptor Hollow, interest slowly lighting up in the Shinigami's eyes. The raptor Hollow also couldn't help but note that instead of wearing black, this Shinigami standing before him seems to have a preference for white cloths.

A few seconds later, Aizen glances at Chico for a second or two. "When you are ready, get onto one of the tables." Aizen states in a manner that clearly shows that this man is use to having other do as directed.

Within seconds, Chico and Naruto rest upon a metal table each and a machine begins to move once the Shinigami Aizen inserts a crystal that Naruto couldn't help but notice seems to contain a small inner sphere. Oddly enough, this item seems to call to the ex-ninja upon coming out of a cloth bag that Aizen had hanging from the belt about the waist.

The machine powers up and the barrel of the machine points itself at Chico. A light show later and Naruto finds himself staring at a black haired man sporting a short beard and mustache now rests upon the table. Naruto couldn't help but notice that a patch of bone plate covering his changed friend's forehead with some bangs poking over the top of the bony plate. Blue hued eyes sparkle in wonderment as Chico moves to look at the rest of the body, a short thin sword is resting not that far from Chico.

As the barrel of the machine turns to Naruto, the raptor like Hollow couldn't help but wonder if Chico's is suppose to have that hole in the area of right shoulder. The light hits Naruto and seconds later, Naruto's body felt off then he's grown use to, although for some reason, he still has a mask over his face.

Taking hold of the mask, Naruto pulls it down off his face and then turns it around to stare at the white skull mask that is unchanged. _It's so strange, seeing this mask when it's not glued onto my face and being seeing reflected in a mirror or surface of water..._ The blond Arrancar muses while continuing to stare down at the mask that's been with him for since he became an Adjuchas class Hollow.

"Huh, the mask remains whole but there's no hole." Pinkie muses, reminding Naruto that he's not alone. "How... interesting..."

Naruto glances at Pinkie, not particularly liking the glimmering interest that's shining bright from the dressed Arrancar's eyes. Holding the mask with his left, Naruto gets off of the metal table, it takes a few seconds for the ex-ninja's balance to adjust and once it does, Naruto glances to the table in search of his sword.

The sheath of the Zanpakuto that was released during Naruto's transformation is orange in color. The bindings on the hilt of the katana type sword is white with the guard appearing to be made from a type of gemstone, considering it's red in color Naruto believes it to be ruby.

_Huh, I wonder if it's unusual to have a gemstone as a sword guard..._ Naruto wonders as the new Arrancar picks up the katana type Zanpakuto with his free hand. _I wonder if there are any sword masters among the Arrancar's ranks. I rather not learn this particular art from that traitor._

**Before The Winter War**

"I don't see the point of coming all the way out here just to watch something _humans_ have created." A purple hair Arrancar known as Xavia complains; Xavia is new to the unit and is also the unit's current leader as they prepare for the upcoming conflict with the Soul Society. The woman like spirit with what remains of Xavia's mask hanging around the woman's cheeks.

"It's not as though any of us knocked you out and dragged you here. Nor have we tied you to a chair..." Chico remarks, pointly staring at the nail polish resting at Xavia's elbow.

"Or forced you to go by that nail polish..." The brunet Arrancar called Rafael remarks while polishing one of his knives.

"You really have no taste in colors..." Remarks a fellow blond Arrancar called Alvara says, clearly disapproving of Xavia's choice in color while she herself is wearing a face mask.

Alvara and Xavia were the only two female Arrancar in the unit of twenty that includes Chico and Naruto. They have also been going at it from the moment Xavia replaced Leon Orcot, a blond Arrancar that seemingly vanished off the face of Hueco Mundo two weeks ago.

Not even Naruto could make heads or tails of why said Arrancar seemed so hellbent on finding this 'Count' D person, though privately, Naruto figures this D to be the guy's old lover or a source of some kind of unfinish rivalry. _I'm going with the first simply because how unlikely it is to mean another with another epic rivalry that has become the guy's obsession..._ Naruto muses while trying to tune out the upcoming feminine battle. (Sorry, couldn't help it! I don't own Leon Orcot from Pet Shop of Horrors.)

"Why hasn't some punk Shinigami hasn't shown up yet to investigate this area?" Wonders the second black haired Arrancar in the group, one known as Cedonia. "There's twenty of us, somebody should have come to investigate the source of Hollow energy that we're generating..."

"Shinigami aren't that common outside of Japan." Naruto reminds the tattooed Arrancar and Cedonia just huffs at that. "Besides, the Soul Society likely called back all living world stationed Shinigami to Karakura Town or back to their city itself to prepare for the upcoming invasion."

"Who says we're invading anything?" Xavia demands. The so called unit leader looking a bit pale and nervous all of a sudden, breaking off from taking digs at Alvara to address the ex-ninja.

"Please, its not that hard to connect the dotes and from where I'm sitting, Lord Aizen has designs on Karakura Town. It's not as though Lord Aizen has officially sent Arrancar's out of Japan, you know." Naruto explains, he really misses Leon, even if the guy was having them hunt around for this mysterious Count of his, causing them to travel about the world while saying it was just to see if the Soul Society had retracted their stationed forces.

_The man was brilliant in coming up with official sounding excuses for us to stretch out legs in the living world... I wonder if we'll ever receive those Gigai that he ordered from Szayel._ Naruto wonders while rubbing the top of his skull mask; a mask that can be found hanging over his bare chest, the only upper body clothing that Naruto is wearing is a simple white leather vest that's worn open and white cargo pants.

"You don't know that for sure. Master Aizen could be luring the Shinigami into a false sense of security so we can attack their city head on!" Xavia say, clearly defensive about how Naruto makes it sounds as though Aizen's overall objective is easy to see.

"Unlikely since there isn't nearly enough Arrancars for such a thing and that the Soul Society has large reserve of souls that can be hurried through Shinigami training to fend off their losses while the Hōgyoku seems to be hitting the end of its life. It's unlikely it'll be around long enough to transform any more Hollows into Arrancars." Chico remarks and most of the group murmur or grunt their agreement.

"Plus most of the active Shinigami have a few years experience under their belt, Xavia. We've only got a hand full of months experience of being Arrancar. We'd be slaughtered in an all out war with the Soul Society." Rafael adds and Naruto nods in agreement.

"We were Hollows! We fought for our very lives living in the Hueco Mundo while those damn Pluses just lazy about the number area outside of the headquarters of the Shinigami! We're battle harden!" Xavia screeches at them.

"And yet only Vasto Lorde remain the only Hollow that Shinigami flee before." Alvara points out. "And though we are more powerful then our previous existence as Hollows; we weren't that powerful." The woman Arrancar adds.

"We lack years of battle experience looking the way we do, too. Its not about power in the end, it's about how you weld that power and Shinigami know how to weld theirs while we don't. In some ways, we're just trying to reapply Hollow powers to our new Arrancar existence and it's not working out very well either simply because we're half Shinigami. It might not seem like it should matter but it does." Naruto says, glancing into Xavia's red eyes while saying it.

"None sense... We're better then those uppity Pluses, just you wait and see." Xavia says before gathering up her nail polish and heading for the only bathroom of the house they've broken into.

"So... are we still going to defect once the invasion is on?" Hernan asks and Chico snorts while answering, "Of course. I'm not going to be cannon folder in a Shinigami civil war. And that what this is and I don't have any plans to die so soon."

"If he wins, won't he hunt us, the deserters?" Hernan wonders and it's Rafael who answers, "I don't see him winning, he would have had a better chance if he had just outright killed his fellow captains before he arrived at Hueco Mundo."

"Can I be the one to kill Xavia before she tells anyone of rank about our dis-concerning views of this war?" Alvara asks eagerly, her eyes shining with delight at the idea.

"Knock yourself out." Cedonia says and adds, "Its not as though she's been training as much as we have. She won't even be a challenge for me if I fought her."

"Any idea if you can duplicate how Leon vanished, Naruto?" Rafael asks the spiky haired blond Arrancar.

"I think so, just need to work on my reserves before trying to create that portal... Though it would have been easier if Leon had at least left something behind so we could follow after... Anyone know if our order of Gigai are done yet?" Naruto asks and slowly, the nineteen Arrancar still in the living-room discuss their exit strategy before a large screen TV.

**Before a Certain Stone**

The Gigai drop to the ground having been the first things through the portal that Naruto had created. Then, slowly, the others land a few feet from the pile of artificial bodies as they had jumped into the portal instead of being shoved through like said Gigai.

Naruto is the last one to exit out of the portal that he himself had created. Once the spiky haired blond has touched the ground, the portal leading out of the Hueco Mundo closes. "Already, take it easy with those Gigai, they're the only ones we've got." Naruto tells the other Arrancar and their newest unit member, an ex-underling of one Szayel Aporro Granz, a red haired Arrancar woman named Izydora.

Naruto grins as he watches the previously faceless and almost formless Gigai morph until they resemble the Arrancar that were now inhabiting the fake body, only without their mask bits showing upon their heads, swords, and Hollow hole. With that, Naruto enters into the last experimental Gigai.

"Naruto?" Said Arrancar blinks and looks over to the staked logs to find an old friend standing by the middle one. Naruto's a bit stunned at the fact that the woman doesn't look all that old.

"Hinata? Aren't you dead yet?" The blond spiky hair Arrancar asks carelessly, after all, it's been over seven centuries since he had been killed and woke to find himself in the Hueco Mundo.

"It's only been three months since you..." Hinata says, trailing off as Hinata blushes bright red, likely from how little Naruto is currently wearing. "Who's your friends?" The almost twenty year old Hyuuga asks.

Naruto glances over at the rest of the unit to find them all looking bemused to bored to questioning. After all, it's not as though they ever discuss their previous lives, be it as Hollows or when they were alive. "Old girlfriend?" Chico asks, likely because he's the most unlikely to be killed by the ex-ninja.

"Not really... I never had much time to get one..." Naruto admits before introducing the members of his unit and the new deserter to Hinata. The blond Arrancar doesn't really know what to make of the fact that here in Hidden Leaf, he had only been dead for little over three months.

"Kind of interesting that you recall your previous existence before Hueco Mundo." Pipes in the scientist of the group, too new to the group to know that Naruto's one of the top fighters in the unit, taking second under a certain battle hungry Arrancar.

"Huh?" Hinata asks, clearly confused though Hernan answers, "Oh, it's just what usually happens when one dies and becomes a Hollow. It's pretty hard to keep your identity after consuming a few other Hollows. Too many voices in your head always chatting away... Not that we have to worry about that any more now that we're Arrancars."

"She didn't need to know that, Hernan." Naruto states in a flat voice. "Its not something anyone alive would understand. Not even the Shinigami or Pluses would understand; its the kind of thing one needs to experience to get." The spiky haired Arrancar points out.

"Hear hear." Cedonia, the unit's top fighter, cheers.

Hinata looks as though she's got more questions about this but seems a bit more interested in staring at right at Naruto, clearly enjoying the sight of Naruto's almost bare chest. Then Hinata straightens and says, "We got to inform Tsunade!"

Naruto blinks as he's about to say something to his fellow Arrancar only to get a puzzled frown upon his face on hearing that. "Wasn't she in a coma?" The spiky haired blond ex-ninja wonders.

"She woke up about two weeks ago." Hinata explains before adding, "She's devastated about what happened to you."

"I guess we could go visit her." Naruto admits before turning to stare at the peanut gallery to this little drama. "Ok you lot. We'll meet back here at sun down, until then, you guys can go off do anything but pick fights with the locals, loot from the shops during daylight hours, or kidnap people for experimentation, got it?"

"Got it!" Most of the unit say, though a few members look a bit rebellious about the restrictions he has told them. Within seconds, most of the unit Sonído away, leaving Naruto alone with Hinata.

Naruto glances over at Hinata and says, "Well, I'm ready when you are." The woman looks startled before nodding in a slightly stiff manner.

As they walk away from the stone, Hinata asks, "They wouldn't do any of that, would they?"

Naruto sighs and runs a hand through the spikes on the side of his head as he thinks of a way to answer that. "Let's just say that as Hollows, there isn't much of a demand or really any need for morals. They usually got in the way of survival." The ex-ninja tells the pearly eyed woman who's walking a bit before him.

"Must be harsh..." Hinata says softly and Naruto snorts softly before answering, "It's freeing in its own way, though not a place I had hoped to find myself in when I died."

They didn't say much of anything after that, though as they finally hit the streets, most of those about would stop what they're doing to stare at the Gigai being piloted by a dead man. Naruto paid little attention to that, not really caring about how the village will react now that he's seemingly back from the dead.

_It's not like I'm ever going to be able to preform as a ninja._ The spiky haired blond muses to himself as he feels minor exotic energy expelling, likely meaning that those ninja who saw him have teleported away to report to varying higher ups be they clan heads to the current Hokage, Kakashi.

_On the plus side, I couldn't think of a better place for us to train and to find a limit to our new abilities as being half Hollow and half Shinigami._ The blond muses, after all, Hidden Leaf does sport a good number of genius. _I just hope we don't attract local spirit attention._

As Naruto slowly begins to plan for the future, the blond continues to follow Hinata until she stops before a place that's clearly seen better days. The ex-ninja glances up at the sign and shakes his head at the name. _The Broken... How... fitting a name._ The blond Arrancar muses to himself before moving to enter the dingy looking bar, Hinata following him in.

Naruto's eyes adjust to the near light-less atmosphere of the bar and resists wrinkling his nose at the smell. _I'm wishing I now wore something upon my feet..._ Naruto thinks as he walks upon the stained floor, some he's sure is vomit and spilled drink, but the rest could be blood and piss.

The Arrancar spots the reason why they're there and slowly makes his way towards her. "You know, you could have found a better place to drink yourself to death, you hag." Naruto informs the wrinkled husk of a Hokage.

"You were Hokage, after all. They must have given you a better severance package then this place." The spiky haired Arrancar remarks once the shell of a woman turns to regard him.

Tsunade huffs and looks pass Naruto to look at Hinata. "Not a very believable Genjutsu. He's all wrong! He doesn't even have those marks upon his cheeks." The former Hokage says.

"I don't have them cause I don't have the Kyuubi anymore, you old bat. Last time I was before the cage, the whole back wall of the cage was gone even though the front of the cage was there." Naruto states with a frown.

"And if I were just an illusion, could I do this?" Naruto asks, taking Tsunade's pitcher and dumping it onto the old woman's head. The ex-Hokage aims a punch but Naruto catches it and holds it easily.

"Gee, I must be a really interactive illusion if I can do all of this." Naruto says, his voice oozing with contempt. "Are we done trying to prove if I'm real or not?" Naruto asks after letting go of Tsunade's fist, crossing his arms over his chest.

"But you're suppose to be dead..." Tsunade says before glancing suspiciously over at Hinata.

"And I'm still dead. I'm a spirit currently possessing a fake body called a Gigai. In my natural state, you wouldn't even see me or hear me." The blond male explains before Tsunade could accuse Hinata of preforming an illegal jutsu. He didn't see any reason to bring up what kind of spirit he was either at this point in time.

"Still... Where's the orange?" The elderly woman asks.

"The prick wanted to us to dress in a color scheme opposite of a Shinigami. Since Shinigami wear black..." Naruto shrugs before adding, "I really didn't want to draw any more attention to myself by trying to get away with adding a bit of color to my 'uniform'. I'm just happy I wasn't confined to a lab for experimentation."

Naruto knows that a lot of people would draw the wrong conclusion to why he'd be a lab rat and was more then happy to let them, seeing as he's not going to explain what's going on with his afterlife at this moment in time. There's just too many unwanted witnesses about the bar and Naruto rather not get into a spiritual debate concerning what becomes of the spirits of the dead.

"Can we leave now? I rather hoped we could continue this discussion in better surroundings then these." Naruto says, waving his hand about the bar and its customers.

Wordlessly, Tsunade gets up off the stool and Naruto gives her a helping hand on seeing her almost fall back down upon the stool. With only a little help from the blond Arrancar, Tsunade walks away from her bar stool and out into the street, Hinata taking point and holding the door open for the both of them.

Tsunade lifts her free hand to block the sunlight for a few seconds before they continue on following Hinata. It had been centuries since Naruto had been alive and felt kind of lost about where they're head. It wasn't long before they arrive at this barbecue place and soon, they're sitting at one of the booths waiting for some drinks, coffee for the ex-Hokage to help keep her awake.

"So... what's the afterlife like, brat?" Tsunade asks Naruto.

"It pretty much depends on which afterlife you arrive at. Me, I ended up in a vast desert known as Hueco Mundo with no memories of being alive. Took me a few to arrive at a hot spot for fellow Hollows, a forest made up of petrified trees. Good hunting there, even though I did almost wind up a meal for someone else." Naruto admits and out of the corner of his eye notices a minor look of pity from Hinata.

"Hollow?" Tsunade asks, as if also tasting that word.

"Inhuman looking spirits with a hole clear through their body, often in the chest area, and a white skull like mask upon their faces." Naruto explains. "To get stronger and to state their hunger, you go around and consume your fellow Hollows. Once a Meno is ready, they're drawn to a Negación and combine to form a Gillian class Hollow. A brainless sort of class, foot soldiers really since they're pretty uniform in appearance."

"You were always brainless." Tsunade muses with a touch of humor to her tone.

"Not that brainless. Besides, I never went through that stage of existence. Even then, I didn't like the odds of coming out of that step as myself." The blond says and feeling a familiar presence, Naruto glances out onto the street to find an amused Chico following behind a certain woman wearing her hair in buns.

With a slight shake of the head, Naruto turns away, trusting that Chico wouldn't harm Tenten much if at all. The blond notes that Tsunade has a raised eyebrow. "Friend of yours?"

"Good enough." Naruto states calmly as their drink order arrives as does a plate of raw meat. A few seconds later, the waiter walks away with a clean plate, leaving them the task of flipping the meat when it's cooked on the one side.

"Met Chico back when we were Menos. We killed a particularly nasty Hollow who had attacked him and then disguised itself as part of the landscape to attract another Hollow, kind of a one stone two bird deal." Naruto explains. "We went our separate ways after-wards."

Neither of his tablemates seem to have anything to say about that. "What do you mean you skipped this Gillian step?" Hinata finally asks as they begin to turn the meat over upon the table barbecue.

"I ended up in a fight with an Adjuchas class Hollow, the fight ended up in the local living world. I was outclass but in the end, I still came out a head since instead of joining his horde of defeated enemies within his mind, I fought against said fate and won, thus becoming an Adjuchas class Hollow without going through the previously described step." Naruto explains. "The body underwent a transformation to suit its new boss, me."

"Local living world?" Tsunade asks and Naruto just shrugs.

"What more can I say? It's the world most Hollows travel to so that they can find 'easier' prey. I mean easier as in none Hollow spirits called Pluses since they got this chain hanging out of their chests and humans with a large amount of spiritual energy, killing the humans while they're alive and eating the spirit that's forced out of the body." Naruto explains, wrinkling his nose. "Nasty business, of course as it usually draws the attention of the Shinigami."

Naruto flips one of the strips of meat to see if its cooked on the other side. "When I say Shinigami, I'm not talking about a single entity either. I'm talking about this military group of spirits who have taken it upon themselves to herd lingering Pluses to the Soul Society and 'purifying' Hollows who hunt primarily in the local living world." The blond explains before eating the strip of cooked meat.

"You don't sound convinced that they're actually purifying these Hollows..." Tsunade remarks before she picks up one of the strips of meat.

"Never encountered a spirit claiming to have been a purified Hollow. I've seen the Gates of Hell appear to take the defeated sinner Hollow, Hollow who were very nasty in life I might add, but that's it. We've only got the word of the Shinigami, our natural enemy at that, about what happens to those not taken by the Gates of Hell." Naruto explains.

"So, you're an Adjuchas class Hollow then?" Tsunade asks after a few minutes of silence in which they devour the cooked strips of meat.

"I was an Adjuchas class Hollow. I'm now an Arrancar, a being that started out as a Hollow and is now half Shinigami and half Hollow. We lose our beastly appearance, our masks usually vanish with the exception of minor fragments, and we gain a Zanpakutō. A sword, for us, holds our previous, truer forms and powers." Naruto explains.

Tsunade snorts softly. "So you're demi-god now, eh?" The former Hokage muses.

"I'm no god, nor are the Shinigami, also called Soul Reapers. We can still die, its just that we lack frail, physical bodies. I mean, we're spirits as in entities of energy, we can take a lot of damage and I know that among the Shinigami is a medical division, an entire division who's primary job is to care for the injured." The spiky haired Arrancar explains.

"Really?" Hinata asks, likely a bit surprised to hear that. Naruto nods as he waves for the waiter to bring more meat.

"They also got a division for intelligence and assassination, one for science, and another dedicated to fighting with just their Zanpakutō..." Naruto tells them. "I know there is thirteen division headed by a single captain with seated officers under them and then unseated members under them. The captains are the strongest fighters in the division with the seated ones taking rank under them. At least that's how Gin explained it when I asked him about how things worked in the Soul Society."

"Why would this Gin know?" Tsunade wonders and Naruto snorts softly.

"Well, the reason why Arrancars were on the raise is because of a traitorous Shinigami named Sōsuke Aizen decided to go to war with his fellow Shinigami. Aizen managed to convince two of his fellow captains to follow his lead and they were Kaname Tōsen and Gin Ichimaru. They waited until this artifact called Hōgyoku was in the Soul Society before showing their colors." Naruto explains.

"The Hōgyoku has the ability to weaken the inner barrier within a Shinigami or a Hollow, allowing them to become artificial hybrids. It's how I became an Arrancar, the man is looking among the Hollows to create his army. Not that I or the rest of the unit care to die in a Shinigami civil war after only being Arrancars for a few months..." Naruto explains.

"And here I thought you were loyal, that when you gave your word, you'd follow through with it." Tsunade remarks and he laughs.

"I never said I would join his army nor fight for his cause. Only the Espada are expected to take oaths of loyalty. Nobody directly asked Chico or myself if we want to serve 'Lord' Aizen, they asked if we were interested in becoming Arrancar, which we were, and that's it." Naruto answers with a grin.

"Wasn't it implied that you'd only become Arrancars to serve in the man's army?" Tsunade asks and Naruto just shrugs.

"Doesn't mean much without oaths." Naruto couldn't help say and he believes it too. "Besides, the man was like Madara and Orochimaru, do you really expect me to be loyal to somebody who doesn't plan to return that loyalty?"

"Sounds like you've gown up." Tsunade muses with a slight smile.

"I better have, I've been a Hollow for over several centuries already." Naruto says, staring down at the strips of meat upon the grill.

"When did you get your memories back?" Hinata asks and Naruto glances over to the woman before answering, "Got them back when I fought that Adjuchas. Likely why I managed to displace the guy in the mental battle."

"So, how did it feel looking like a fox?" Tsunade asks and Naruto gives her a sour look.

"Who says I looked like a fox in my true form? Why would I take the appearance of that furball after how hard I've struggled not to be seen as that fuzzball?" Naruto asks the elderly woman.

"A ferret then?" Tsunade asks and Naruto just shakes his head.

"I was more bird like at the beginning then mammal like. Over all, I looked like a raptor, as in the Dinosaur then the bird type." Naruto says before his 'granny' could come up with another animal. "Had yellow eyes and a short mane of blue."

"Must have been because you were wind natured." Hinata muses and Naruto nods in agreement with that.

"True and now I still look raptor like but now seems to be a mammal trying to be a raptor. Not sure how that works but its what I look like. Longer arms so I can sprint on all fours, bright yellow hair on my head and on a patch upon my tail while sporting thin white fur over most of my body but stopping before my tail. A minor dewclaw on my forehand and these orange tendrils with red stripes growing a bit above these ears." Naruto describes to the pair sitting at the table.

"I even got canine teeth in my mouth in that form." Naruto adds as an afterthought. "I've been called a peacock more then a few times because of how colorful I am."

"So, what do you plan to do now? Going to go back to being a ninja?" Tsunade asks Naruto after they flip the strips of meat.

"Can't be a ninja cause I don't have chakra." Naruto points out and adds, "Besides, I don't feel like rejoining, I've got other things to do, which is mainly organizing the other Arrancar while coming up with training excerises to help us get use to our dual status as Hollows and Shinigami. I want to see just what we're capable of, particularly I want to see if we're as capable of Kidō as the Shinigami."

"Well, brat, I'm just happy to have you back." Tsunade tells the blond Arrancar and Naruto chuckles.

"I wonder if you'll regret that statement in the coming months..." Naruto wonders and then a few seconds later, the spiky haired Arrancar sees smoke out of the corner of his eye.

_I wonder how they'll explain that one..._ Naruto wonders, already having an idea that one of his fellow Arrancars are behind that fire.

**- o 0 o -**

**The End**


	66. To Be Hunted: Danny Phantom

- o 0 o -

I don't own Danny Phantom!

- o 0 o -

**Danny**

Hunger is the first thing he knows and its what drives him to wake. Groaning softly, he curls to the left, hand closing into fists. With the hunger pressing the sleep out, he finally opens his eyes. He blinks a few times as his vision slowly comes too.

He sits up and glances around to find himself in a small cave. He runs a hand through his hair and hisses softly in pain as fingers move over a fresh cut and as his fingers move along the area, he finds it to be a rather long jagged thing. Matted hair gets yanked as he tries to untangle his hand from the tangle.

Strains of snow white hair come loose and he stares blankly at them. He closes his eyes, trying to think beyond the hunger he feels. Searching for, first an idea of where he is and then who is is when it becomes clear that he's drawing blanks in both.

He glances down at his cloths to find that they were barely holding themselves together. Jagged tears lined with barely scabbed cuts mar his chest, shoulders, arms, and a rather long, nasty looking along his belly. The slice that nearly gutted him looked puffy and white, likely infected.

His pants were in better shape but then, whoever attacked him seemed to be focusing on killing him, not crippling him. He glances down at the floor of this cave to find the spot stained with blood, his blood. He feels tears burning to be released and grief suddenly engulfs him.

In the end, its hunger that causes him to act once more. He stands up, leaning heavily on the wall as he slowly staggers towards the entrance. He stares blankly at the sight that greets him, he only felt that something is wrong with what he finds but brushes it off as he had food to find.

As he steps off the stone floor, he hovers in the air, not falling at all. Then, at a thought, he begins to drift forward, heading forward. He drifts among a landscape of purple doors hanging in green sky. He slowly gets pass this green sky to find black sky with lines of green swirling and some of the purple doors seem to become scare here and replaced by floating bits of buildings, islands, and green monsters with this strange glow.

It takes him a while before he realizes that he sports the same glow. Some time after passing by some kind of black castle, he could feel himself slowly falling asleep. When he woke, he found himself still drifting through the landscape, although this time, it seems as though he's about to impact into this huge, gigantic tree with leaves whose colors range through a rainbow of vibrant hues.

The smell from this tree causes him to raise up, heading for the branches. After a time, he then floats through the leafy canopy of the tree. He sighs as he spots a pool of water after moving deeper into the tree branches. He lands by the pool and carefully puts his hands into the water, cupping water in his hands, he lifts it up and he drinks.

He repeats this action at least five times. He then cups water and lets it drip over his stomach cut. He hisses and winces at the stinging the water provokes from the cut, but he keeps on doing it to try and wash away the dirt that's around it. He then does his chest, each of the cuts upon his chest sting as the water runs over them.

He looks down into the slowly stilling pool and takes a good look at his face. He touches his cheek, running it down, glowing green eyes staring back at him. He cups water and splashes it onto his face. A few seconds later, he dunks his head into the pool and jerks his head out as the water causes the cut upon his head and a bunch of minor cuts he didn't know he had, to sting.

After a few minutes, the ebb of the pain fades and with a sigh, he walks into the pool. As he dunks his whole body under the water and holds his breath, his back begins to sting sharply compared to his chest and head cuts. After a while, he breaks the surface of the pool and shakes his head while exhaling.

He does this a few more times until none of his cuts sting and then gets out of the pool. As he sits by the pool once more, he finds that his hunger seems to have gone down. He yawns as he begins to feel tired once more.

He didn't fight it as he felt exhausted just by walking into the pool and keeping himself under. He lies down upon the ground, his arms under his head to cushion it. His breathing evens out and he gives way to the dreamless sleep that awaits.

He's startled awake by something cold poking his back. He wakes and glancing slowly to look behind him. As he stares to find a tall glowing man wearing a skull of a stag like a helmet, he knows it to be a stag because the antlers were still attached. The face of this man sports black face paint with a single red stripe on the left side of the face going from the bottom of the eye down to the jaw.

Pale glowing blue eyes stare down at him as he backs away from the man, only dimly noting the pale white horse that's standing behind the strange man. The whining of a hound causes him to look down to the man's feet to find at least six white hounds with short red socks about their paws, their eyes glowing either red or green.

"A bit young and scrawnier then my usual fair but you'll do. _You'll do_." The man with the spear decides. The man moves to the glowing white horse and mounts onto the horse, the spear being placed within some place in the saddle.

"What...?" He finally asks, his voice crackling from disuse once he gets to his feet. He clears his throat as the hounds get to their feet. "What are you talking about? Who are you?"

"I have many names and those names are Gwydion, Gwynn ap Nudd, King Arthur, Nuada, King Herla, Woden, the Devil, and Herne the Hunter." The hunter states. "And this night, you are my prey."

He shivers as a cold wind blows, causing leaves to rattle upon the branches. "If I did anything to offend you, I'm sorry." He says as he keeps backing away from the hunter.

His foot almost slips as it is brought down upon ice. A quick look confirms that the pool he had dunk himself in has frozen over and as he stares, at the other side of the pool was a shimmering portal that featured a land that was achingly more familiar then the one he had woke to find himself in while in that cave.

"You have done nothing to offend me, lad. It's just your misfortune to partake of this tree's hospitality. If you survive this night, you will have paid the price the tree demands and may forever return to the tree to partake of its hospitality." The leather clad hunter upon the glowing horse informs him.

"That's if I survive the night..." He mutters, it's bad enough his whole identity is gone but now he's to included in a hunt as the item of the chase. _What did I do to offend those higher up then myself?_

**"On this night of nights, doth the moon wax and wane."** The hunter's voice can be heard once he's entered into the shimmering gate leading to some other land. **"Oh what doth my hounds flush out upon this mystical night?"**

He begins to jog through this forest, the voice of the huntsman echoing through the night. He swallows as he hears the bay of hounds. His heart begins to speed up as a dull sense of panic begins to set in.

Overhead, stars twinkle brightly without much cloud cover. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of wildlife either as the only sound that seems to reach his ears seems to be the whistling wind, baying of hounds, and the singing voice of the hunter.

**"Be it a hare so filled with fright?"**

His breath catches for a second before something out of the corner of his eye sprints away. Goose bumps raise up as he begins to pick up his pace.

**"Long ears and legs, a beast that leaps with hopes of flight."**

He tries to ignore the words as he weaves between bushes and trees, preferring the forest over the open fields.

**"A little beast that darts and weave in search of it borrow dug hole of a home."**

Light from the quickly waxing moon causes him to cast a shadow. He glances at to his side and finds a shadow of a small hare trying to push his own shadow out of the way. He snaps his head else where and swallows as best as he can while trying not to let his pace falter.

**"A fine sport for the hounds, but trophy worthy its comes to be not!"**

Something black darts away and out of the corner of his eye, his shadow is now alone.

**"This beast's pace isn't that of a frighten hare, seeking refuge in its home."**

The bay of hounds pause but he does not. He finally darts to cross the field to his right, hoping to cross it before the hounds and the hunter could catch a glimpse of him. Overhead the moon begins to wane and clouds begin to gather, blocking out the stars.

**"Oh what a hunt this night doth bring as the bright loving moon doth wane. Darkness doth try to hide this prey from my sight."**

His goose bumps raise up once more, they had calmed slightly before he had glimpsed that shadow hare trying to butt out his own shadow from following him.

**"Oh what a sight this beast must be for darkness to veil it from my sight!"**

On the horizon he spots something coming up.

**"Perhaps a mighty antlered stag have my hounds flush out? Oh what a sight that stag must be!"**

He feels as though something just butted him in the back, causing him to fall forward. He groans softly as something seems to try to trample him. Glancing behind, he finds a shadow, a shadow in the shape of a large stag.

He shakes his head and gets up despite the stag's attempts to overpower him. His head throbs and he tries to blast the stag away using green beam of energy that comes from a hand of his. The stag leaps out of the way and he takes off at full speed, trying to escape the shadow stag and its attacks.

**"A full rack upon its brow, a healthy coat to fight the chill."**

The stag hounds his every step.

**"Is my prey a noble beast? Worthy to be a forest prince?"**

He tries to fire off another green blast but it doesn't work. In the end, he just shakes his head and focuses on running without tripping over his own feet.

**"Might this beast sport sturdy legs with cloven hooves? Capable of out racing an ancient foe?"**

His lungs burn and numbness slowly seems to settle upon his legs. Then he cries out before falling down, his vision swims and for a moment, just a moment, he thought he saw fur sprout upon his legs and something itchy upon his head.

_Get out of me!_ He thinks furiously and suddenly, he feels drain, but oddly satisfied. With a shake, he gets to his feet and continues towards the stream. The baying of hounds begin again as he makes it to the stream, he pause to take a breather.

**"A good trophy this would be stag, but at last, the darkness yields it hold, allowing my sight to see, that this beast could not be such a prince."**

He jerks and glances up to find that yes, the clouds were clearing to allow the moon and stars to look down upon the land. He shakes his head and walks into the stream to begin walking down it. His eyes glancing all about him as the distant baying of hounds seems to be getting louder.

**"Open field my prey did go, charging out of the forest's emerald glow. Foolish trail this beast doth take or is this beast as clever as a fox?"**

He feels a shiver go down his spine and he glances around for a shadow shaped fox. After all, for every beast this hunter lists, a shadow of the beast comes to him. He becomes worried since he hasn't spotted this one yet as he picks up his pace.

**"Could this beast be the feet footed thief that stalk the field? The one who haunt the fowl huts?"**

His jaws begins to hurt from the tension and he tries to force himself to relax. Then, something causes him to fall forward and he hurriedly raises himself out of the water using his hands and knees. He shakes his head before glancing at his back to find the shadow beast upon his back.

He tries to stand but the fox quickly nips his neck. He keeps trying to throw the beast but it only kept nipping his neck or, on a rare occasion an ear. He stops after a few seconds and glances off to his left, he hears the baying growing and begins to crawl forward on his hands and knees.

He hears the fox yip its approval, but he doesn't pay it much heed and in time, forgets that the little beast is even riding upon his back or that he should be standing on two legs. Within seconds, traveling upon all fours suddenly got easier as his legs seem to become the same length as his arms...

**"The slyest of the sly, the fox doth be. The favored sport of hounds and hunters."**

He shakes his head as he pauses, he felt uneasy. He jerks his head and glances backwards to find something familiar behind him. Something tells him to growl at this black thing to chase it away but the shape is so achingly familiar that he does not.

**"Trickery be their trade and their specialty. Living by their wits and their feet, never confronting when they could run."**

He stiffens with wide eyes as he recalls whose shadow it truly is that he's looking at. He closes his eyes and then pushes up, trying to stand up right. He feels the fury of the beast and is more then relieved when he stands upright feeling a little dazed.

He finds the shadow fox before him before it vanishes. He sighs and begins to run once more. He knew that was a close call.

**"By the moon's lovely light I see, not a red coat upon thee. So with great sorrow I regret mistaking this beast for a sly thief."**

The stream seems to be getting stronger but he keeps following it, although he does move to the opposite shore. The baying of hounds continues to draw closer.

**"This mystery beast doth be a puzzle to me. Perhaps this beast doth be something more? Some unusual fair like a boar or bear?"**

He feels the hairs on the back of his neck raise up at the thought of being assaulted by either shadow beasts.

**"It's tracks seem canine..."**

He pales at the thought of a wolf shadow coming after him.

**"Its a toss this is, for only two come to mind. Perhaps this beast be tamed? Maybe a stray hound of mine?"**

He shivers and falls to the ground on his right as something appears about his neck. He grabs it and begins to fiddle with it to get it off.

**"A young pup who's lost his way, bullied by its brother till it raced from the pack. Perhaps a gentle pat upon its head would be its reward for when it return..."**

He bites his lip at the offer, it sounds very tempting since its likely an option that won't lead to his death...

He shakes his head, a fierce and stubborn resolve took root. He finally gets rid of the collar, he watches as it vanishes before hitting the ground. He felt uplifted that he didn't give in but at the same time, exhaustion at fleeing before this huntsman.

**"No, this beast be not a hound. Its untamed spirit burns brightly this night. A wolf of unusual might."**

He groans but decides not to run from this coming shadow. He stands as the black shadow approaches seemingly out of nowhere. The wolf doesn't move towards him nor does he retreat before this shadow. He found it very unnerving to be staring at something that doesn't have any visible eyes.

Then, as the hunter's voice echos through the night, not that he actually heard what the voice is saying as the shadow suddenly pounces and he blacks out. His last thought was that he hopes to at least go down fighting...

**Herne**

"It seems you've found someone worthy of being your apprentice, Herne." Clockwork muses as he rides through the portal with the lad resting in his arms. The ghost of time's form becomes that of an old man.

"That I have, that I have, Clockwork." He says to the staff welding ghost. "But he's not in any shape to accept the honor. You are sure that Frostbite will teach him what he needs to know to defeat Undergrowth?"

"Danny's ice powers are in dire need of training and who other then those of the Far Frozen to train him in their powers?" Clockwork points out.

He nods as the young lad within his arms becomes surrounded by a green glow. "His memories will need to be restored." He couldn't help but remark as the body of one Danny Phantom moves towards the forever age cycling ghost.

"He will think this is just a dream when he wake." Clockwork promises and he nods. "He has much to do before returning to this place."

"And I shall be waiting until then." He states, his hounds slink out of the portal now that Clockwork and young Danny have vanished.

_Until then._

- o 0 o -

**The End**


	67. Halloween Episode, My Style Part 3

**I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer! The Monster's Ring is owned by Bruce Coville!**

**x 0 x**

**The Monster's Ring**.

Those were the words on the box of the last unbroken item in the bin. Slitting the tape keeping the dusty black box closed, he opens the box up to discover a copper ring holding a green token that features a face, a face similar to a lion's only with horns jetting out of the forehead.

Xander sighs as he looks from the ring to what remains of the bin. "Let's see what you cost." The teen murmurs as he closes the box, not noticing that within the box there was a sheet of paper.

"How much is this?" Xander asks the man behind the counter. The man picks up the box and raises an eye brow before answering without wondering where the box came from. "A dollar." The owner says.

Xander rummages about in his pocket and places a five on the counter. Few seconds later, Xander walks out of the store with the ring box in his jean's pocket.

- - - -

**Bedroom**

Xander sighs as he lies on his bed, the teen had check out other stores but none of them had anything good in their discard bins. The feel of the black box pressing into his hip causes Xander to roll slightly onto his other side so he can take out the dusty black box. "Looks like you're all I've got..." The teenager muses with the box being held before him.

Opening the box, Xander couldn't help but spot some kind of sheet of paper from his current angle of sight. Using his index and middle finger, he manages nab the bit of paper. Pulling it free, Xander takes a second to wonder if he shouldn't be cautious since the ring might be magic before he just brushes that thought off since he doubts a costume store would possess a magical item.

((Ethan sneezes and wonders if he might be coming down with something))

Unfolding the crispy yellow sheet of paper, an image of a horned monster's face and out stretched arms with the title reading, How To Work The Monster's Ring. Xander blinks before setting the sheet down without reading the rest to check his small library. Within seconds, the teen pulls a thin, light blue book entitled the Monster's Ring by Bruce Coville.

"Let's see, chapter 3, page 19..." Xander mutters to himself as he reads what's written on said page. Heading back to the bed, the male member of the Scoobies picks up the other sheet and begins comparing the two.

"Ok... now this is a freaky co-ink-a-dick." Xander muses as he puts the book and the sheet down on his bed as he now considers if the ring really is magical. "Only one way to find out..." The teen says with a slight grin.

Once the ring is on his right hand, on the right most finger, the finger that isn't the pinky, Xander grips it and almost begins to repeat the chant until the teenager stops as he considers what he remembers from reading the magic shop book.

"Might be a good idea to change out of these cloths..." Xander says as he pinches the front of his shirt. _It wouldn't do for Will or Buff to see some random monster wearing their friend's cloths..._

Once Xander is wearing some old, faded jeans that belonged to his dad, the teen finally grips the top of the ring and begins to chant as he gives the ring two twists. "Powers dark and powers bright, I call you now, as is my right. Unleash the magic of this ring and change me into a monstrous thing!"

An odd sort of numbing feel engulfs him while he begins to feel very chilly. Xander holds his arms out and watches as coarse black fur seem to sprout out of his skin with surprising speed. As the fur finishes growing, Xander begins to feel hot as muscles begin to ripple and expand as Xander checks to see if horns did grow out of his forehead.

As the numbing vanishes and he couldn't help feeling excited, horrified, and a sort of disbelief that it worked. Xander moves to stand before the only mirror in his bedroom and comes face to face with his new face. Pulling his lips back, Xander feels a slight shiver goes down his spine.

He snarls at his reflection and despite his encounters with the twon's resident demons, he almost leaps into the air. _Ok... I now know it works so I might as well go back to my regular look._ Xander thinks even though the night beckons him.

Xander almost gave into that feeling if he didn't recall just what happens in Sunnydale at night. "Definitely don't want to encounter Buffy like this..." Xander admits in a very gruff, throaty voice as he grips the ring with his thumb and index finger, care of his claws as he chants as he twists the ring, "Powers bright and powers dark, hark to one who bears your mark. Let now my shape return to me and make me as I used to be!"

"Well, at least I have a costume for Halloween." Xander says as he takes off the ring after studying it for a few minutes once he's back to being human.

- - - -

**Oct 31st**

Xander couldn't help but feel as if something just washed over him as he pauses mid-step as he leads a group of trick-or-treaters. Xander growls as he feels his grip on himself loosen ever so slightly. Before Xander knows what's happening, he finds himself leaping into the air, grabbing hold of an overhead streetlight as the group of mini monsters rush the spot he had been standing just a heart beat ago.

Xander begins to swing his body back and forth until he's got enough momentum to swing his body up onto the top of the sturdy streetlight. A few of the midget monsters hound the bottom of the streetlight but Xander judges that none of them would be able to grip the metal that the streetlight is made out of.

"Definitely glad that I decided on only one twist of the ring." Xander murmurs as a part of him feels as if the mini monsters were trying to challenge his position as top 'dog'. Glancing away from the street to judge the distance to the next streetlight.

Xander smirks as he begins to rotate his shoulders and crack his neck a few times. As Xander once more begins to swing on the streetlight, he couldn't help but feel so alive. Sailing through the air, for a few seconds, Xander couldn't help but feel alive before gripping the metal of the second streetlight.

The kids those kids that have been turned monsters, devils, and demons had long since abandoned trying to get at Xander so the teen drops down onto the street and glances about the street as mini ninja, soldiers, wizards, rangers, animorphic animals, monsters, devils, demons, and heroes battle among themselves or flee.

"Ok... I do believe I'm going to head for the library and hope that Giles knows how to stop this before those kids kill each other." Xander mutters as he begins to jog towards the school since he's not sure if either Buff or Will will be much help.

- - - -

**Nov 1st**

"Looks like he couldn't wait to leave." Xander muses as he glances around the empty shop. The teen had hoped to ask Ethan about where he got the Monster's Ring but it seems that he won't be getting any answers this time.

Taking the ring out of the pocket, Xander holds it before him as he wars with himself about what to do about the magical ring. _This is a Hellmouth and that pretty much attracts Murphy's Law like a magnet to a fridge, which means that I might find myself much like Russel Crannaker and abuse this ring by twisting it three times or using it during a full moon or worst yet, doing both at the same time._ Xander muses but he closes his eyes and lets out a sigh.

"On the other hand, just because I throw this away doesn't mean that somebody else won't find it and use it. At least with me, I'll know where it is and if it's being used..." He mutters to himself and for a second, he feels as if the ring's face is looking at him but the moment vanishes and with a sigh, he pockets the ring.

_Who knows, maybe it'll come in handy in the coming years. After all, this is a Hellmouth and anything is possible, though it'll likely occur more like a nightmare then a pleasant dream..._


	68. Halloween Episode, My Style Part 4

**I don't own Buffy or WarCraft!**

**x 0 x**

**Race:** Orc  
**Job:** Hunter  
**Game:** World of WarCraft

Willow sighs as she studies the mask that goes along with the costume. _Maybe they got a sorceress..._ Will muses before pushing the first out of the way to reveal a new costume, only instead of a green 'orc' there's a purple skinned elf with glowing white eyes.

**Race:** Night Elf  
**Job:** Druid  
**Game:** World of WarCraft

Willow blinks as she mentally puts that one under the maybe list within her mind as she continues pass that elf costume. The next costume seems to be a blue penguin with a large bag strapped to its front, the next appears to be a Hex Witch costume, and she finds another World of WarCraft costume.

**Race:** Draenei  
**Job:** Paladin  
**Game:** World of WarCraft

The next one

**Race:** Forsaken  
**Job:** Rogue  
**Game:** World of WarCraft

The next one

**Race:** Orc  
**Job:** Shaman  
**Game:** World of WarCraft

The next one

**Race:** Gnome  
**Job:** Warrior  
**Game:** World of WarCraft

The next one

**Race:** Troll  
**Job:** Mage  
**Game:** World of WarCraft

Willow pauses and takes the troll one off of the rack and then holds onto it before returning to finding another mage costume but, at last, she only kept finding various other jobs like priests and warlocks. Willow did find a few human costumes from the World of WarCraft costume line but they weren't mages though.

Willow pauses and glances to try and find her two friends, Buffy and Xander. Will shakes her head slightly at the sight of Buffy standing next to this lacy monstrosity and Xander going through the cheap bin. Willow bites down on her lower lip as she glances at the costume in her hand.

As Will brings it up to her neck once she steps before a mirror, she finds a sticker on the back of the paper displaying the image of a troll in a robe. "Buy one game costume and get the second for half price." Will muses and for a few seconds she smirks slightly at the idea of getting a costume from the same game series, but then she reasons that Xander wouldn't want her to go to any trouble over him.

It takes a few seconds before one side of her psyche to win out as the part saying go for it points out that it would be like old times where Xander and her use agree on a certain theme. _But which one to pick?_ Willow wonders as she gazes at the rack she found her own costume in.

"Thanks for the costume Will!" Xander says to the usual shy member of the scooby gang as he holds up the orc warrior costume Willow picked out for her childhood friend to wear. Willow blushes slightly as she says, "You're welcome Xander."

"Too bad Buff got her costume before we could try and convince her to go for that tauren shaman costume or one of the others we picked out." Xander says with a sigh and Willow hums her agreement. "It would have been nice." Willow admits as they pause, Buffy had hurried home with her dress.

"Well, see you tomorrow at school." Xander says after a few seconds of silence as they're about to part ways. "Yea, see you Xander. Glad you liked my choice." Willow says with a wave, Willow begins to head off in the direction of her house while Xander heads off in the direction of his house.

- - - -

**Oct 31st**

"What hit me?" Xander wonders as he finds himself sitting on his ass on the street. With a grunt, Xander picks himself up off the ground and pats down his leather armor.

It didn't take long before Xander glances around in puzzlement. "Spirits..." The orc mutters at the sight of the sleek, metal tanks and then at the homes surrounding him.

"Where on Azeroth am I?" The warrior wonders as little beings race about causing havoc. Taking his board sword from his belt, the orc warrior named Xander stalks off to find what sorcerer is responsible for this.

_I wonder how Willow is taking this?_ Xander wonders as he recalls that he had been in the company of his troll friend, a surprisingly shy troll at that.

"This is very bad mojo..." Willow mutters as she glances about the alien land she finds herself in. Few tried to hamper the mage's progress through the chaos going on.

Willow couldn't properly identify many of the races that were racing about. _You'd think those humans wouldn't be so freaked out by this..._ The mage muses as Willow passes by a pair of screaming adults being herded through the street as she follows the direction of the core chaos magic.

"Heh, wonder what this sign says. Must be important if they've got a human featured among the scriptures..." Willow mutters as she stops by this small shelter standing by the black part of the street. Scratching her red hair, Willow standers there for a few seconds and almost jumps as a very large and long metal tank stops just a few feet from where she's standing.

"What you waiting for? An open invitation?" The human male sitting in the driver seat demands as the troll mage moves towards the open doors.

"What kind of invitation will I be a needing?" Willow asks and the driver rolls his eyes as well as mutter something about teenagers. A few of the little kids push her out of the way and enter into the bus.

With a shrug, Willow walks away, leaving the adult humans to deal with the hyperactive children. _I wonder if Xander's here?_

"Alright Xander, what the heck is going on here?" A human dressed up in black cloths demands as he finishes driving away the kids that were trying to take bites out of the human female before him.

"Do I know you, human?" The orc asks as he studies the female with a hint of interest. "And why are you wearing such strange garments?" Xander adds as he glances at the cloth ears resting on top of the female's head.

"Hello! I'm Cordelia, what's wrong, is that mask on a bit too tight?" Xander grunts as he mutters softly to himself, "Should have just let the kids have their way with her..."

Not that Cordelia seems to have heard the warrior as the green teenager continues on his way, true, he hadn't the faintest idea of where he's heading but Xander preferred some kind of action to no action at all. Sadly though, it seems that the feeble female has decided to tag along with him while chatting his ear off.

_Definitely one of those who talks just to listen to the sound of her own voice..._ Xander concludes. The buildings had long since changed from those strange houses with bits of grassland before them to what appears to be stores. The young warrior grunts every so often when it sounds as if she's asking him his opinion.

_What's up with all of these signs? They can't be warnings can they?_ Xander after a while.

A scream up ahead causes Xander to enter into a jog while the human called Cordelia calls out, "Hey, wait! Where are you going?" A much louder scream echos through the night, signaling that he's either getting closer or who ever is screaming is coming to him.

Bellowing his battle cry, Xander leaps over the fallen human to stand before her and the young whelps chasing her. The little ones back up a few steps while something looking like a human appears behind the group of whelps. "Buffy! I should have known Xander was leading me straight to you." The annoying female says while the blond human steps more into the light.

Having a clearer view of the blond's face, Xander growls, "You're not human are you?" Brown eyes meet feral yellow and the blond just smirks.

"No guards..." Willow muses softly to herself as the mage ignores the strange buildings and the looks the humans were giving her during the time it took for her to arrive at this shop. The troll mage couldn't help but notice more of the local human language written in the window.

"No hint of magical defenses..." The young mage mutters out loud once more and taking hold of her staff, Willow the troll blasts the door open using a simple fireball spell. Before walking into the shop, Willow casts frost armor on herself.

"You're not Ripper..." The human by the stone statue says in surprise. Willow raises an eyebrow at the human male and casts a simple polymorph spell on the man so he doesn't interfere with her examination of the very magical stone statue resting at the center of the room.

After a few minutes, Willow takes her staff and using the butt of the staff, pushes the statue off the table and it shatters as it hits the ground. Before she could brace herself, she is sent flying backwards into the wall and blacks out seconds later.

Xander couldn't help but cock his head to the side as his prospective on things changes slightly. The memories of Xander of the Frostwolf clan remain as memories of Xander Harris finally come forward. Blinking, he glances down at the pile of ash that had once been Spike the vampire.

"What just happened here? Xander just de-bulked! Is de-bulked even a word?" Cordelia wonders as Xander grips the mask and lifts it off of his face before turning to regard the whelps... little kids.

"Cordelia? Could you please shut it for a few seconds, I've got a giant of a headache." Buffy says and Xander smirks while feeling very relieved by Buffy's requests since the popular cheerleader hadn't stopped talking since he rescued her as an orc.

_I wonder how long those memories will remain?_ Xander wonders as he goes through his new set of memories and couldn't help but be very relieved that no demon has yet to consider poisoning food supplies to gather an army of undead or that the various demons and vampires weren't co-operating in any meaningful way as to create a massive army to conquer the world.

Xander snaps out of his thoughts as the gang of kids begin to sniffle and complain about missing their mommies while Buffy seems to be talking with... Angel? _When did he get here?_ Xander wonders briefly before taking charge of the kids since Cordelia wasn't.

- - - -

**Next Day**

"Kind of weird, huh? Having a totally different set of memories within you..." Willow muses as they sit at a table in the library while Buffy is busy organizing the weapons case while Giles is out trying to find a home for a certain sheep name Ethan.

"Not like we're going to get confused about who we really are considering our surroundings..." Xander points out and Will nods in agreement. "Too true, too true..." Willow admits with a smile.

"They do provide plenty of warnings don't they? I mean, sure the Burning Legion is a very good example of what could happen if every demonic being gives up on their feuds to achieve a single goal... Or what happens if you make pacts with demons..." The teen trails off but Willow gets what Xander is saying.

"I think I'm going to be a lot more careful with any attempts with magic from now on. As they say, absolute power corrupts absolutely." Willow says and Xander full heartedly agrees.


	69. Halloween Episode, My Style Part 5

**Don't Own Gold Digger or Buffy!**

**x 0 x**

**Name:** Brianna Diggers  
**Race:** Clone  
**Profession:** Mad Science  
**Series:** Gold Digger

Willow bites her lower lip as the young witch considers the costume hanging on the rack before her as she holds a simple ghost costume, a package that contains a white sheet with black eyes. _I can't believe somebody made a costume based on that comic series! It's a hard comic series to buy..._ Will thinks as the young shy high school student stares at the costume while recalling Brianna's history.

"Hey Will... Oh, I didn't know anybody made costume from that series..." Xander says as Will's childhood best friend glances at the costume on the rack. "You should go for it, Will! I mean, that's one costume you won't find anywhere else." Xander points out as young Mr Harris glances away from the costume to glance into Willow's face.

"I mean, you love that series when we were younger." Xander adds and finally, Will finally gives up trying to resists the allure of the costume on the rack, handing the ghost costume to her friend and fellow Scooby, the red head takes the costume off the rack. _Xander's right, what are the chances that I'd ever come across a costume based off of Gold Digger? I hope it fits though..._

With a shrug, Xander wanders away as Willow heads to where Buffy is standing before this lace monstrosity. _She's only looking at it because of Deadboy._ The teenager think sourly before he turns away, once young Mr Harris has set down the ghost costume, Xander heads once more to the cheap bin in hopes off finding a few extra things, like a combat knife or even a temporary tattoo to act as a squad unit's mascot.

- - - -

**Halloween Night**

Brianna couldn't help but groan softly as the young clone is suffering from something akin to a hangover headache. _Those screams aren't helping nor is that evil cackling..._ The young half breed WereCheetah admits as she finally forces her eyes open.

"Great, it seems as if Peewee's latest experiment must have gotten and bred like a rabbit..." The younger sister of Gina and Brittany Diggers mutters to herself, although Brianna also wonder idly about how she got here in the first place since the last thing the young clone recalls was being in the shower after one of her Peebos exploded in a puddle of mud, causing the mud to cover much of the backyard.

_Well, it looks like the cloths I'm wearing are clean... I wonder if I have my cell on me..._ Brianna Diggers wonders before she begins to pat herself down for said cell phone but can't seem to find it.

"Don't think I won't kick you where the sun don't shine." She snaps darkly after hearing a group chuckle behind her. A chorus of growls and snarls is hard to make out considering the chaos going on the street of where ever Brianna ended up at.

Rolling her eyes, the young clone twists the head face of her watch and within seconds, a total of four Peebos teleport in from Brianna's dimensional space pocket. While one part of her wonders why only four appeared, Brianna found it hard to care at this particular moment since she had other concerns at this point in time.

"Last warning, you really don't want to mess with me." Brianna says as she turns to stare at the group of experimental whatevers that Peewee had been cooking up in his lab. "Peebos go boom on bad guys!" One of the Peebos chants while the group spark a few lightning bolts in a threatening manner.

The little monster seem to have grown unnerved by this little display and finally, the group finally backs away before racing off to likely terrorize easier 'prey'. Brianna just sighs before glancing about for a pay phone. _Hopefully I'll get service where ever the hell I am..._ Brianna Diggers muses as she picks a direction and heads in it in hopes of finding a pay phone since she doubts anybody is going to open their doors with these midget monsters running loose.

Brittany knocks on the door of the bathroom. "Come on Brianna! You've been in there for, like, two hours! It's time to get out of there, sis! You're using up all the hot water!" The Werecheetah yells but Brianna doesn't reply.

With a growl, Brittany Diggers kicks the door open and is about to lecture her sister only to find her sister laying on the floor of the bathroom, totally unconscious. "Brianna? Brianna! Come on girl, wake up." Brittany says after rushing to her sister's side and slowly, gently shakes her sister's body.

"Gina! We have a problem! Something has happened to Brianna!" The Werecheetah yells at the top of her lungs as Brittany picks up the unresponsive body of her sister in a bridal style and heads for the medical ward of their house. _I'm glad Stripe took Tiffany out on that father-daughter movie night. I really don't want Tiff to see one of her aunt like this._

"What the hell do you mean the number isn't active?" Brianna growls into the phone but the voice recording only repeats the unable to connect, please try another number. Brianna slams the phone back onto its hook and collects the change that comes out. "I'm stuck here, in _Sunnydale_ and I can't phone home! I also can't access more of my gear and my senses feel tingly." She rants to herself since the Peebos seem to be watching tv on display before an electronic shop.

_You know, I could probably create my own satellite phone using stuff from that shop... But the problem is, the store isn't open..._ Brianna muses but finally, glancing around at the chaos going on about her, she figures that nobody will think much about her breaking into this store, not with these various creatures causing all kinds of the havoc, which also includes destruction of store property and theft of merchandise.

Whistling an innocent tone, Brianna walks over to the door and punches through the wooden door. The alarm blares as Brianna unlocks the door. Once that's done, she heads into the simple gadget shop with her Peebos hot on her heels. It didn't take long before Brianna turns on the lights and summons what she can of her tool kit using her watch.

While the various Peebos watch various tvs, she's a bit busy constructing a phone. She did pause and says, "Turn it back to that news channel, please." Within a half a second, one of the Peebos do as she asked.

The news broadcast showed various clips of fictional characters like the Hulk, Superman, Spiderman, Sailor Moon, etc trying to control the chaos caused by the monsters and not succeeding due to numbers. The broadcast itself ended as the Joker and a couple of other villains appeared before the camera. A sense of dread fills her as her thoughts began to consider that maybe, just maybe, something magical in nature is behind this and that she, too, is just like those others, dragged from their homes to Sunnydale.

Leaving off the semi-built phone, Brianna turns on the computer and once she's hack through the password, she accesses the world wide web, once finding a search engine, she types her name before clicking search. Within minutes, a listing of various _Gold Digger_ sites pop up and it didn't take her long to learn that in this world, she, too, is a fictional character.

_That explains why I couldn't phone home, there isn't a home to phone!_ Brianna Diggers thinks and then she looks around for a memory card.

In the end, she creates one and then begins to hack and download as much information she can about this Gold Digger comic, if only to compare time lines between the comic and her home reality.

A soft groan echos through the room and within seconds both Gina and Brittany appear at either side of the bed where their sister is resting on. "Gina? Brittany! You won't believe where I've been!" Brianna says while trying to sit up but Brittany struggles to keep her younger sister laying down.

"Hey now, just stay down! Dad said to make sure you stay in bed when you come back from your travels. Something about motion sickness, I think." Gina says, causing Brianna to huff but she does stop trying to sit up.

Within seconds, Brianna summons a familiar memory card. "Here, just check it out, ok? You never know, it just might come in handy want's on there." Brianna says before exhaustion causes her to yawn.

"Sure, just get some rest, Brianna." Gina says as she takes the memory card from her sister.

"Ah, Will? What's up with those bots?" Buff asks Willow and Will glances behind her to the four Peebos that seem to have adopted her since she awoke up in that shop. They had likely gotten out of Willow's book bag that she dropped off by her chair once she entered into the library.

"Well, you know how last night we turned into our costumes? Well, I dressed up as Brianna Diggers and she summoned these guys from her dimensional pocket. Also, she forgot to re-pocket them before it ended." Willow explains while the four robotic explosives continue to check around the library.

"Go boom on bad guys!" One of the Peebos state proudly, causing Will to smile. "Go boom?" Buff asks her with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Well, I might need to make a few adjustments to them." Will admits as ideas of future Peebos dance within her mind's eye.


	70. Halloween Episode, My Style Part 6

**I don't own Digimon or Buffy!**

**x 0 x**

_Just my luck..._ Xander thinks passively at the sight of a small group of five ten year olds making off to the counter to pay for most of the plastic guns and other military items that had been within the cheap bin. The white knight of the local Scoobies approaches the bin mournfully in hopes of finding something that could save his Halloween while he retains his title as the Two Dollar King.

Xander blinks at spotting something, he moves some of the stuff to find a white plastic thing that reminds him of a virtual pet. The back has a few spidery cracks upon it but the screen and the buttons the screen are fine.

"That looks like an original Digivice! You know, from season one." Some snot nose kid remarks and Xander gets an idea.

"Really? From what show?" The Zeppo asks the little girl.

"Digimon of course." The girl says and Xander grows thoughtful.

_Looks like a little research is needed._ Xander decides.

- - - -

**Oct 31st**

"Let's see..." Xander mutters as he begins to search through his room for some stuffed animal or pillow to act as his Digimon partner. The white knight hums as he finally assembles his tiny collection of decorated pillows and stuffed animals.

"Well, looks like you're the only one in good shape." Xander says to a small oval black pillow with purple eyes and minor orange Mohawk. "And I dub thee, Gimon, fresh level Digimon."

'Gimon' doesn't say anything as Xander picks up the 'Digimon', tucking 'Gimon' under his arm as he leaves the room. Xander stops to make sure this pale blue goggles, something he found in the cheap bin along with the white plastic Digivice, were resting comfortably upon his forehead.

The plastic Digivice in his pocket while the homemade tag and crest hung under his shirt. The tag being black with lighter black being used to showing a simple shield and upon that shield is Willow's best efforts to draw the star designed used for the crest of light. Willow had presented him with it yesterday, proclaiming it the crest of protection since he's always been her protector.

Xander grins into the mirror before leaving the house as soon as he gets his runners on. It didn't take long to arrive at the Summer residence where he's to hook up with Buffy and Will. _I feel almost sorry for making that bet with Buffy, ah well, I'll think of a way to make it up to her at a later date._

"Ah, Xander? Do you have something to eat? I'm starved!" Gimon says while Xander tries to make sense as to what's the hell is going on around them.

"Huh, don't seem too. I guess we can grab one of those candy filled pillow cases..." Xander says to his partner, who for some reason is in his fresh form.

Xander's grip upon the little Digimon doesn't keep the little black ball of fur from leaping out from under his arm. The fresh Digimon hops to the closest pillow case and gripping it, Gimon bounces up and down while shaking the pillow case violently about, causing candy to spill out before Xander could do more then take a few steps towards the fresh Digimon.

"At least let me unwrap it for you!" Xander says to his partner as Gimon begins to chew upon an apple. "Glutton." The goggle wearing Digidestine mutters with affection as he picks up some of the wrapped candy to unwrap it.

A few Ice Bubbles keep the monsters from attacking the little Digimon and his human partner. Xander is more then a little relieved when his Digivice begins to beep, signally that Gimon is ready to Digivolve up into his in-training level.

"Gimon Digivolves too...!" The energetic, high pitched voice of Gimon calls out as light engulfs him. "Gimumon!" A lightly deeper pitched voice says and as the light vanishes to reveal Gimumon.

Gimumon still lacks legs and remains black in color, although the orange Mohawk has been exchanged for a pair of pale orange feathered wings and a short tail sporting a white flame at the tip. Minor tusks jet out from Gimumon's mouth and eyes remaining purple.

A few flaps of his wings and Gimumon takes to the air. "So... where are we?" Gimumon asks his human partner and the goggle wearing teen sighs as he scratches the side of his head.

"Well, I think we're in America, although I'm at a lost to explain what those things are... I don't suppose their Digimon?" Xander asks his partner and the in-training Digimon frowns.

"They don't smell like Digimon..." Gimumon says and Xander nods. _They didn't appear as Digimon either but it's good to get that confirmed._

"Xander! Xander, oh my god, it's good to see that you're not affected too!" A female voice says and the two partners glance around in confusion.

"Do we know you?" Xander couldn't help but ask this red head wearing some really provocative cloths. "She doesn't have a scent." Gimumon remarks with a hint of worry.

"It's me, Willow!" The teen says and Xander couldn't help but stare at her.

"But... you can't be my little sister! She's, like, ten years old!" Xander says as he realizes that this teen does indeed share certain characteristic with his younger half sibling.

"Sister?" This older look alike of his kid sister stutters out with a hint of despair. "This isn't good, not good at all!"

In the end, Willow just decided to leave that be for now as there are more pressing issues concerning her body and Buffy. Although Willow is glad that Xander had something to help fend off the fake little demons and other monstrosities that roam the streets of Sunnydale.

Gimumon's Frostburn seemed enough to keep the costumed monsters at bay as Xander carries her costumed body. Though as more powerful ones began to show up as they track down Buffy, it took more effort from Gimumon to send those attackers packing.

Upon fending off a group of eight, Gimumon finally began to glow while this beeping sound comes from Xander. "Gimumon Digivolve too..." Gimumon's voice says and a slightly different voice states, "Ishimon!"

The light vanishes, revealing a black hyena with a white flaming mane with orange spots along this beast's side. Ishimon is about the size of a Great Dane. Around the Digital hyena's paws are bands of metal.

_This is taking forever!_ Willow couldn't help but groan but couldn't deny that Digimon were definitely becoming higher up on her list of likes as the hyena like monster takes out the attacking costumed people without really causing any injuries.

"Willow! Xander! Thank god you're here! Something's wrong with Buffy!" Cordelia Chase comes along while forcefully leading a protesting Buffy.

Then upon seeing Ishimon, Cordelia and Buffy scream.

_How come Cordelia isn't some cat creature?_ Willow couldn't help but think for a second before thinking. _I think it's time to involve Giles._

- - - -

**Few Days Later**

"Frostbite!" Ishimon states, activating one of his special attacks. Glowing white teeth touch a vamp, causing the site to become covered in ice.

The Digital hyena dodges to the left as a vampire lands forcefully where Ishimon had been just moments ago. Xander moves and quickly stabs the vamp upon the ground while his partner tackles the bitten vamp to the ground, holding the animated corpse so he could stab it.

"Great job, buddy! You're really working off those three dozen donuts." Xander teases the Digimon, nobody really knows why when the Chaos spell was banished that Ishimon remained.

"And you're working off your dozen." Ishimon replies with laughing purple eyes as the black rookie turns to face Xander. "So, we done here or what?" Ishimon inquires.

"Think so. Want to catch up with Buffy and see if she needs a hand or paw?" Xander asks the rookie. _Not that I'm complaining about him, even if he'll eat me out house and home._ Xander muses fondly at the Digital Monster.

Ishimon snorts before glancing off to some point in the night before shaking. "I'm willing to call it a night." The rookie says before a glow erupts around the hyena's form and within seconds, Gimumon now hovers where Ishimon had been standing.

Xander just shrugs and behind to lead his partner away from the graveyard. He touches his goggles for a second before pocketing his hands into his jean's pockets. His new set of memories were something he's still learning to manage and the goggles were just one of the changes to his over all appearance.

_Let what is to come, come. I will stand by my girls and especially by my partner. I am a protector of man. I am a shield of this world. I am Digidestined._ Xander thinks as he walks confidently through the night with Gimumon flying slightly behind him.


	71. Looping Naruto: To Be A Cyber!

**I don't own Cybersix or Naruto!**

**- o 0 o -**

Naruto

"Cybersix?" He wonders as he stares down at the tattoo that's upon his arm as he sits upon the bed. He sighs as he realizes that this has to be some kind of partial fusion loop.

"Well, let's see if I can't find something that will tell me why the alarm clock buzzed so early..." He says, finally standing up. He begins to stretch his arms as he begins to explore the apartment.

He found something about a high school and a book list. He finds the books piled next to the door as well as a suit case. With a shrug, he heads for the bathroom to take a shower before getting dress.

For some odd reason, he doesn't feel hungry...

At the High School

"I'm teaching what?" He couldn't help but exclaim. "Sorry, it's, I haven't had enough coffee, you know? Still trying to fully wake up." He hurriedly apologies before the principal of the high school could react to his out burst.

"Well then, I'm sure that you'll be able to get your fix when I show you the staffroom." The man in the expensive suit says upon getting up from his seat. "Come along then, Mr Seidelman."

"Yes sir." He says as he gets up from his own chair. He couldn't help but follow the other man as his mind tries to wrap the thought of him teaching something that has nothing to do with physical conditioning or chakra. A part of him takes note of what the principal is saying to him while the rest of his mind is a bit consumed with mental ranting.

_How am I going to teach literature? I'm no bookworm like Sakura! Just who did I offend this time to be stuck teaching literature of all things to high school students?_ He mentally wonders as he slowly comes to terms with the idea of him being a literature teacher for this loop.

_Kami this is going to push the limit of my acting abilities, isn't it?_ He thinks with a soft sigh as he finally recovers from the shock by the time to drink a cup of coffee upon arriving to the staffroom. As he pours another cup, he glances around the kind of dingy room.

Upon finishing off the second cup, they continue upon the tour of the campus, he dimly recalls a classroom filled with laughing students and their teacher, he didn't really pause to look in the window of the class either. He breaths a sigh of relief when the tour ends at the classroom that he's to be teaching at. After a few seconds of minor chit chat, the principal leaves him to enter the class.

_I'm so going to fail at being a teacher..._ He decides as he glances around the currently empty classroom.

During Class

_Ok, she knows something. Now then, how to go about learning what she knows without making it look like I'm hitting on a student?_ He wonders as he studies a red haired teenager named Lori from his position at the dress as he has a student read out loud.

_"You're Mr. Seidelman? Really?" Lori asks in alarm._ He recalls when he introduced himself as such.

Lori

_Where's Cybersix? And just who is this 'Mr. Seidelman' really? I wonder how Lucas will take this turn of events..._ She wonders as the blond man sitting at the desk watches a fellow classmate read from the book.

She's more then happy to leave when the bell rings. "Read the rest of this chapter. I'll be quizzing you all on it tomorrow." The imposer says as they pack up their stuff and leave.

"Lori, a moment please?" The imposer asks and she freezes. She waves her gang off before turning to find the highly handsome man studying her with his blue eyes.

"What's up teach?" She asks and the man seems to become bemused by her attitude. She wonders how she'll get out of this.

"I don't suppose you can tell me about this, could you?" The blond man asks, rolling back his sleeve to reveal a very familiar tattoo. She pales at the words upon the man's arm.

"How did you... There's only one and you're not her!" She says, too shocked to watch what she's saying.

"I replaced a woman? Kami, I'll never live this down... I can see Saotome now..." The man groan and she's shaken enough to parrot back Saotome in a curious tone.

"Never met him or her before? Usually fifteen years old, black hair done up in a pig tail, and can commonly being chased by a large number of women?" The blond asks her and she just shakes her head, although she couldn't help but wonder why this teen would be hounded by women.

_Must see him to know it, I guess._ She decides as she asks, "And just who are you really?"

"I? I'm Naruto Uzumaki, most often a Genin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I typically start out as a twelve year old and am about sixteen when the loop loops." The blond answers and she's a bit surprise to realize that he must be Japanese in origin with such a name.

"Anyway, what's up with the tattoo? You're reaction suggests that its fairly important." The newly revealed Naruto asks her.

"I'd talk with Mr. Amato if you want technical details. All I know is that as a Cyber, you aren't human and that you need this glowing green stuff to keep on living." She says. "Mind if I go?"

"Go ahead, although I think it's for the best if you avoid using my actual name. For this loop I am Adrian Seidelman, it just raises too many question if I answer to another one." Naruto says to her and she pauses before nodding.

"Will do Mrs S!" She says with a grin before leaving the room. _I wonder what a Genin is?_

Naruto

_Cybersix must be the original anchor with Lori and Mr. Amato being recently awoken._ He decides as he finishes packing his stuff into the suit case. He closes the door of the classroom and walks away.

_Now to find out what a Cyber is._ He thinks to himself, heading for the staffroom to subtly inquired about this Mr. Amato. _If they don't, I can always look through the phone book._

"Mr. Seildelman I take it?" One of the woman teachers asks him upon him entering into the staffroom. He smiles slightly, nodding while wondering if he'd be able to retreat quickly if the situation goes... hot.

"I am, Mrs.?" He asks and the two brunets smile while their eyes slowly study him. It wouldn't surprise him if they were mentally undressing him.

"Please, call me Miss Armani. And this is Mrs. Paderau." Ms Armani says in way of introduction.

"A pleasure." He says, wondering if its fortunate that one of them is a married woman or not. "Are any of the other teachers around? I won't mind introducing myself to them."

"Don't know how many stick around here after school. Although I believe the science teacher, Lucas Amato is likely still in the building." Mrs Paderau says to him, much to Miss Armani's annoyance if he's to judge the look the one teacher gives the other.

"Ah, I heard of him from one of my students as they were leaving. I wouldn't mind meeting the fabled man himself." He says and after a few minor exchanges of chit chat, he gets directions to Lucas' classroom.

_I wonder what kind of reaction I'll generate from this Lucas Amato? Just what kind of relationship did this Cybersix have with him?_ He wonders to himself as he arrives before the door.

He stands there for a moment before finally biting the bullet and knocking upon the door. "Where have you..." The beefy looking blond man says, trailing off at the sight of him.

"Lucas Amato I presume?" He asks. "Might I came in? I think we need to talk about somethings." He says after the man nods.

"Sure..." The clearly dazed man says, allowing him in.

Days Later

"So, you're Data 7." He muses as he studies the panther with slightly glowing yellow eyes. The feline is yet another looper of this world, the true Cybersix's 'brother' in a manner of speaking.

The panther growls, tail twitching back and forth. "Lucas says you're a looper too." He says and the panther rumbles softly, he takes it as a yes.

"Well, my name is Naruto Uzumaki and until this loop ends, my 'job' as it were is to play the role of Cybersix." He explains to Data 7. "She'll return here when this loop is over and done with. This is not the first time I've found myself in somebody else's place, acting out their life. Do you have any problems with that?" He asks.

The created feline growls before shaking his head. He sighs softly in relief. "That's good." He says, though now he's at a lost as to what they should do next.

An idea slowly begins to come together and he grins slowly at the thought. He might not be into books the same way most of the other loopers were but that doesn't mean he's not interested in learning new things. "Say, I don't suppose you know where I can find a computer that's already connected into Von Reichter's data base, would you?" He asks Data 7 and the panther cocks his head in a questioning manner, clearly uncertain about what he plans to do.

Month Later

"Just how did you get your hands of all of this equipment so quickly?" Lucas asks before adding, "Where did you get the money to buy it all?"

"Well, for one thing, most of this stuff was in my pocket dimension. It took a week to finally access it but so worth it. As for the other stuff? What can I say? When it comes to gambling, I can do it blindfolded with both arms behind my back and I'd win the largest pots on luck alone." He tells Lucas as he watches as a cup fills up with a modified version of the sustenance Data 7 and himself needed to live.

"Pocket dimension? That's a joke, right?" Lucas asks him and he sighs.

"It's something you'll be taught if you ever end up in another dimension. Fairly handy to have, even if it's often difficult to maintain." He says as the cup finishes filling up.

"Well, cheers!" He says to the native after picking up the cup of glowing green liquid. He gulps it down and then smacks his lips. "Tastes kind of like drinking raw limes." He admits.

"Thanks, by the way, for renting the space so I can set this stuff up." He says to Lucas. "I'll pay you back when I get a chance to hit the casino." He promises.

Lucas waves him off by saying, "Don't mention it. I've been meaning to talk with Six about trying to steal the recipe for a while now. I now have it memorized and if we do this right, we might be able to come up with a cheaper and easier way to create it." he finds the man reading one of the computer hacking guides.

He idly watches the computer screen. He had to admit that as loops go, this one seems fairly easy even if you have to deal with being something akin to a vampire and fending off attacks from fellow type of beings, trying to keep the city from being taken over or destroyed. _Definitely a vacation loop._

New Loop

"So how was our friends in the Bleach universe?" Sakura asks him and he raises an eyebrow at the current pink hair twelve year old. "I mean, Ichigo ended up being you last loop."

"Ichigo played me? Then that means..." He begins to laugh at the thought of Ichigo's role being played by a certain cross-dressing woman. _Sure I ended up acting out her role in that loop but when has a woman played the part of Ichigo?_

**- o 0 o -**

**To Readers:**

How many have seen a Naruto and Cybersix crossover before? I know I haven't! Also, if you don't know what Cybersix is, do a search on Youtube, they should have all 13 episodes of that show. (My fav is episode 10)**  
**


	72. Be Prepared: Digimon plus DnD

x - o 0 o - x

**I don't own Digimon or Dungeon and Dragons!**

x - o 0 o - x

Taichi

_What the...?!_ He thinks as he finds himself upon a battlefield. As he surveys around him, beings with dragonic features get placed around him in various poses. Then odd humans appear along with strange, almost nightmarish things.

Color finally seems to bloom upon the white figures that surround him. He feels weight upon his arms and glances to find a shield and a western double edged blade that's fairly jagged. He barely has time to register the fact that his fingers appear to have dull reddish brown scales upon them when time seems to become active, causing the beings and things around him to move freely.

He jerks his head back as some kind of spear head gets swinged at his head. He glances to his right and his body moves to bring him to face the be-horned human dressed in dull black armor. He uses his sword to push the spear away and moves into the personal space to slam his shield into the guy's chest.

The be-horned man is sent flying into one of the nightmare things. The nightmare chimera easily grabs and uses the guy as a meat shield as a axe head is being swung at it by one of those dragonic men. He charges forward to attack the nightmare, his sword digging into the nightmare's left side while the axe is lodged in the spearman's body.

The nightmare's monkey head snaps in his direction after letting out a bellow of pain. The dragonic man pulls the axe out of the spearman's body, causing red blood to fly through the air as he moves to stand behind the monster, flowing with his momentum while he tries slice through the thing's back spine. The mace like tail tip manages to hit him in the right shoulder before he could block it with his blade.

He hisses but doesn't retreat, although he did find another of the strange human coming to engage him. He tries to slice the mace tail tip before move to attack the incoming spearman, a man that sports minor tusks and completely red eyes. He uses his shield to redirect the spear thrust and tries to slice through the spear.

He feels something in the back of his throat and taking in a sharp breath, he opens his mouth and watches in startlement as his opponent gets a face full of green gas. _What the...?! Where did that come from?_

He doesn't have much time to think upon this as he's under-attack from another spearman, the spear head clinks again his armor shoulder. His sword manages to hook upon the spear's body and with a powerful yank, he snaps the spear. He slams his shield into this one's face before jabbing down with his sword's tip.

A minor blood fountain erupts as the tip enters into this one's chest and with that done, he moves to face off against one of the axe warriors that's close to his position. His right shoulder hurts but his blood is racing and adrenaline flowing through him dulls any pain he's experiencing. He stretches his arms widely and roars, he manages to grab the attention of more then a few of the black wearing fighters and a pair of the nightmarish things.

For some reason, he's never felt this alive before as battlelust overtake him.

Takato

"Hey, you ok?" He asks a fellow dragonic person since he's pretty sure a few of the fighters around him were woman. The slightly silver colored hammer welder glances at him with slightly dull eyes and then in a few blinks, those dull brown eyes gain life.

"Battle's over. Come on, we better check in with somebody in camp to see to any of your injuries." He says and the silver tinted dragonic man slowly nods after glancing around the field.

A number of other dragonic people were either helping to bring other shell shocked warriors to their senses or gathering up the dead. He's not sure what kind of funeral their enemies will receive but he knows they will be given one.

"I don't think much of this blood is mine." The silver tinted dragonic warrior says. "But it became hazy after the first few..."

He nods in understanding. He almost felt into that sweet allure of battlelust himself. It had taken an old memory to bring him to his senses and to shy from it, not that it really helped since during the battle, it had been kill or be killed and he had killed many this day without falling into it.

"Be glad you don't, for I doubt you'd be sleeping well tonight if you recalled it all." _I know I won't._ He adds privately.

He had noted a medal hanging around this one's neck, which gives him a general idea of where to drop the guy off at. What sentries about the edge of the newly set up campsite just waved them passed after seeing the medal about the silver tinted guy's neck. He rubs the back of his head, it felt odd to feel something that wasn't hair resting there as he subtly guides the other to a certain section of the camp.

"Thank you for bringing our missing brother back to us." One of the be-robed dragonic people says, coming out of one of the silver tents. He couldn't help but stare at the wings upon this silver scaled being's back.

"May the Might of Bahamut strength your arm." The be-robe winged dragonic man says sincerely as he's about to leave.

"I'll likely need it in coming times." He informs the priestly dragonic man. The winged other just pats him upon his shoulder before putting an arm about the one he guided back.

He begins to walk through the camp once more. He has yet to learn which section of the camp he's assigned to, so he once more, heads back to the battlefield to lend a hand out there. He doesn't know what to make of his situation and he dreads the idea that one of his friends might be among the injured or the dead.

"You with the dual blades!" He stops walking to turn to stare at a grizzled dragonman with a massive scar over an eye-patched eye. He walks over to the veteran.

"Sir?" He inquires, nervously wondering what's to happen now. The one eyed dragonman gives him a calculating look.

"Round up a few others for a scouting party northeast of our position here." One-eye says to him and he nods sharply before One-eye says, "You ID scroll."

He checks his pouches and pulls out a black scroll with red iconic shield with a black dragon head upon it, this is ringed by the phrase 'To Defend Above All Else'. He hands it to One-eye and watches as the other reads what's written within it.

"Graveshield, eh? Hopefully you'll manage to follow your clan's motto, Takato." One-eye says to him and he nods stiffly as he is given the scroll back.

He rolls it up as he walks through the camp and puts the scroll back into his pouch. He stops a few times, asking for directions for the usual hang out so he can gather a few others for that scouting party, he dare not disobey that order, not when he gets this feeling that it's really, really important for him to follow it. _Just hope I can find fresh people in this tavern area..._

He leaves the tent filled part of camp and crosses into the off duty section. After glancing around, he walks over to a pair of stunned dragonic people and ask, "Are either of you injured?"

The pair glance at him and shake their heads no. "Good, I need fresh soldiers for a scouting party. Consider yourselves drafted." He says to them, hoping that he took the right approach.

"Err..." The more golden of the two glances from him to the other. "When do we leave?" The more golden hued one asks.

"Now, unless you need to go use the... trenches." He says, trying to think of a more medieval word for toilet. Neither seemed incline and he says, "Takato Graveshield."

"Joe." The more golden hued one says, he couldn't help but give that one a startled look. "Izzy." The more rusted brown says and he just sighs ever so softly.

"You might want to check your ID scrolls for your last names. I get the feeling clan names are a bit more important then personal names." He tells the two as they get up from the table.

"ID scrolls?" The two chime in and he displays his own scroll before motioning for the two to follow. He hears the two fall in behind him. _Now to figure out which direction north is and we'd be set._

Takuya

As he slowly comes to, he finds himself in a cloth tent. "When you feel ready, you may leave, Firerune." Somebody tells him and he stiffly sits up.

_Firerune?_ He mentally wonders. A soft groan causes him to look to his left.

"Aim lower... next time... Agumon." His neighbor mutters softly while the one to his right mutters, "Agumon... Why can't you leave me any of those eggs..."

He scratches the side of his head as he glances bewilderingly between the two. "Oh... 'k." He mutters before sighing.

He grabs his gear that's next to his pillow and gets up to leave... only to hang back to remain by the two who mentioned Agumon. _I wonder if they're talking about a Digimon. The name Agumon sure sounds like one._ He thinks to himself.

He finds somebody staring at him in a questionable expression upon their face and he felt compelled to say, "Their my friends. I want to wait until they're awake before leaving."

The dragonman's eyes soften slightly before cleaning one of the beds. He glances at the two, he tries to think of other things like his best friends or about what kind of food they serve. Anything but the fact that he had killed a fair share of fellow beings.

TK

"Can't sleep?" A voice asks softly as he stares into a cup of whatever they're offering. He blinks and glances up to find another one of the dragon men sitting across from him with their own cup.

"The battle... It was my first." He finally says, he dimly recalls how he arrived at camp. He wondered where that particular dragon man is.

"Mine too." The dark bronze colored dragon man admits. "My name is Ken Silkweave."

"Ken?" He asks and focuses more at the other. "It's me, TK." He says and Ken looks as relieved as he felt that he wasn't here alone.

"What are the odds, huh?" Ken muses, tension in the other's shoulders seem to fade. "Although, if you're here, does that mean that the others might...?"

He smiles slightly at Ken's tone and shrugs. "If they're around, I'm sure we'll hook up." He replies.

They then sat there in silence for a bit, two plates arrive and he ate what he could stomach. "Sorry to bother you but..." A small group of four dragon men stood around the table.

"Does the word Digimon mean anything to you?" The one with copper hued scales asks with brown eyes. The other three stared at that one.

"Digital Monsters?" He says and the three ease up on giving the copper hued one hard looks. "Name's TK, TK Frostlance." He says as way of introduction.

He notices the first speaker tense up and gives Ken a nervous look once his friend finishes his own introduction. "Tommy Clawstorm." The copper hued one says cheerfully.

"I'm Thomas Asktrail." The one directly behind Tommy says with the other previous silent one saying, "Koichi Moonhowl."

"Henry Glasswing." The last one says after recovering from his shock. He waves them to take a seat at the table.

"You seem surprised when we told you our names." Ken remarks observantly and most of the others turn to regard Henry. It's clear they want to know why that is too.

"Well... To put it bluntly, both TK and yourself, Ken, are considered cartoon characters where I originate from." Henry says and he couldn't help but stiffen while looking at Henry with widen eyes.

"When you say cartoon characters..." Koichi trails off and Henry sighs.

"The very first episode has seven children at summer camp. Taichi "Tai" Kamiya, Yamato "Matt" Ishida, Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi, Sora Takenouchi, Mimi Tachikawa, Joe Kido, and finally Takeru "T.K." Takaishi finding small white devices. Upon taking said devices, Digivices, a rift opens up and engulfs them, sending them into another world." Henry says and he dimly remembers that event.

"Wasn't Kari suppose to be Digidestined at that time?" Ken asks and he glances over at Ken, suddenly realizing that unlike the rest of the second group, Ken likely hasn't heard their tale before.

"We didn't know about Kari until Myotismon's ex'henchmon revealed to be Kari's partner." He admits and Henry nods.

"The first season ends when you are sent home for 'good'." Henry says. "Second season begins with you, TK. Your first day of school. It did show scenes of what's going on in the Digital world between your scenes." Henry says and he glances away, feeling oddly pleased about that.

"Wow... That's pretty cool, having your own cartoon show to star in." Tommy says.

_At least Henry knows who to look out for..._ He muses. "What about you, Henry? You hoping to find any members of your team?" He asks.

"I'm pretty much expecting find Takato causing a scene. He's kind of... not very graceful." Henry admits before continuing, "Although I'm pretty sure the others with the likely exception of Ryo, would have drawn attention to themselves before now." Henry says with a sigh.

"Ryo?" Ken asks, his friend's body tense and Henry blinks. "Ryo Akiyama?" Ken asks and Henry nods.

"Ryo's alive?" Ken and him ask at the same time, startling Henry. "All this time..." Ken mutters.

_Looks like there's more connecting our two worlds then just a cartoon..._ He thinks, its clear that they're not going to cover all of their histories in this one sitting.

Matt

"You know where the officer with the eye-patch is?" A voice asks and he turns to find a group of three standing before him. "We have something to report." The crimson eyed dragon man with two blade says to him.

"I think you're talking about Colonel Scalestone." The other sentry says. He could see his fellow sentry is frowning, likely not going to give them any help seeing as they didn't even know who they were looking for.

"Why don't I escort you three to see him?" He says, more then eager to leave this post, for a while at least. He's already leading them into the camp before Metalfan could say anything else.

"Not a very believable story, you know." He comments to the three.

"We're new." The spokesman admits. "My name is Takato Graveshield by the way." The crimson eyed dragon man adds.

"Matt Frostlance." He says and he pauses to glance back to find the yet to be named duo.

"Matt? How did you wind up becoming a sentry?" The golden hued one asks him. "It's Joe and Izzy." The same one adds and he couldn't help but feel as though something just got lifted from his shoulders.

"I wonder how many others are about..." Izzy muses as they continue into the camp. He couldn't help but agree with Izzy's sentiments.

Silence hangs between them as they finally enter into the tent area of the camp. At the center of the camp is where the more fancy tents, though the paladins and the other clerics could be found not far from the healing section of the camp.

"Colonel Scalestone, a scouting party lead by Takato Graveshield has come to report their findings." He says upon entering into the large teal tent. The one eyed Colonel glances at him before waving for him to allow the party to enter.

"Sir!" Takato says, saluting to the high ranking dragon man. The one-eyed warrior motions for Takato to continue.

"We located a siege workshop just as the enemy set it on fire. We found deep tracks suggesting whatever was created are on their way straight east. We engaged a counter scouting party upon our attempts to follow after." Takato reports. "We retreated upon the arrival of range support. They stop following a mile beyond the smoking ruins of the workshop."

"That supports what our oracles have managed to foresee." Colonel Scalestone's visitor states, drawing attention to themselves. "Have you brought anything back from the workshop, Graveshield?" The visitor asks.

Takato takes out a ruined chisel and the greenish brown dragonic warrior takes it from Takato's out stretched hand. "Well done, hopefully our mages will be able to use divination to reveal how many siege engines were built at the workshop." The stranger says, pocketing the tool.

"Get some rest, Graveshield. Noon tomorrow you shall report to me for your next assignment." Colonel Scalestone says and with that dismissal, they exit the tent.

"I better get back to my post. If I'm still awake come dawn, I'll be in the common area trying to stay awake." He says to the trio and his two old friends nod.

"Take care, Matt." Takato says before following after Joe and Izzy after glancing about in mild confusion.

_Interesting guy._ He decides, wondering how the crimson eyed, dual sword welding warrior managed to impress the Colonel enough to be entrusted with a commanding position since the dragon man hadn't addressed Joe or Izzy. _Wonder if I can't transfer to serve under him..._

Davis

"Why haven't you gone to bed yet?" He asks as he studies the six at the table. He left Cody, JP, and Kouji waiting a few feet away.

"Do you know where our tents are?" One of the six asks and he gives them a startled look. "Err..."

"Ken Silkweave." One of them says in a tired tone. He just stares dumbly at that one.

"Ken? Silkweave? Really? And here I thought JP's clan name was abnormal." He says and two of the six echo, "JP? You know where JP is?"

"Yea, he's over there with Kouji and Cody." He says, waving his hand over to the three. "So Ken, who are you're friends?" He asks before the two charge over to where Cody, JP, and Kouji were standing.

"Kouji!" "JP!" "Err?"

"Nice to see you, Davis." The silver tinted scaled warrior says and he gives that one a questioning look before glancing at Ken.

"I'm TK." And he opens and closes his mouth a few times, not really sure what to make of this.

"Who have you manage to find?" He asks as he glances around at the last two members of the six.

"I'm Thomas Asktrail." "Henry, Henry Glasswing."

"Asktrail?" He couldn't help but wonder as he stares at Thomas in slight bewilderment. Thomas gives him a blank look and he finally turns away feeling a tad intimidated.

Marcus

"You mind if we bunk in here?" Somebody asks and he glances at the entrance of the tent. He gets up out of his bed upon realizing that neither Tai and Takuya were awake.

"Depends on a few things." He says as he opens the tent door and finds a golden hued dragon person. "Like what's your name?"

"Joe Sunduster." He blinks slowly before opening the tent flaps some more. "Marcus Hawkeye."

"Thanks." Joe says and as the new arrive takes off his armor, the golden hued Joe asks, "You know of Digimon?"

"Partnered with an Agumon. So is Tai over there, too." He answers and Joe laughs softly.

"First I find Izzy, then Takato recruits us for a scouting party, found Matt on sentry duty..." Joe trails off and he chuckles softly along side of the new arrive.

"The other one is Takuya Firerune. It seems he's from a world where they become Legendary Digimon Warriors." He says to Joe.

"Takato claims to merge with his partner, Guilmon, to become a mega named Gallantmon." Joe muses and he stiffens upon hearing that name.

"Really? How... interesting." He muses, wondering what a certain Royal Knight would react at the thought of a Digimon and human partnership becoming something akin to a Royal Knight.

Tai

"Matt." He says cheerfully as they find the dead exhausted Matt sitting at a table, barely able to keep awake let alone keep his head from dropping down upon the plate of food. He pokes his exhausted friend while waiting for Takato, Takuya, and Izzy to bring plates of food.

"Tai... Keep that up and I'll cut off the finger." Matt growls and he can hear Marcus snicker.

"Ah, and here I thought you missed me." He teases his friend. Matt just glares at him before finally picking at the cold breakfast.

"So... what kind of mission do you think the Colonel plans to send Takato on?" Takuya wonders as the three come walking over with wooden trays filled with drink and food.

"Likely something related to those siege engines." Izzy muses as the three with trays arrive.

"What about those siege engines?" Takato asks Izzy while handing out the plates of food.

"Just guessing about what mission the Colonel will send you on." Marcus answers with a smirk. "Hope you remember to invite me when your ready to go."

"Don't know if I'll be allowed to conscript those to serve under me." Takato points out. "But if I could, I would take you all." The crimson eyed dragon man adds.

"We do need to stick together, don't we?" Takuya says and once more Takuya reminds him of Davis. _Wonder if they're the same age?_

"We should, although it does make you wonder, doesn't it? Did the girls get picked up along with us?" Joe muses. " After all, so far we've found other the guys." The golden hued dragon man points out.

"I wonder if that means that Henry, Kazu, Kenta, and Ryo are where, in this camp?" Takato wonders and he's not the only one to be startled at the name Ryo. "Though I get the feeling Rika's going to be upset missing out on this adventure."

"Your girlfriend?" Marcus asks and he's curious too as Takato gets embarrassed by the question.

"If she heard you say that..." Takato says, shaking his head.

"What? Giggle and blush?" Marcus asks and Takato stares at Marcus.

"Just be glad she isn't around to hear you imply that. I still recall what she did to Impmon and Terriermon when they started that rumor about our friendship." Takato shivers slightly with a haunted look in his crimson eyes.

If he were still human, he'd have goosebumps. _Just what kind of girl is this Rika to cause that kind of look?_ He wonders.

"She can't be that tough." Marcus says in a dismissive manner. Takato just shakes his head and focuses on his plate.

"Anyway, Joe mentioned that you merge with your partner to become a mega Digimon. How did you manage that?" He asks, recalling that little detail.

"Huh? Oh, you mean Bio-Merging? Well the short version, I guess, would be we were in the Digital World to rescue Calumon and I wished to fight along Guilmon's side. We just became one in the form of a digital knight named Gallantmon." Takato explains.

"I'm guessing you were facing a powerful villain that forced you two to go mega." Takuya muses and Takato nods. "Who were you facing?"

"A biker dressed mega called Beelzemon." Takato answers. "In the end, Jeri wanted me to spare him and we did, even though he had just offed her partner and absorbed him." The crimson eyed Takato adds and he just stares at Takato as various emotions swirl within him.

"You just spared him?! Just like that?!" Various members at the table demand loudly.

Takato winces at their accusatory tones. "It was a favor to Jeri. And it was her partner that was..." Takato defends himself.

"That must have caused more problems down along the line then you needed." He muses and Takato sighs. "Big time." He adds.

"It's complicated, all I can say is that Impmon felt left behind and took an offer from Zhuqiaomon for power. Zhuqiaomon wanted us dead and thus is why Beelzemon was after us." Takato says. "I should also add that Zhuqiaomon is one of the four Digimon Sovereigns."

"So the big bad four?" Marcus asks and Takato shakes his head.

"I'm not sure if this means anything to you, Marcus, but Azulongmon is a member of this group where I'm from." Takato glances at him and then at the others.

"You're kidding, right? Why would one of the Harmonious Ones want a group of chosen dead?" Izzy asks.

"He really, really hated humans. He even planned to take over the real world." Takato says before adding, "Like I said, it's rather complicated story. One that likely needs to be heard from beginning to end."

While he wants to hear more about this, he had to admit that hearing Takato's adventures from beginning to end would likely answer most of his questions. He just returns to eating his breakfast as he tries to imagine what kind of adventures Takato had gone through.

Takato

"Ah yes, Graveshield, come in, come in." The one-eyed Colonel beacons him in. "Met Paladin Takeru Frostlance. He'll accompanying you on your mission to destroy those siege engines."

_TK... He looks familiar..._ He thinks as he studies the silver scale tinted dragon man. "You seem... familiar." He admits out loud.

"You walked me back to my brothers and sisters within the camp after the battle yesterday." TK supplies and he blinks, finding it hard to recall that encounter after the more recent fight many hours from this spot. "Thank you for that."

"Glad that you two are acquainted." The Colonel says. "You have until sunset to finish your preparations. You may pick the members of your unit." Colonel Scalestone tells them.

"Yes sir." TK and him say at the same time. With that, they're dismissed and after getting away from center of the encampment, he says, "I know where your brother is."

"You've seen Matt?" TK asks and he nods. "What's your first name?"

"Takato." He replies and they continue to walk through the camp with TK by his side.

"I've met your friend Henry." TK admits. "Met a few others as well. I don't suppose you've met anyone else beside Matt?" TK asks.

"Let's see, I went scouting with Joe and Izzy. Upon returning to camp, we ran into your brother on sentry duty. Joe then bunked with Marcus, Tai, and Takuya." He says to TK. "Your brother headed off to get some sleep at the tent Tai and them had slept in."

"Mind showing me where that tent is?" TK asks.

"Why not, though after wards, we can gather up the others and recruit them for this mission." He says to the paladin.

"I'm sure they'll enjoy that." TK muses dryly.

Takuya

His axe digs into the naturally thick hide of this huge hell empowered boar. The boar bellows in outrage and tosses its head, the long tusks grazing across his shield as he moves to his left, following the boar's turning body. The monstrous boar is pierced in the side by Matt's spear.

He moves away from the fell beast, causing the boar to focus on him. Matt twists the spear while he blocks the foul yellow tusks. With the face of the boar too close, he takes a deep breath and breathes fire right in the fell boar's face, finally causing the boar to retreat from him.

The spear breaks as the boar crazily charges to his right, missing him by a good two feet. "You got anything else to use beyond that spear?" He asks Matt as they chase after the berserk boar.

"Just throwing daggers." The other says as one of those daggers is drawn from a certain large pouch hanging from Matt's belt.

The boar rams into friend and foe as it tries to flee from Matt and him. He manages to fend off incoming attack viva his shield and axe. Matt isn't so lucky but the other manages to evade most attack and when the boar moves to face right once more, Matt throws the dagger in his hand.

The boar bellows as the dagger enters into the throat. He turns away, leaving the fell boar for Matt to finish off, heading off to help Tai with a winged devil with a sinister black blade. The boar bellows a death knell, one that is picked up by the other fell boars who were trained to fight along side these Tieflings and summoned Devils.

"Takuya." Tai acknowledges. "Tai." He counters upon his axe grazing off of the thick hide of the nine foot devil.

The devil snorts in derangement at their exchange. The huge, obviously magical sword is raised into the air and a single word causes a ball of sickly orange flame to appear at the sword tip. Tai charges at the devil and he follows after, his shield ready to block the incoming spell.

He's not disappointed as fire erupts all around the devil. Tai's sword manages to gut the devil before the devil could try and fend off Tai's attack. His axe head ends up about the pelvic area of the devil, causes a small cut to appear.

The devil curses them in its native tongue, not that they cared as he brings his axe down upon the lower leg. He's more then pleased when his axe cuts deeply below the knee. He backs away from the devil to take a breath since the fire is still covering the area, eating up the oxygen to maintain itself.

He takes a few deep breaths before charging back in as soon as Tai is clear of the ring of fire. His axe rings as the magical sword comes down at him, the axe head remains relatively intact even though the sword seems to have bitten into the metal edge of the axe.

The devil snarls at him and he wishes he could bring his shield into play but the devil is still a few feet away. He takes hold of the axe handle with both hands to try and push the sword away.

Suddenly the head of the devil seems to explode and the body falls over, the fire finally gives away. He glances around to find TK glowing brightly and watches as spheres of light shot out from TK's open mouth to hit various devils. A few manage to evade the spheres, their eyes wide with fear.

Those that didn't react fast enough fall dead. The devils retreat, leaving only Tiefling soldiers and trained war beasts such as worgs and boars behind. It wasn't long before the Tieflings follow after the devils, leaving them to kill the war trained beasts.

"We must be getting close. That was the largest group yet." Kouji says and he nods in agreement before he begins to evaluate his armor and weapons.

He winces at the burn marks upon his leather armor, not to mention his burns upon his body despite him having some resistance against fire. He's trying to take off his armor but he finds his shoulders are aching painfully. He also found his hands to feel a bit numb too as he clumsily tries to undo the clasps keeping the armor on him.

"Here I'll help you out of that so I can apply this salve to help with the burns." Thomas says upon seeing his attempts. He clutches his jaws to keep from crying out in pain as the pants come off.

With his armor off, he suddenly gets a chill from the wind upon his naked body. He sighs as the salve is put on his raw hide. He can see Joe doing the same for Tai, not that it surprises him in the least since Tai and him had spent time in that flaming circle. The black circular patch is proof of that.

"I guess we'll camp here." Davis says, gathering up his armor, adding it to Tai's armor. "Looks like Takato got a nasty cut on his one shoulder." Davis adds, he follows Davis' gaze to see Henry and Izzy working on stitching the shoulder cut, Henry pressing down upon the large cut while Izzy sows the edges together.

"TK must be really drained if he's not magically healing that." He says as Davis walks away. Later they'll try and repair what they can on their armor, but for now, they'll just be piled off to the side as they address their injuries.

_I wonder if Matt is the one taking care of TK. Whatever he did, it must have cost him a lot of energy to pull that attack on the devils._ He thinks, glancing around to find the pair of brother.

"We're fortunate that TK's a paladin or else we'd have a harder time of it." Thomas says suddenly, as if reading his mind.

"Izzy, JP, and Henry's spell casting is coming along. They've managed to preform Light and Ghost Sound. Joe, Kouji, and Koichi are just beginning to get the hang of using Bless Weapon and Magic Weapon to pull it off during battle. It shouldn't be long before they're casting more useful spells." He says.

"They need more time to train in such things though. And time isn't something we have." Thomas points out and he wanted to argue about that, but deep down, knew that Thomas had the right of it.

_I wonder if we'll even have enough time to rest..._ He wonders, glancing over to Henry, Izzy, and Takato. _I wonder how Takato's going to fight with a cut like that? Even if TK magically heals that, it'll be sore for at least a day..._

"It's funny how it feels like we've been here for years instead of little over a month..." He says as he holds his arms up at Thomas' request.

"They're using golem rhinos to pull the engines around and golems doesn't need to stop unless they've been order to stop." Thomas reminds him. "I'm more surprised they didn't have crafted giant mobile bases out of golems."

"Ah." Was all he could think to say.

TK

"It's like they're waiting for us..." He hears Izzy muse to his left. He just continues to stare at the large encampment, dread lodged in his gut at the sight of how many bodies they had to get through to get to the siege engines.

"Are we still going to go through with this? We won't come out of this alive if we go through with this." Koichi says farther to his left.

"As much as I want to, it doesn't feel right to leave without completing the mission." Takato says far to this right. "I don't know about you guys but I want to at least die trying. I mean, we've come out of almost worst scraps then this."

"We had our partners with us at the time." Henry points out. "This? This is suicide."

He frowns, he can't help but feel as though Takato's got the right of it. The thought of backing away simply because of the odds against them just feels so cowardly. _I wonder if this is why I was chosen to be a paladin in this world..._

"I have to agree with Takato. Something in me wants to die trying. Like this is really, really important." Kouji says.

"I know what you mean." Takuya adds. "So... It's a good thing we got ourselves a couple of geniuses, right?"

"We're so going to die, it's not even funny." Joe bemoans.

"We better get pondering then." Tai remarks.

"I think I'm going to go meditate to bulk up on my spells." He says before slowly crawling backwards.

"Hopefully Bahamut will be generous enough to give a hint of our success." Cody says calmly and he grins a bit as he glances towards his DNA partner.

"It's in his talons." He points out. _Though it does seem as though I'm carrying his favor..._ He mentally adds, glancing down at his silver hued scales that were beginning to take a metallic shine.

It takes a while before he found a spot where he feels confident in meditating. _I wonder how Kari and the other girls will react when they hear about this particular adventure..._ He wonders before trying to clear his mind and open himself up to this dragon god.

Matt

"I didn't know you knew how to make gunpowder." Davis says as they help Henry and Izzy. Those that weren't helping Henry and Izzy were with Thomas, who in turn directs the others to rig up large slings to shoot the home-made bombs into the army below.

"Do we even want to know where you got the stuff to make these?" He asks as he uses wet leather straps to wrap two wooden halves of a bomb shell together. Marcus places a freshly carved half next to him before picking up another block to begin the process of carving it into a shell half.

"Not likely." Henry says as Izzy and him continue to stir the bowl that holds the leather straps. They didn't want to cause a mishap and decided to wait until they've had the shells of the bombs ready before mixing the ingredients together to create gunpowder.

"Makes you wonder if anyone down there know how to make gunpowder, doesn't it?" Ken muses while twisting some cloth to make fuses for the bombs.

"Unlikely or else we'd be confronted with gun fire." Izzy answers. "I believe they use oil firebomb."

"Isn't that called Greek Fire?" Tai asks, pausing in his carving. "A fire that burns upon water itself?"

"Gee, Tai, I didn't know you're so well read!" He teases his friend and Tai sends him a minor glare.

"Can it, Matt." Tai states calmly.

"What kind of meat is that?" TK asks upon his return to camp after a good two days of absence.

"It's not meat." He informs his little brother. "It's leather straps. As the wet straps dry out, they tighten and that's what we need to hold the shells together."

"So you guys came up with a plan then?" TK asks as the metallic scaled dragonic man comes to sit down next to him.

He tells his little brother after finding some field rations for TK to have.

Davis

He glances down at the pile of bombs that they spent a good three days creating, wondering if they'll have enough time to launch them all before a counterstrike is launched. Milling around the same hill are Cody, Joe, and Izzy, waiting for the signal from those creeping into the armed camp below.

_I can't believe I did paper! I should have stuck it out with rock._ He thinks to himself. _God how I hate waiting with nothing for entertainment._

The sun had set hours ago and clouds seem to be aiding them by covering the night sky. No starlight or moonlight shone down. The only firelight they have come from hooded lamps that are facing them. They were also there to light the fuses of the wooden bombs they spent the last few days creating.

_Wonder if TK blessing them will really make a difference when we use them..._ He wonders to himself as he glances to the glowing symbol upon the bomb that he's holding. He glances to one of the two slings they created, slings that needed at least two people manning them in order to launch the bombs into the air.

Suddenly, horns blare from down below, startling him. "Ready?" Izzy asks him and he nods.

Izzy pulls the sling down to the ground and once he's lit the fuse, he places the bomb in the sling. Izzy lets go and the bomb flies through the air, ascending high enough that he loses sight of it. As Izzy grabs the sling once more, he picks up another bomb.

Two explosions later and the next series of bombs are flying through the air. More horns blare in the background of the thunderous roar of battle that's currently going on below. The explosions cause screams to be added to the sounds of this particular night, likely from those that were standing where the bomb landed.

Plumes of smoke begin to stream upwards as the camp below begin to burn. The fire wasn't spreading very much but then, it's kind of a given that the enemy would set up enchantments to protect the tents from fire. After all, Devils have full immunity to it, thus prefer to fling it around.

It didn't take long before each pair to fall into a rhythm of pulling, placing, releasing, and repeating. Izzy and Cody would sometimes try and alter the direction by pulling the sling in different directions before releasing. Their peace is short lived as fliers finally arrive to attack them.

"You two keep working that sling! Davis and I will handle these guys." Izzy says as the other reaches for his sword.

He grins as he moves to take on the closest arrival. One of the devils points to the bombs while yelling something at the top of its lungs. He's a bit surprised to see those that had been charging up fire balls stop, which means that the devils didn't want the rest of the bombs to be lit.

_Must mean that whatever blessing is on them, does cause damage to them when they explode._ He decides before pushing that away. Now was the time for battle, not thinking.

A familiar haze engulfs his mind, his foes blur together as he blocks, parries, evade, duck, jab, slam, bash, and various other actions as he tries to protect himself while fending off attacks from the devils.

A pause between foes brings him to his senses long enough for him to glance around. Then, looking up, he finds a fresh wave coming. He then pales as one of the fliers shoots off a ball of fire towards the pile of bombs.

"Hit the dirt!" He roars but it's too late as thunder seems to slam into his back. His last thought was of him hoping that it was large enough to get the bastard in the air too.

Marcus

With Cody, Davis, Izzy, Joe manning the slings in pairs, the rest of them divide once more with one unit being lead by Takato and the other by TK. _Lucky break with Davis picking paper in the final round. I thought for sure I'd be one of the four manning the slings..._

Takato breaks the neck of the tench user they have stumbled upon before beckoning them forward. They creep forward as Takato once more moves forward. While he wouldn't mind searching through the dead Tiefling's body, he kind of doubts that he'll live to see the dawn of the coming day.

They finally arrive as close as they could sneak to the siege engines. Takato holds up and glances at each of them before pulling out his wicked looking blades. "For our Nation!" Takato bellows and their leader leads the charge forward.

Sentries pause for a good full minute at them, clearly not believing the fact that they're under attack. Their hast cost that group their lives. "Tell the death god Marcus Hawkeye sent you!" He shouts as his broadsword behead one of the still dozy soldiers.

By the time he's killed at least five, a distant explosion rings out, drowning out the sound of alarm horns and shouts. Screams also sound out while his sword slightly down, cutting off an enemy's arm, the Tiefling drops to the ground and he engages a very good looking succubus carrying a whip of the nine-tails variety.

"My, aren't you a blood thirsty one?" The seemingly human looking devil muses as the whip hits his lower jaw. Not that being hit by the tips of the whip cause him to stop his charge.

The succubus tries to block his blade edge viva using her free hand. He gets in close and within seconds, the devil woman gets a face full of lightning. Once the devil lets go of his blade, he cuts off her head.

Upon arriving at the site of a campfire, he picks up a piece of flaming wood and tosses it at one of the tents. He does this a few more times, although one seems to smash some pots but light suddenly erupts from that tent. _Must be filled with oil._

He then glances around to get his barrings, defending his position next to the campfire. He spots other members less then half a mile away and decides to head in their direction. More explosions echo through the night and is accompanied by scream and sounds of panic. Upon reaching JP's side, they then begin to head towards the catapults.

He gets a few arrows find their way into his back but doesn't move to attack them as Tommy slams into their ranks from their left. He hears Takato further ahead and he moves in that direction.

More fires begin to erupt as more and more soldier come crawling out of the wood work. He does take note of a few devils taking to the air to get beyond their range. He puts the tip of his board sword down and takes his long bow from his shoulder. He manages to cause at least three of the flying devils fall to the ground, likely dead since his aim was true, getting them in their forehead.

He continues to use his bow until he runs out of arrows. Once that's done, he tosses his bow away and picks up his board sword once more. He moves to catch up to JP and Tommy, managing to kill those that move to attack the pair from behind.

The night is filled with blaring horns, cries for help, and the wooden bombs exploding in different parts of the camp. Suddenly a huge plume of smoke raise up far ahead of him. He cheers at the sight of one of the catapults ablaze. Sounds of smashing clay pots gets his attention and as he gets closer, he finds Takato tossing around oil pots at the siege engine.

He then notices other members of the unit mimicking Takato and it doesn't take him long before he finds their source of pots. And so, more and more of the siege engines get oiled up and then set ablaze by careless fire flinging devils. Soldiers began to appear, more concerned with putting out the fire, causing them to fall prey to the unit's weapons.

An explosion thunders out close to them, momentarily stunning him as he watches as Devils and Tieflings get engulfed by white fire. Those that weren't killed instantly were on fire, the white colored flame proving to be impossible to put out.

_Not a very nice way to die, but effective._ He thinks as he returns to the task of keeping the Tieflings from putting out the flames. After a while, the explosions stop coming and then, suddenly, a distant rumble causes him to glance to the hill top that the four had been.

Smoke plumes signal that the bomb pile had been on the receiving end of a fire ball. He grunts as a few arrows find their way into his back. He turns around to find a much more organized resistance to their intrusion ready and willing to face off against them.

He grins, though exhaustion is finally beginning to affect his movement, he's more then satisfied that they, at least, completed their mission as none of the siege engines were spared from their attack upon the camp.

His last sight was that of a official looking Tiefling standing over him with a sword.

Nobody's

All throughout different dimensions, the male members of those chosen to save their respective Digital Worlds awake hours before the raise of dawn. Some would pick up their cell phone and call their fellows, others would get out of bed and begin their day earlier then they normally would, and yet there were those that would lie in bed, trying to make sense of it all.

Each of the energy pools depicting their bedrooms slowly vanish and a figure sighs. Turning away from wall to stand near a large pool, one that depicts the aftermath at the Tiefling camp. Though the various bodies of Dragonborn were strung up in gruesome ways, the moral of the army had shrunk as the loses on their side were finally tallied up.

The cloaked figure nods at the sight and suddenly the pool's view displays two armies, on the left is the army of Arkhosia and to the right, the army of Bael Turath. Horns sound out from each side, signaling for the two sides to march towards each other. The battle plays out while the cloaked being watches.

"All that work just to destroy those siege engines? One would think you are losing your touch, Bahamut." A new arrive seemingly appears across from the cloaked figure.

"And yet with this small change, there are more survivors of Arkhosia." The cloaked god says and goes on to explain, "The moral of the Bael Turath isn't as high as it had been either, their eagerness for battle has dropped slightly. Those siege engines would have also sped up the Bael Turath conquest of various cities within miles of that army."

"And with more survivors, the more Dragonborn are present in this newly updated present." The other concludes with their tone sounding slightly impressed. "Of course this also increases my forces as well."

"That it does, Tiamat, that it does." Bahamut concludes and Tiamat snorts before vanishing.

Minutes pass and a new figure arrives.

"Azulongmon." The cloaked god says in way of greeting.

"Bahamut." The currently transformed mega Digimon says in way of greeting. "Was there any problems transferring them back to their true bodies?"

"A bit, but I had a few favors to help smooth out any problems that could have been risen." The disguised platinum dragon says. "I can not help but wonder what danger you fore-see that would cause you to agree with my suggestion."

"It hides itself well but it doesn't not keep its agents as protected as it does itself. While we can draw conclusion from observing its agents, we are still just grasping at straws." Azulongmon says.

"And so you prepare for the worst, trying to find a safe enough way to prepare your champion so they're not in too much danger." The cloaked dragon god summarize.

"Indeed." The transformed Digimon says. "Indeed."

**The End**

To Reader:

Don't take this too seriously. I just typed this out simply because ever since I purchased a certain Dragonborn roleplaying game supplement and I couldn't get this idea out of my head. The thought of most of the male half of the groups finding themselves in not just another world but in a whole different body just kind of planted itself in my mind and refused to leave.

This, like most of my random stories, are something I write for the hell of it. If there are errors or problems, I find it kind of hard to care about them simply because I'm writing them more for me then for you.

See ya!


	73. To Be Uratha: Werewolf the Forsaken

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**I don't own Naruto, Bleach, Oh My Goddess, Harry Potter, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ranma 1/2, and World of Darkness: Werewolf The Forsaken.**

- o 0 o -

Ichigo

_"This is so insane!"_ The currently very hairy looking anchor says while glancing at their arms. _"Hey, you smell that?"_ The black haired feral looking teen asks in that hair raising language.

_"Smells like rotten eggs? Yea, I smell it too."_ The other black haired feral looking older teen says.

_"Why am I on all fours?"_ A huge golden furred canine wonders. _"Oh god... Is that a despair that I'm smelling?"_

Then, without warning, the canine darts into the abandoned manor. "Hey! Get back here, you!" He roars before running up to the doorway.

He pauses and glances at the four. "Well? You coming?"

_"Might as well since I rather not get on the front page of the local newspaper looking like this."_ The second transformed anchor says. The guy enters into the beat up manor while calling out for the anchor that raced headlong into the building.

_"I wonder why we've been dropped here though?"_ The first wonders as he enters in behind the transformed guy.

"At least we have some packs and food." Another anchor points out.

"This place... It's like something is..." He trails off as that feeling seems to subside.

_"Felt it too."_ They walk more into the entrance and he jerks as the lights get turned on suddenly. _"Don't do that!"_/"Don't do that!" They shout at the certain beloved of a goddess of time who seemed to have turned on the lights.

"..." The often timid university student just stares at them while the rest of the group stand at the entrance way, giving them bemused looks.

_"Hey? Hey! **HEY**! Don't do that! No, put it down on the table! I don't mean recall saying throw it at my skull! Damn it! You guys better get in here! We've got some kind of ghost trying to bleed me!"_ Shouts their sixth member.

He's charging up the stairs within seconds of the energetic member of their crew began to shout. The two already transformed members over take him though they hadn't moved until after the shout ended. _Crap their fast..._

When he does arrive at the scene, he finds the three cornering something that is pale gray in color while sporting at least three glowing blue eyes. The creature's long arms were up in the air and the talon looking fingers spread wide. The thing is hissing at them and since it lacks lips, the sharp dagger like teeth are very visible.

"That's not a Hollow." Was the first thing he says.

_"No d'ah. What was your first clue? The maskless face?"_ The growling quadruped member of the group snaps.

The thing suddenly darts upwards and over the three that were cornering it. As it comes in his direction, something knocks it out of the air, the thing yowls, a sound calling forth the sound of a child's wail. The thing's fingers cut into the golden form that's biting its bony tail, not that the canine anchor seems incline to release the thing.

_"Release me! I am not your Endim(toy, plaything)! I serve the true master of this place, you Iurhir(dogs, mongrels)!"_ The spirit tells them, speaking the same alien tongue that three of their number use.

_"Then explain why you attack him with that knife!"_ The usually pig-tailed wearing anchor commands.

_"Don't need any real reason to attack filthy Uratha(werewolves) like you! Pitiful things of meshed flesh and spirit! By what right do you have to keep us out of the gurihal(the physical world)?! None!"_ The spirit bellows at the top of its 'lungs', as if it had any...

The thing keep cursing at them as the two more human looking ones grab a hold of the arms. He stares at the thing, mind reeling at the implications of what it had just told them. _Werewolves. That pretty much explains Harry, Naruto, and Ranma's appearances..._

The wraith finally pauses in its struggles and speaking. Suddenly a really high pitched sound emanates from it. He flinches at the sound but Harry, Naruto, and Ranma's reactions were more extreme as they let go of the fiendish spirit. The quadruped anchor just howls, crying for the sound to stop.

_Glad I haven't transformed._ He thinks as he watches the three suffer for a few more minutes. The spirit has long since vanished from their clutches.

_"I'm so tearing out that thing's throat when we encounter it again."_ A certain four legged person growls.

Shinji

_I can't believe Naruto's right about how freeing this feels..._ He thinks to himself as he flat out runs through the field a few miles away from the run down manor. He can hear Ranma up ahead.

After the third attack by the local spirit life, they decided it would be a idea to use the buddy system and some how, he found himself partnered with Ranma more then he liked. The other 'pairs' were Ichigo and Naruto, leaving Keiichi and Harry together.

_I wonder what it means to be a Rahu?_ He ponders as he follows in Ranma's wake of fleeing tiny spirits even though they only look like ordinary wolves. A few smell of morning dew while the rest smelt of lust, rot, oil, and various kinds of small animals.

There's an underlying smell of Naruto and Ichigo, likely cause they had run through these woods just two days ago. He wrinkles his nose as urine reaches his nose. He finds Ranma stopping to stand by the tree that's been marked by their fellow pack members.

He makes a sound of disbelief when Ranma gets into position to do the same. Ranma glances his way, not lowering the leg at all. Ranma's tail wags slightly while mirth shines in the other's blue eyes.

He growls and barks angrily at the idea of doing that, out here. Ranma just snorts and does his business, he glances sharply away from the sight and trots to stand a five feet away to wait for Ranma to be done. He ignores the desire to mimic Ranma's action as the sudden desire to piss comes upon him.

He sits down and scratches his left ear with a back paw. Ranma tackles him and they wrestle upon the ground for a few minutes until he's pinned to the ground. Ranma barks happily, his tail wagging before the black furred wolf lets him up off the ground.

Upon getting up onto his feet, he shakes his body. Ranma nudges him in the shoulder before racing a few feet away, barking excitedly. He grunts and appears to be thinking about it before suddenly surging at Ranma and butting shoulders with him. He races away as quickly as he can while Ranma is a bit stunned to react right away.

He manages to get to the driveway before Ranma manages to tackle him and he feels Ranma's teeth about the back of his neck. He turns and tries to force Ranma off while snarling and snapping a few inches from Ranma's body.

"Break it up, you two! We're trying something there!" Naruto snaps and Ranma lets go to glance at the blond and orange haired team.

Within seconds, Ranma and himself take near human form to address the two. "What are you two doing?" He asks them.

"Well, you know how Ichigo is suppose to be an Ithaeur, right? Well, we're going to see if he can't summon a spirit and bind it to this metal soldier we found in the attic with a bunch of other kid stuff." Naruto explains while Ichigo seems busy doing something in regards to a note book and a toy soldier.

"Did it ever occur to you to tell us about this?" Ranma asks the blond Irraka. "It also wouldn't have hurt to have Harry help Ichigo out with this either. They share the same Auspice after all."

"Shh!" Is all that Naruto does while returning his attention to Ichigo. He just shrugs when Ranma looks to him.

The kneeling Ichigo shifts into the near human form before speaking in the alien tongue, one that contains hisses, growls, barks, yowls, and other sounds that should never be part of a human language. Ichigo uses a sharp claw to pierce the left thumb and then a few droplets of blood drop down to land upon the old metal toy.

Suddenly a bunch of fox spirit appear in the air. The group of some fifty odd individuals not only sport multiple tails but other features like antlers, horns, various spines, body parts covered in exoskeleton, heck, he swears that one not only sports three eyes but also have eyes upon stalks and those stalks cover their head. The air suddenly smells of blood and burnt flesh to water and fresh grass.

The mass of fox shaped spirits continue to argue as though they weren't even there and for some odd reason, he felt very offended by this. He scratches the side of his head after a few minutes, a minor headache slowly coming on. Ichigo and Naruto remain before them, Naruto remains human and seems to find this to be a bit funny.

_"Oh shut the f#ck up all of you! Can't you see where we are?!"_ One of the various fox themed spirit bellows, an echo of thunder seems to be hear in the bellow. The pause only lasts for about a few seconds before the mob continues with their arguments, once more ignoring the werewolves in their mist.

_"That's it! I've had it with you lot! Leave now or I'll consume each and everyone of you!"_ Within seconds, all but one of the fox themed spirits vanish. _"Idiots..."_ The fox with a charcoal body that's aflame in crimson fire with nine-tails not totally aflame like the body, only the tips of the tails were on fire.

"Yo, Kyuubi. Thought I heard you among the mass." Naruto says cheerfully at the five foot tall fire fox.

_"So I was."_ The demon turned spirit says, live white fire points turn to study them in turn before glancing at Naruto once more with those unblinking white specks of flame. _"So then, why did you lot yank me out of that meet and greet?"_

_"He wanted to see if I could summon a spirit. I am suppose to be some kind of shaman in this world."_ Ichigo explains, sending Naruto a minor look and the flaming fox just grins, which is kind of frightening since instead of flesh moving, the fire moves to give them a view of the teeth made out of obsidian stone.

_"Well, what do you know, congrats on summoning me and that mass of idiots here."_ The flames of pale blue begin to light up between the crimson flames of the tail, finally covering the black charcoal tails. _"Let's see if I can't end this Loop right now!"_

The flaming fox charges at Naruto but Ichigo manages to pull the blond idiot out of the way while Ranma and himself charge forth to engage the beast. Not the smartest move he thought of as the Kyuubi is covered in fire and fire burns. His claws go through the fox's fire covering and gazes off the stone underneath.

The hair on his hand and about his wrist burn. He cries out in pain from the flames touching his skin. He pulls away from the Kyuubi while Ranma doesn't seem to be very bothered by the fox's flames.

"Oi, fox! You got rocks for brains or something? If this Loop ends, you go back to your cage in me!" Naruto remarks.

That causes the fire fox to pause while Ranma continues to try and pound away at the Kyuubi's stony body. _"Damn it! I wanted so much to rim the flesh off of your bones! Damn it all!"_ The fire fox snarls and the pale blue flames die down while Ranma shakes his hands, the older teen's wrists cracking ever so slightly.

_"Why the heck didn't you think of that before you tried to attack then?"_ Ichigo demands and the crimson fire fox glances to the orange haired teen. He glances down at his hand for the first time since they passed through the Kyuubi's flaming coat of fur.

_"Point. I guess being like this has altered my brain in more ways then one."_ The spirit admits in a grudging fashion.

"So the great fox is finally admitting that he can be affected by things beyond his control." Naruto pipes in and Ichigo smacks the blond upside the head, causing the fox to snort in amusement.

_"Quiet you!"_ Ichigo hisses at Naruto while the blond rubs the back of his head. The fox's tails move up and down, the odds moving up when the evens moving down.

"So... what kind of meet and greet were you attending?" Ichigo asks upon returning to his human form. "They did look like a strange bunch after all."

_"Just a big 'howdy' upon migrating to that part of the Shadow. Stupid f#ckers the who lot."_ The flaming fox explains while stepping up into the air as though there was an invisible set of stairs and then sits down about three feet up.

_"And for some bizarre reason they kept trying to name me. You should hear some of the names they came up with! I swear a five year old could think up better names then them! Fox-of-Burning-Coals. Nine-Tails-of-a-Volcano-Spirit. Forged-in-Lava. Fire-Fur! They've got to be altered in the head or something to keep coming up with descriptive names! Why should I be named after fire? I'm the Yoko no Kyuubi for crying out load!"_ The usually demon fox rants.

_And that isn't a descriptive name?_ He thinks to himself while Naruto seems to snort in amusement. "Does this mean you prefer Obsidian-Fang? You're fangs seem to be made of the stuff." Naruto remarks, but then who else would have the nerve to continuously back talk to this particular being?

_Well, Ranma did use to have that problem when talking to anyone. Though it seems that he fixed that particular problem some time ago._ He admits while the spirit fox stares at Naruto with those unblinking specks of white fire.

_"How about a compromise? The-Kyuubi-of-the-Obsidian-Blades? And for short, you can call me Kyuubi."_ The Kyuubi says and before Naruto could say anything, Ichigo and Ranma cry deal.

"But he's always the Kyuubi, its not a big change for him! It would be like calling me Sun-Touched or Flashing-Gold! Heck Ichigo could be called Soul-Reaper or even Raised-Spirit!" Naruto remarks.

"I would have thought Raise-the-Dead would be better since he sure finds old, supposedly dead problems that raise up just to be fixed by him." He remarks after returning to his human form, almost naked but for a pair of jeans although he's not wearing any runners or socks. _A bit more chilly then I would have guessed._ "For you? I'd go with Sun-Flash."

"Sun-Flash... Wasn't that a character in some animal book?" Ichigo wonders out loud, apparently trying to ignore answering to them discussing a new name for the Shinigami substitute.

"Yea, in the Redwall series, a badge lord with a blond stripe." He admits and the others suddenly glance his way. "In my defense, it got really, really boring doing, watching, and reading the same things loop after loop. So I was forced to widen my taste in literature."

"You mean you finally got bored of reading and watching porn." Naruto says in a blank tone. _This coming from somebody who was barely knew how to read and write before the loops began._

"Oh, like any of you were any better." He snaps angrily while crossing his arms over his chest. Daring any of them to counter him.

_"So, you going to become our ally for the duration of this loop?"_ Ranma asks.

_"As long as you don't touch me, sure."_ The Kyuubi states. "Sounds good." Ichigo says.

Naruto

"Is there any reason why those twelve spirits are just floating there? I mean, shouldn't they be attacking us?" He asks upon sitting down at the table, pausing before filling up his plate. "I mean, that's what they're here to do, right?"

"They startled Keiichi when he came down to start breakfast, they came right at him but he just held up his arms to cover his face." Harry explains while Keiichi just looks a bit ashamed by his reaction, but then, Keiichi isn't much of a fighter.

"After a few minutes, I lowered my arms to find them glaring at him and making threatening gestured upon noticing that I'm looking at them. They then began insulting me and making threats but they didn't attack so I finally just hoped over the rail to get off the stair case. They followed me and continued to harass me." Keiichi explains.

"I arrived to find them in the kitchen and they came at me, but Keiichi shouted for me not to engage them and so I didn't, although I was really, really close to doing so." Ranma admits and the spirit grumble about that while giving the pig-tailed anchor dirty looks, well he thinks they're giving Ranma dirty looks though it's hard to tell since they're already got foul expressions fixated upon their faces.

_I wonder just what kind of plans they'll concoct to get us to attack them first..._ He muses privately to himself while trying to ignore the spirits as one of them knocks a glass of water over upon the table. Fortunately, none of the water ended up on one of the plates rests near the site.

The spirits did continue to be nuisances throughout breakfast and then throughout the morning, although they didn't follow Ichigo and him as they range throughout the woods. Upon finishing their tour of the actual grounds of the manor they're now living in, he frowns as he watches a small mutated insect spirit suddenly vanish.

"Where do you think they vanish to? When they just plain vanish from view?" He wonders, it wasn't the first time he's seen it happen. "That one spirit did the same when we held it captive too."

"Don't know, remember how Obsidian and that mob appeared out of no where? Some of these spirit are talking about a shadow realm." Ichigo answers.

"And yet I don't see any Duel Monster decks with us." He remarks with a bit of humor. "You think we can do that too? Vanish from plain sight like these guys." He muses, waving his hand as more of those mutated flying insects vanish.

"I'd love to see you disappear." Ichigo muses in a tone that suggest that he is joking. He couldn't resist sticking his tongue out at the orange haired fifteen year old. "How mature." Ichigo states in a droll tone.

He sighs, kind of angry that he's the youngest member of the pack, even though Harry is also thirteen years old, although Harry will be turning fourteen a couple of months before him. Shinji is currently fourteen years of age. Ichigo and Ranma both are fifteen. Finally, Keiichi is the eldest by being about nineteen.

_I wonder how if this is Keiichi's first fusion loop... I don't recall Harry or anyone else mentioning Keiichi when they're talking past loops. I wonder if this is a nice change for him? I know I've looked forward to fusion loops just to break away from the humdrum rhythm of my world._ He considers before filing those thoughts away to ponder later.

With a soft sigh, he transforms into the huge ass wolf, the very shape he found himself in upon arriving within this world. Stretching a bit, he finally began to move about searching for spirit to question. As he walks pass this old fox den, something suddenly grabs him by the scruff of his neck and suddenly, everything changed.

He manages to sink his teeth into a rather huge finger as whatever has gripped him by the back of his neck brings its other hand into play. A screech echos throughout the metal and organic tree forest as the offending spirit lets go of his scruff. His forepaws move to dig those claws across the pebbly skin of this spirit.

As the spirit swings about, he gets blurred impressions of the world around him. The spirit grips his lower body and after a few tugs, he lets go and flies through the air, he lands on his side and wheezes while gasping for air. The tall black spirit snarls at him, its deformed mouth filled with glass, metal, and rock teeth. The three of the five eyes were positioned around the spirit's mouth.

Instead of legs, this spirit moves around upon wheels, some were made out of wood while the rest were of plastic. The spirit possess three arms, two smallish ones upon the right of its body and one bulky arm upon the left, it also appeared as though fingers were trying to grow out of the elbow of the left arm too. Everything about this spirit seemed to be deformed and ugly.

_"Master-of-Grounds wants you gone! Old-Manor-Road will make you gone!"_ The huge spirit shouts out while trying to slam its left fist down upon him.

He manages to roll out of the way before finally get up onto his four paws. _"Well, tell Master-of-Grounds that we're not looking to move away until we're good and ready! We'll not be scared off so easily!"_ He snarls at the spirit.

The pebbly road spirit just continues its clumsy assault. It's clear that the spirit is along the lines of more muscle then brains, more strength then speed. As he moves about the forest, he comes to realize that the so called metal trees seem to be more like scrap piles fused together then actual trees.

Just touching those piles of metal scrap seem to cause them to moan and shake before quickly backing away from the on coming fist of the road spirit. Smaller spirits flee, most vanishing out of this Shadow Realm. The smell of rot is fairly strong when it comes to weaving around the more organic trees, he notices a few oozing like growths upon these trees.

He just ignores those oddities since they weren't going to help him fight the road spirit. _This would be so much easier if my space pocket was functional or I had a weapon of some kind._ He thinks as he hears Old-Manor-Road smash the ground behind him.

As he gets away from the mixed forest, he begins to come into open fields that seem to be filled with oat, wheat, rye, and other domesticated plants that are grown upon farms. Upon noticing eyes and mouths upon these plants, he realizes they're spirit of those plants. As he enters into those fields, the sudden sounds of pursuit seems to die.

He waits a bit before turning around to see what's the hold up and is a bit surprised to find the plant spirits seem to be swarming towards Old-Manor-Road. He couldn't help but feel bewildered at the sight but with a shake of his head, he glances around before heading for the manor house.

As he approaches, he's bewildered at how new the building looks although there does seem to be blotches of discoloration, likely representing the ruin of the building in the real world. What also catches his attention are the number of animal spirits that wander the front yard of the manor, the majority seem to be cat and chicken spirits while pigs and sheep were the next popular types.

More then a few dog spirit growl at him, their frames taking a stiff stance with raised tails. The dogs range from hounds to sheep dogs to lap dogs. The other animal spirit merely shy away from him but don't seem threaten by him like the dogs.

Suddenly, the animal type flee, the dog spirits pause before fleeing as well. He watches as emotional spirits come out of the manor. The spirits come right at him, the emotions that these spirits represent roll over him, arousing those emotions within him.

_"Back off! If you don't, I'll make you regret it!"_ He tells the minor army of dark emotions.

All they do is giggle or laugh at his statement until he shifts into the true hybrid form of wolf and man. The emotional spirit seem to pause as he stands upon digitigrade legs while his muscular upper body stands slightly hunched. _"You want a piece of me now, you uthsu? I'll give as much as I take!"_ He vows in a low, threatening tone.

_"He's no Hirfathra Hissu! He's just a Thihirtha Numea!"_ A familiar spirit cries out.

_"Does it look like I'm any less of a threat then a Hirfathra Hissu? I'm here now and here I stand as a Gauru! How more serious can I be in taking you with me when I go down?"_ He counters, wondering about these Bone Shadows were about if they could inspire a moment's haste in this minor army of spirits.

_"We are many! There is only one!"_ That same spirit of despair counters but already some are floating up into the air, clearly distancing themselves from the mob.

_"It only takes one to go Kuruth."_ One of the hovering spirits point out. _"You're too young to seeing the last pack enter into that state against three packs of Ninna Farakh. You don't know what it's like to deal with the aftermath of a Kuruth."_

_Predator Kings? Must be some story behind that one._ He thinks, already shifting into that near human form and upon doing so, seem to cause the local spirit to relax just a tad.

_"Nisuuf!"_ That spirit of despair bellows, pointing a finger at the elder spirit of abandonment. _"Just wait until I tell our lord of your actions this day! You won't be more then a snack to the master!"_

_"Fool, who's to say that you'll live to report to Master-of-Grounds?"_ The demon turned fire spirit muses, suddenly appearing above their heads. _"As I see it, you're the nissuf here, you too scared to seek vengeance upon this one without others backing you. You've had plenty of time to act and yet you haven't, that makes you a nissuf in my eyes."_

The spirit back away as the fire covered charcoal fox comes to stand a few feet to his right. The nine tails continue to lack the pale blue flames between the flaming tips and the beginning of the tails, allowing the rocky surface to be seen as clear as day. Commonly known as the Yoko no Kyuubi, the ex-demon homes in on that despair spirit and the despair spirit become nervous under the fire fox's gaze.

_"Seems you are in need of a name change, something like Cowardly-Despairing-Soul-Chewer or Coward-Sharp-Teeth-of-the-Despairing-Choir."_ The Kyuubi muses and the spirit flexes its hands, clearly wishing to attack the fire fox. _"Either defend your honor or move along, little meal before I decide to turn you into a snack."_

The despair spirit glares one last time at him before fleeing back into the manor. Snickers sound even after the spirit vanishes into the building. The emotional spirit then begin to move off into the direction of town, likely to go gossip with their fellows living there.

Once the yard is clear of those spirits the Kyuubi glances at him, the burning white specks examine him before the fire spirit in fox shape humps softly. _"And here I thought it would be Ranma to learn how to access this realm."_ The fire covered charcoal spirit muses.

_"Got dragged in here by Old-Manor-Road."_ He answers before adding, _"Last I saw of that spirit, it was under attack by plant spirits like wheat, corn, and what not."_

_"Sounds about right, those ones really don't like anything that covers the ground, preventing fellow plant spirits from growing."_ The fire covered fox shaped spirit muses. _"Lucky you, that one is one of the more powerful spirits around here since it's been around since the manor was built. Not the brainiest one around but then what can you expect when it's undergone so many changes?"_

Harry

Their prey, oozing rot spirit in the shape of a slug, hurries through the air, leaving a thing oozing trail of dark brown ooze as it goes. The spirit's name is Trail-of-Rot-in-Slug-Form and is one of the more powerful rot spirits that calls the property home. The reason why they're hunting the slug shaped spirit is because it's actively trying to keep them from fixing or replacing the wooden support beams.

Ichigo and himself had to bind the slug shaped spirit to transport it out of the basement of the manor. They set it free at the very edge of the property since the rot spirit will likely head straight back to its basement home. They had given the spirit a five minute head start before giving chase in their urshul form.

The slug shaped spirit keeps to the real world, likely due to the fact that unlike the Shadow of the property, this spirit doesn't have to worry about distance to the manor nor of fellow spirits witnessing its dilemma. _It's taken Ichigo and I a whole month to learn Slug's ban and a week learn to bind it successfully to that game board. Even if Slug's essence doesn't fill us, at least we got rid of the nuisance._

Previous hunts had been focused upon hunting problem spirits outside of the manor, the most common of those prey spirits had been minor rot and scrap spirits. They have gotten into the habit of hunting down a spirit once a week after their first week in this world, making their kill count up to ten kills so far and when they get this one, it'll be eleven spirits they've killed viva capturing them and then releasing them, giving them a few minutes of a head start before giving chase.

Many of their previous prey flee right into the Hisil in hopes of loosing them but it never worked since they had plenty of time to get a good whiff of the captured spirit's scent and to learn its name. The Kyuubi isn't really interested in their hunts, so they don't have to share the essence with the fire fox spirit.

Naruto leaps up, using a tree as a spring board. The blond teen takes a chuck out of the spirit as well as pulls it down enough for Ranma to take another bite out of it. Within seconds, the eight foot long slug shaped rot spirit is on the ground and they all are taking bites out of it, although Keiichi does try and knock an over eager Naruto and Shinji from the head of the slug shaped spirit, Keiichi using his greater size to push them away along with snaps close to their muzzles.

Just tasting the spirit's essence causes them all to be eager for more, often causing them all to snap and bully each other while they're consuming their prey. He expects it would be different if there was a clear Alpha of their pack but there wasn't so it's usually chaos at the site of the kill.

As they come out of that state, they give each other apologetic looks with their tails hanging limply behind them. _"This is so embarrassing... I don't mean to and yet I keep..."_ Keiichi bemoans and he sympathizes with the young man, after all, Keiichi rarely if ever been expected to be a being of violence and death.

_"Well, we are Uratha and it seems we're expected to be violent. It's not as if the spirits are overly hospitable either."_ Ranma remarks.

_"What can you expect when they're defined by a concept or an idea?"_ Ichigo points out. _"Hate spirits? Anger spirits? Murder spirits? They can't act against their natures since that is what's feeding them, giving them strength to exist in the first place."_

_"I'm sure Belldandy and them will be willing to forgive you for your actions here in this loop. We can't change the nature of what we are simply because we're dissatisfied with what we're expected to do."_ He says and then adds, _"The Moon Tribes do try to police these two worlds, trying to make things better, kind of similar to what is expected of the Shinigami in Ichigo's world only with more empathize on violence and spiritual reflection."_

_"This is one of the more violent worlds I've found myself on. Although the Kyuubi seems to be enjoying his freedom."_ Naruto muses thoughtfully. _"Besides, how often do we start out as non-humans right off the bat? I know Kiba's going to be so jealous that he missed out on visiting this world."_

_"Any way, what are we going to do with the upcoming school year? I mean, most of us aren't old enough to stay out of school."_ Naruto says upon sensing that it would be best to change the subject.

"I was thinking of submitting the majority of us as being home schooled. Less problems that way since we rarely fit in normal society at the best of times." Ranma says.

"Sounds good to me. Just going into town for groceries causes me to get nervous. Not only is it a small town of barely three thousand but they just give you pitying looks, like they expect you to be dead the next day." Shinji says and he nods in agreement as such looks seem to cause him to want to scream at the lot, demanding to know what their problem is.

"Does anyone not have trouble going into town?" Keiichi wonders and Naruto raises his hand with a rather impish grin upon his face.

"I don't, as long as they don't send any hateful look my way, I'm pretty confident that I can survive a few hours in their company." The bright haired blond says.

"Good, Ichigo and you are now on permanent grocery detail." Ranma says and the orange haired teen sends a look over to the blond teen.

"Also, does anyone know where our money is coming from and its limit?" Keiichi asks as they head through the forest. "We should find out so that we know when we need to begin looking for work to fund our stay here in this world."

"We could always submit a patent or two. I'm pretty sure we could make a titty fortune that way. Might even improve the reflection of the Shadow with the right one." Shinji muses.

"What invention are you thinking of submitting?" Ranma asks the fourteen year old anchor. "I'm thinking of creating a drug that cures one of the more dangerous types of cancer."

"I was thinking about submitting a patent for a personal shield generator." Shinji says, he begins to tune that discussion out as it seems as though the two will be discussing business ideas and likely inventions so they don't have to worry about money.

Seconds later, Keiichi joins in and he moves to walk with Ichigo and Naruto since they didn't seem to be interested in business. "Either of you interested in business?" He asks the pair and they glance back to the three since that half of the pack has slowed down.

"Never really bothered with that side of things. Heck, I've gone missing nin the few times I got drafted into the Fire Lord's house hold as a cook, tailor, blacksmith, carpenter, event planner..." Naruto trails off and he blinks.

"But I thought you can't cook!" He accuses the blond.

"Its not that I can't cook, it's that I refuse to cook. I stopped when the others slowly began to wake. Actually, I kind of stopped employing those skills when fusion loops began..." Naruto admits.

"I highly doubt you were that skilled in any of those professions." Ichigo remarks and the blond just grins.

"Nope, not going to fall for that. I know I'm one of the best tradesmen in Fire Country and that knowledge is enough to satisfy me, thank you very much." Naruto says and he frowns, wondering just what it would take for them to get Naruto to demonstrate his skills in those areas.

_I wonder how much it'll cost to get the Kyuubi to help on this one... Or at least check to see if Naruto isn't just bragging._ He thinks as he tries to think of what he can offer the nine tailed fire fox spirit that is their totem to get help with this little challenge.

Keiichi

"So who's idea was it to bind misfortune spirits and send those items to the neighboring packs?" Ranma asks as Ichigo, and Naruto stand before the table that consists of Harry, Shinji, Ranma, Kyuubi, and himself.

"Hey! We also invited and encourage good luck spirits to hang out in your drawing room." Naruto exclaims. "We also managed to bind content and sloth spirits and set those up in local gang hang outs to keep them out of trouble."

_That could explain why teen violence has gone down and why those negative spirits types are having a hard time breeding in town._ He thinks while Ichigo gives Naruto an annoyed expression. "Any other ideas you had and set in motion?" He inquires.

Naruto chuckles nervously while Ichigo presses his lips together, stubbornly refusing to met their gaze. "That kind of depends on what you mean by ready to be deployed or already deployed." Naruto tells them.

"Just tell us." Shinji says with a sigh. _This isn't going to end well._

"Haven't you noticed how... quiet it is around here?" Naruto asks them and now that its been mentioned, he tries to recall the last time he encountered a mood spirit that wasn't promoting positive emotions.

"Ichigo was trying to make something... Researching what he can of that Greek myth concerning Pandora's Box." Harry says.

"And we created a few. It was hard but with so many luck spirits hanging around, our luck kicked in. We even managed to convince some powerful spirits concerning imprisonment to bless the boxes, although we can only capture a certain type of spirit per box like only murder spirits being contained in one while in another despair spirits get contained in another." Naruto explains and he whistles at that.

"I'm just glad the containment boxes don't have to be overly large to be turned into one of these." Ichigo admits and Naruto snorts softly but nods in agreement. "Had to create them by hand, no metal could be used, and decorated with a clam shell on each side of the box."

"Where are these boxes now?" Ranma asks with a hint of dread.

"Sent them right into the heart of Pure pack lands, when the empowered bindings fade, the spirits will be too enraged to think straight and shall, hopefully, cling to any werewolves in the area. We sent along a memory confusion fetish to help these spirits forget about where they were captured." Naruto answers.

"Another fetish Ichigo created I take it." Shinji muses but Naruto glances over to Harry, Harry just rubs the back of his neck.

"I was curious to see if I couldn't replicate spells by binding spirits into stuff, thus creating a fetish." Harry says in his defense. "I guess I should have been more careful about where I leave my research notes."

"Don't you think they'd be able to trace these packages back to our territory?" Shinji asks while Ranma rubs his temples.

"Do the Pure tribes sound as if they're that smart to look at the postage on the box? From what little we've learned about those three, they really hate humans and human methods, preferring to trust spirits over the living." Naruto counters.

"They are rather hate driven, it's doubtful that even if they do, they'll think it was faked since they likely know that we're a pack of 'Ghost' wolves and believe we lack the right stuff to do something like this." Harry admits. "Kind of reminds me of why no wizard or witch ever tried to find me through 'muggle' methods."

"I thought we agreed that most witches and wizards never had common sense to begin with? I know 'muggle' born ones seem to lose this while attending Hogwarts." Shinji muses.

_Never been there so I wouldn't know... But then, how often do I find myself outside of my home dimension?_ He muses privately to himself. It wasn't the first time he felt out of place within the pack as it's clear that the other five know each other fairly well.

"I guess this is why I've been asked to preform a Renown ritual." Harry muses after a bit of silence. "It's for the two of you it seems." Harry adds.

"Well, that explains why I've been having that dream." He muses as he considers the results of Ichigo and Naruto's actions. _Of each of the heads belonging to a three headed dog attacking the other two heads while fleas and ticks dance upon its back._

"Guess it must be part of being of the Cahalith Auspice. Having dreams concerning the future that is." Ranma muses.

"Keiichi, I don't suppose in this dream you saw anything that suggests these three tribes coming after us?" Shinji asks.

"Not really, just a Cerberus fighting itself while fleas and ticks dance upon its back." He tells them. "I usually see all five phases of the moon looking down at the sight without any of their light touching the Cerberus."

"So our efforts will at least cause some damage to those three tribes. I had wondered if it would be worth it." Ichigo muses, finally breaking his silence.

_"While I like the fact that they've help clear out the local shadow, I would have preferred for those spirit boxes to be here so we have a reserve of spirits to hunt."_ The fire spirit in a shape of a nine-tailed fox says. _"I hope that as punishment, they'll be expected to track down a suitable prey spirit for this week's hunt. I also expect to be supplied one for my own private hunt."_

"I say we force them to take care of the town's shadow on their lonesome for two weeks as well." Harry adds.

"So be it, they'll find us a suitable subject for our hunt this week and for next week, which include finding two spirits for the Kyuubi's own weekly hunts. They will also be expected to remain in the town starting this coming Sunday for two weeks to police the town's shadow for the duration of that time. To add to this, they can't assume human form during those two weeks in the town." Ranma decides, causing Naruto to pout at the ruling while Ichigo seems slightly relieved about their punishment.

With that, they turned to a few other topics and as they leave, he couldn't help but muse to his partner, "I wonder what those two have in storage that are just waiting to be used?"

"Sun-Flash pretty much said as much, didn't he?" Harry muses. "Guess we'll be addressing those when they get used." The emerald eyed werewolf muses while pushing up his glasses.

The End . . .?

**To Readers:**

Here's The-Kyuubi-of-the-Obsidian-Blade's ban: To attack anything, pale blue tail flames must be be bare for all to see. It also means that when those pale blue flames are aflame, the Kyuubi must attack something before getting rid of them.

Deed names I came up with for those character listed were Ranma - Chaos-Eye, Keiichi - Heartcalls, Harry - Hunter-of-All-Things-Scaly, Shinji - Doom-Seeker. I already listed Naruto and Ichigo's and they were, Naruto - Sun-Flash and Ichigo - Raise-the-Dead.

Auspices for the characters are Ithaeur: Harry and Ichigo, Irraka: Naruto, Rahu: Shinji, Cahalith: Keiichi, and Elodoth: Ranma


	74. Portal Maddness: Naruto

**I don't own Naruto, Dragon Riders of Pern, Changling the Lost, or Danny Phantom!**

**- o 0 o -**

The heat the sand under foot radiates makes it fairly hard for the candidates to stand still. The hum of dragons seem to encourage the clutch to rock back and forth. A large number of girls keep drifting towards the golden egg that's far from the rest of the clutch.

Twenty-two of the candidates are girls ranging between fourteen to nineteen turns of age. The remaining twenty-seven candidates were boys ranging from twelve to nineteen turns old. All candidates sport white tunics and wear sandals for protection.

Suddenly one of the eggs rocks rapidly and suddenly the sound of eggshell breaking rings out, though not loud enough to for everyone to hear as the adult dragons hum. A brown head breaks free and then the dragon tumble out onto the sand. The young brown dragonet's piteous cries as the hatchling begins to look around for a partner.

The boys closest to the little brown approach the little brown carefully as a pair of eggs break open to reveal a blue and a green. As the brown begins to coo upon falling down at the feet of a sixteen year old blond. As the brown and future rider walk off to the side, the golden egg breaks open and the little queen seems to leap out of the broken shell of her egg.

All too soon all of the twenty-six eggs have hatched and the young dragonets have partnered up. Already experienced riders are moving to go forth to comfort those that hadn't manage to Impress a dragon. The crowd moves away, leaving a blond standing next to their golden partner.

_'Hard to believe it's been six years since we partnered up, huh?'_ The blond thinks to the queen. _'I still don't get why you picked me instead of one of those girls... I'm a guy, I should have been chosen by a male.'_

_'I do not regret my choice. You needed me and I needed you. We are now together and nobody can separate us.'_ Hiroeth says to Naruto, cooing verbally the sentiment.

The twenty year old demon container just smiles and pats Hiroeth. "I can't argue against that sentiment." Naruto admits to his dragon and then says, "Considering this is your first clutch? I think everything went pretty well."

_'Enjoy the festivities.'_ Hiroeth says after a few seconds before the gold moves to go to their weyr. Naruto just sighs and after straightening his jacket, the blond heads to where the festivities are.

The male golden rider encounters the senior weyrwoman, Nakia studies Naruto for a few seconds before dragging the blond off to high table. The blond dragon rider knew he couldn't escape being reviewed by the visiting Holders and Crafters.

_They really didn't expect Hiroeth to raise to mate._ Naruto thinks and sends a look over to B'yan, rider of bronze Soleth. Soleth is the 'proud' father of the newly hatched clutch as the bronze had flown Hiroeth, although B'yan and Naruto had other partners when Hiroeth rose to mate.

None of the bronze riders were interested in beding the blond ninja and Naruto wasn't interested in beding them in return. _It's still hard to believe that portal dropped me off here._ Naruto muses as the blond slowly fills up his plate.

_I wonder where Sasuke and Sakura ended up?_ The blond queen rider wonders before pushing it out of his mind as it comes time for Naruto to add his two cent into the current conversation.

0 o - o 0

The sound of hooves behind them causes the group of Changlings to push themselves to their limits. One of the Changlings just grinds their teeth, trying to fight the urge to turn around to stand and fight against the incoming hunting party. The baying of hounds sends chills throughout the group of escaping Changlings.

"I see it! I see the Hedge!" Cries a elemental of the waterblood cries out.

The simple cry causes hope to rekindle within the party of eight. The sound of a hunting horn can be heard over the baying of the incoming hounds. Hound who themselves might also might be captured humans transformed by these Fae for their amusement and to aid in hunting down whatever takes their Fae master's fancy.

"They're piecing through my skin! How can that be? My skin is like bark!" A woodblood shouts and the rest of the group discovers this for themselves as well, although they don't stop moving deeper into the thorny bush.

After a few seconds, the cries of frustrated hounds fill the air and were soon followed by yelps of pain, signaling that the Fae leading the hunt has caught up to the hounds. The sounds continue to become dim for the group of eight and then, slowly, each member of the group seems to vanish from each others' sight.

With a grunt, a pink and red haired Ogre lands upon a dirt path. Sakura huffs softly and stands up before glancing around, taking in her surroundings. Talon tipped fingers run through the dual colored hair while Sakura sighs in relief.

"This... isn't home..." Sakura mutters. _And it seems as though I'm never going to look like myself ever again._ The fourteen year old goblin looking Sakura thinks as she touches her large and folded pointed ears.

Helplessness and despair quickly turn into rage within the teen for a few seconds before Sakura manages to force herself to calm down. Sakura then begins to walk down the trail, not caring about where this dirt path leads, only that standing around wasn't going to help her in her quest of locating her team-mates.

Although, Sakura couldn't help but wonder if she really did want to locate Sasuke and Naruto. The formerly pink haired girl tries unsuccessfully to push out thoughts of not wanting to find them if they've been captured by the Fae as well. _I don't want Sasuke to see me like this... I'm so ugly..._

0 o - o 0

"Welcome to Nasty Burger." Sasuke drones out as the previous costumer leaves to go stand else where to wait for their order to be done. The Uchiha tries not to glare at the three younger teens, particularly at the Fenton kid.

Screams echo from outside of the fast food joint, likely caused by a ghost as some blue mist escapes out of the Fenton kid's mouth. _I am in hell._ The nineteen year old thinks, not bothering to duck down behind the counter.

It had taken the Uchiha a good year to learn to speak the local language, English. The Uchiha couldn't help but resent the fact that he has yet to mastered the written format of it even after living in this America place for five years. _This is all the Dobe's fault for angering Sakura, causing her to throw that stupid antic vase at him._ Sasuke thinks while beginning to play with a plastic knife, waiting for the manager or assistant manager to close this fast food joint so they can begin clearing up the mess caused by panicking people.


	75. Wandering Leaf: Naruto

I don't own **Naruto** or **Pern**

**- o 0 o -**

Yuuki chirps softly as the brown little flying creature upon his chest sends impressions of hunger. He sighs and Yuuki leaps into the air, hovering over his chest and before raising higher up in the air so that he can sit up. Yuuki's eyes swirl red with hunger.

He walks to the entrance upon getting some cloths on, the chilly morning air caresses his bare spots of skin as he retrieves a wooden bucket that contains slightly chilled bits of rabbit meat that he set aside for Yuuki's morning breakfast. He feels Yuuki's hungry thoughts awaken his own hunger as he opens the lid of the bucket. Yuuki greedily bolts down the bits of rabbit meat while perched on his fur leather jacket with padded shoulders to protect him from Yuuki's sharp claws.

As soon as the bucket is cleared of meat, Yuuki chirps in satisfaction and glides over to rest upon his bed of furs, likely waiting for the sun to raise before lazying about outside. He just ignores the strange creature's antics, having grown use to Yuuki's antics over the three years they've been together.

He places a few fresh logs into the fire pit before opening the smoke hole of the large tepee. One hand sign later and a fire is lighting up the tepee. He does some stretches while a shadow clone swings last nights left over stew near the fire before the clone sits down to pick up where he left off last night.

After stretching, he puts on his leather boots and heads out to go take care of business out in the bush. After finishing his business, he glances around the hill top, looking for signs of any furry late night visitors prowling around, attracted by the pail of meat. He enters back into his tepee, ready to eat breakfast before going to check on his traps.

The stew warms him up fairly quickly and before leaving once more, he grabs his weapons resting by the door of the tepee and the dimensional device he found when he turned nine, he has gotten into the habit of carrying it around wherever he goes when not in Hidden Leaf. With two pouches containing throwing weapons, he takes two spears tipped with iron heads, straps one to his back while uses the other as a kind of walking stick.

He reaches out to Yuuki to see if the brown flier wishes to join him this morning on his rounds of trap checking but Yuuki seems to have fallen asleep. With a shrug, he leaves the tepee. The sun has yet to chase away the chill in the air, not that it surprises him since this world seems to be a bit more chilly then his birth dimension.

Traveling down the hill, bird song greet him. Birds flutter about the tree tops as he enters into the forest that exists a few feet from the bottom of the hill he camps upon. Some bushes rattle, likely due to ground dwelling fowl or some small mammal moving about. He catches sight of a brushy tail with a white tip.

He finds a few ground fowl in his cage traps and at least three rabbits in his snare traps, although four snare traps show signs of being poached by other predators like foxes or something larger like a lynx. He creates a shadow clone to begin creating replacement traps while he carries his catch back to his camp.

Yuuki joins him as the temperature warms up enough for his to discard his jacket to reveal a simple dark green long sleeve shirt. Yuuki perches upon the make shift hen house, a place he stores the ground fowl he catches. He glances around the wooden panels to see if any of them were loose before opening an empty cage to insert one of the caged fowl.

Once they're all in, he heads outside to fill up a bucket with water and then returns inside to change their water dishes. He lowers the sack of grain and fills up their food dishes. The fowl begin pecking at the grain within the dishes when he's far enough away from them. With the fowl fed and watered, he raises the bag of grain back up before leaving with the dead rabbits and the empty cages.

With his chores down, he head off to begin practicing his taijutsu in a meadow a mile or two away from his chosen campsite. Yuuki pops in, chirping happily before finding a perch to watch from.

Noon arrives and the clone he had tasked with trap setting arrives with lunch and a jar of oil, reminding him that Yuuki's hide needs attention. Yuuki projects wanting to go swimming and they head off to find a pond of ice melt so Yuuki can clean up before getting oiled, something that Yuuki always enjoys as the little brown always coos and hums as the oil is applied.

With lunch consumed and Yuuki oiled, he heads to the rocky ridge three miles from his campsite to begin practicing his jutsus, those that he learned from the academe, from forgotten scrolls found in various training fields, scrolls he managed to get other students to borrow from the academe library in exchange for favors, and finally those books and scrolls he had stole along with the forbidden scroll.

He reviews the student scrolls in hopes of making sense of the higher level books and scrolls. Already he's finding sealing to be fairly tricky and after the first two explosions, he decided to have shadow clones practice that branch of ninja arts since he won't be suffering from burns or regrowing hair from having it burnt away. It helps that whatever his clones know, he inherits upon their destruction.

His trap making clone dispels and he glances up at the sky to find the sun beginning to set. Upon arriving home, he summons Yuuki before beginning supper. The brown arrives and chirps happily, sending him images of Yuuki's own successful hunt of a squirrel for a snack.

He glances over to the still reading clone and then at the note books laying about open with fresh new notes. As he waits for the rabbit to roast over the fire, he activates a holo-TV and puts on a movie, the speakers move around the tepee to give him surround sound.

"We should consider heading home when autumn arrives." His clone says as he checks on the rabbit. He glances over to his shadow clone, giving the clone a raised eyebrow.

"Any particular reason?" He inquires to his clone, true he could dispel the clone and review its memories, but he did enjoy having somebody to talk to, even if it's a clone of himself.

"We're in a rut." The clone states frankly and he winces. "We've been spending the last decade on these books and making only a little head way in understanding them. We should have raided all of the ninja libraries before we left that dimension. We're clearly missing steps, we already plan to copy the lot before returning."

Upon seeing his frowning expression, the clone dispels and he gets the whole plan. He grins as he reviews it, wishing he had thought of it before. Yuuki chirps questioningly at him and he just reaches out to stroke the little guy's eye ridge.

- ] ] )

With Yuuki playing sentry, his clones and himself work on storing the whole collection of the academe library into storage scrolls. He checks the time on the inter-dimensional device and within seconds, he types in the world destination.

The world that is typed in is a technological utopia that provides free services to those under twenty years of age. Twenty and up are expected to pick a profession and to begin to earn a living. It's where he got most of his amazing doodads like that holo-TV and portable ki pocket that consists of a thin wire that wraps around the entrance of a bag or pocket, allowing it to carry tons and tons of things, pretty much limitless in what he can fit in that space.

Within seconds, Yuuki arrives, having been summoned through a mental command. With Yuuki resting about his shoulders, he activates the device. It takes a good six hours for the whole collection to be copied, allowing him to spend time hanging around with local kids his age.

He's a bit stunned to find how popular splicing had become among the teens as they sport eyes of purple, red, spring green, other such unbelievable eye colors. A few had hair done up as pelts of animals like tigers and leopards. He even saw this one who had the beginning of a horn in the middle of her forehead with blond hair almost as bright as his own and pale blue eyes.

Once he has his copies and a bit of a rest, he returns back to the library with two minutes after he had left. Yuuki moves back to take up sentry duty as he creates clones to help in putting the collection back onto the shelves. On finishing, Yuuki and he return to his apartment for a rest before he's expected to get his picture taken for his file.

- ] ] )

He couldn't help but be bored as they wait for their jonin instructor. Yuuki is resting in a sun spot upon the table, something that just causes his two 'team-mates' to roll their eyes at. It's clear that even after all this time, they continue to believe that Yuuki is just a stuff animal.

_But then, I haven't any reason to have Yuuki do anything other then rest on my shoulders when other people are around._ He admits to himself. He feels that Yuuki is fast asleep.

_I wish I could listen to my MP3 player..._ He thinks with a sigh as he continues to stare up at the ceiling. _I wonder if I could get away with heading to the washroom and switch out with a clone? They wouldn't notice the difference._

Sakura had for the first hour anyway, tried to engage Sasuke in conversation. _For a smart girl, she can be pretty dumb. But then, she is only thirteen..._

Sasuke hadn't moved a muscle from that spot since Iruka had left, leaving them alone in the classroom. The brat of an Uchiha clearly couldn't come up with a creative thought to save his life from what he's seen of the other guy's performance. He's less then impressed with Sasuke being awarded the title of Rookie of the Year as Yuuki had seen teachers slip the boy advanced material more then a few times since he began bringing Yuuki to the academe.

_He's so lazy or should I say broody?_ He muses privately. _I wonder if he still has that material? It should give me a better idea of what he knows and what to expect from him._

He hears somebody get up and assumes that it's Sakura. "You really shouldn't lay on the desk like that." Pinkie says to him.

"Do I look like I care? You're no teacher so I don't have to listen to you." He points out.

"This coming from a guy who still carries around a stuff toy!" Sakura snaps and he feels Yuuki stir, likely out of feeling Sakura's irritation. "Geeze! Can you be any more pathetic?" He can hear pinkie sneer at him.

"This coming from a girl who couldn't do more then five push ups? It's one of the reasons why your chakra reserve is so tiny, you know." He counters and Sakura growls at his counter point. "I bet you don't even know any jutsus beyond the ones taught here at school." He says, returning the favor.

"Like that stupid naked girl one counts!" Sakura counters after a few minutes of silence. He feels Yuuki getting restless, confirming that Sakura's growing fairly frustrated about how well he's countering her supposed tongue lashing.

"And yet it's become quite unbeatable. Heck, I even came up with a new variation of it." He remarks and he feels Yuuki fully wake up. He feels Yuuki's concern and agitation.

"You pervert!" Sakura screams and Yuuki screams as he hadn't order Yuuki not to. "What the?!" Sakura shouts as Yuuki pops between Sakura and him.

"Yuuki..." He says calmly as he gets up onto his elbows to look over to his irritated little friend. The little brown chirps doubtfully, he feels Yuuki's emotions as if he's the one experiencing them.

Yuuki scolds Sakura for a few seconds before landing next to him. He sits up and picks up Yuuki, bringing the little creature onto his lap and rubbing the little brown's eye ridges to calm Yuuki down. He ignores their looks as Yuuki finally gives in and begins to coo under his affection.

"Where did you get that, Dobe?" Sasuke asks in a tone that makes it seem as if its an order. He doesn't say anything even though he's fairly sure that Sakura will be screeching at him for ignoring 'Sasuke-kun!'

Before Sakura explodes on him, the door of the classroom opens and a guy with one eye sporting silver hair pokes his head into the room. "My first thoughts of you are... childish." The man says before adding, "Meet me up on the roof in five minutes."

The man poofs away and with ease, he places Yuuki onto his shoulders before getting off the desk. He ignores the looks the two were giving him, although they do cause Yuuki to become agitated...

To Be Continued... Maybe...


	76. Homeless Naruto

I don't own **Naruto**!

**- o 0 o -**

Moving his bushy tail, a black furred fox blinks sleepily upon raising his head. The fox yawns mightily before beginning to stretch. With a shake of his body, the black fox leaves his den.

He glances out of the entrance for a few minutes before finally exiting out of the tunnel. Once fully outside, the black fox explodes and when the smoke clears, Naruto sighs softly while staring up at the dawning sky. The young genin frowns while pulling at his shirt.

With a simple puff of smoke, his outfit changes to that of a orange jumper. _I really do need new cloths..._ Naruto thinks to himself as a bunch of shadow clones puff into existence.

Wordlessly, the clones leap away, many altering their appearance as they head off to their destinations. Naruto stretches for a while before his stomach finally begins to rumble and ache. The blond reaches into a hole in the tree and takes out his money purse, the one shaped like a frog.

Pocketing the wallet, Naruto then moves to the tree opposite and searches around for strand of ninja wire that will lead him to his clone made breakfast as one of his clones had taken a job in a restaurant, giving him a surprisingly steady source of meals. Naruto makes a simple seal and the earth opens up after he follows the ninja wire to the hiding spot.

The blond genin takes the box from the hole and the walls of dirt collapses, filling the hole. Naruto unties the wire from the box and pockets it as he walks over to the first training ground his team had trained at. Upon sitting upon one of the logs, he opens the box and begins to eat the cold meal a clone of his packed last night.

_I can't believe it's been two months since I was thrown out of my apartment..._ He thinks as he counts how many weeks its been since he managed to graduate from the academe. _Still haven't learned who stole my rent either... I'll never find them it seems, even if I make a clone for every grown man and woman._

Naruto pulls away from such thoughts as he doesn't want to follow a certain Uchiha's example on dealing with the past. _Need to take it day by day and look to the future._ The blond tells himself, trying to ignore the more sarcastic voice whispering, _Like having a sh#tload of money will get us a new apartment or nice stuff. Still don't see why we just don't use Henge to look like somebody else and rent a house or something instead of living under a tree like a forest creature..._

Finished with the breakfast bento, Naruto closes the lid before dropping off the top of the log. Without really thinking about it, Naruto begins to head for the meeting point while to distract himself, Naruto reviews the latest memories of his clones, particularly the one one working as a clerk at one of the bookstores in town. The owner doesn't seem to mind if their employees read while manning the counter, so that clone has been reading a wide array of things and has over heard a lot of gossip.

Sasuke grunts out a greeting as the blond genin arrives. Naruto just grins and waves merrily at his usual brooding team-mate before glancing around for Sakura. Not seeing their pink haired team-mate, Naruto allows the grin to fade and his shoulder to sag slightly before sitting down a few feet from Sasuke, trying to recall what he had been thinking about before Sasuke's greeting.

A few minutes pass and the sun has driven the last of the night away, Sakura finally show up. Naruto shouts out his greeting, which Sakura ignores to coo out a greeting to Sasuke. The blond acts disappointed but over the weeks of being part of team seven, Naruto's crush on Sakura has faded.

It's amazing what Naruto's new life style has done to his perception on the world around him, but then the blond genin likely never imagined that he would find himself hunting in the forest for supper every night nor consuming what he caught raw, even though he usually ate it while in the form of whatever predator he shape-shifted into, mainly a fox although Naruto has taken the form of a cat to catch squirrels or that of a weasel to hunt rabbits down in their holes.

Such a life style is beginning to leave its mark upon the young container, physically and mentally. Naruto's muscles have become toned and skin more tanned. The blond has also began to take note of the fitness level of his team and has found Sakura lacking in this. It only frustrates him that she's not even trying to correct this either, nor does it help that the pink haired genin is on a diet, meaning she's starving herself even though she's got a kitchen full of food, something that Naruto would love to have.

_Stupid pride... We could have found a place to rent if you'd just Henge so we don't look like ourselves... How is Henging into animals any different then Henging to look like a different person? At least then we wouldn't be living out in the surrounding training fields... Hunting and eating mice and ground squirrels for our supper._ A certain voice pipes in and Naruto continues to ignore it.

Kakashi arrives an hour before noon, Sakura shouts that the man is late while he just gets up off the ground. As the blond genin brushes off his pants, the silver haired jonin announces that they'll be eating lunch before heading to the tower to pick up missions after getting cut off upon trying to explain why he's so late with Sakura declaring the man a liar.

Naruto didn't care as his stomach seems fairly happy with this announcement. It didn't take long for him to fall into his usual act of begging/pledging for them to eat at his favorite restaurant. It has been three days since the blond had eaten at that Ramen bar, he has taken to avoiding the place since Iruka-sensei has been subtly inquiring about any changes in his life.

Naruto didn't want his old teacher's pity for when Iruka learns of his situation. The blond also doesn't want to be a burden on his older brother/father figure nor get Iruka targeted by the villagers for harboring the 'Kyuubi'. Naruto knows its only a matter of time before people discover his situation and has come to both dread when it is made known and relief for not having to keep it a secret.

- ( - [ - [

Hinata sighs as yet again, Naruto doesn't arrive to his apartment building now that it's suppertime. The young heiress has grown to worry about her crush as she has come to discover that Naruto can't be found anywhere in the village and not for a lack of searching on her part either.

True, for the first month of becoming a genin, Hinata has found herself busy doing things with her team and on matter concerning her personal life. When she began to get free time to try and visit with her crush, she had hung around the rather infamous Ramen bar on and off for the first week of the new month.

Then about two weeks ago, Naruto stopped visiting the bar all together during the evening. Hinata hadn't thought much of it, just assuming that her crush has taken to doing more nighttime training and thus began to sometimes hang around Naruto's apartment building, telling herself that she's only doing so to be there encase Naruto needed some medical attention.

_Maybe I should take a closer look of his apartment?_ Hinata wonders timidly, although her imagination decides to play out what if Naruto arrives to catch her doing so...

Hinata shakes her head and frowns more deeply, after all, if Naruto is consistent then the blond preteen wouldn't be arriving tonight either. Finally forming a resolve, Hinata walks up the wall of the apartment building and looks into Naruto's apartment window to discover it barren as there wasn't even any furniture within it.

So startled by this, Hinata activates her bloodline limit to examine the apartment in depth and discovers nothing in the fridge, the cupboards, bathroom, or in the dressers. _Naruto moved?_ Hinata wonders but frowns as she thinks over that idea, after all, the village really hates Naruto and its unlikely Naruto would be able to move out of this apartment building without earning chuunin or maybe jonin pay.

As Hinata lands upon the ground, the young Hyuuga thinks about what her next course of actions should be and in the end, decides to speak with Kurenai-sensei, hoping her jonin instructor will know how best to proceed.

- ( - [ - [

"Can I help you?" The manager of the apartment building Naruto has been living in for years asks the jonin, chuunin, and genin, also known as Kurenai Yuhi, Iruka Umino, and Hinata Hyuuga.

"We would like to know if you possess a change in address for one of your former tenants." Iruka asks the balding owner of the building. "It seems I've lost the slip containing their new address."

The building manager frowns, trying to think of who has moved out of the apartment complex recently. "A name would help me remember." The man says politely, after all, it's best not to irritate ninja as they are fully capable to destroying buildings as easily as one rips cardboard.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Iruka says and narrows his eyes as the man suddenly straightens. It seems that his former student's name did jog something loose.

"Why do you want to know about that... thing? I was fully in my rights!" The building owner declares rather loudly and angrily. "He didn't pay his rent on time!"

"Why should he be paying you rent at all? I'm fairly sure that the Hokage would love to know what's become of the monthly payments he makes to you in regards to Naruto's rent." Kurenai says frostily.

Hinata despairs at the idea of Naruto being homeless while Iruka suddenly sports a minor aura of killing intent at the thought of this... this man taking not just the Hokage's money but a portion of Naruto's orphanage fund as well.

"I believe our leader would love to speak with him. Perhaps we should escort him in ourselves?" Iruka asks Kurenai.

"I believe it's only proper." The jonin agrees and the man pales while beginning to look like he's torn between fainting and having a stroke.

- ( - [ - [

"Ah, Kakashi. Come, have a seat." Hiruzen Sarutobi, more commonly known as the Third Hokage, says to the current instructor of team seven.

The silver haired jonin enters and closes the door behind him while still holding a certain orange book. Kakashi couldn't help but find alarms going off within his mind as the jonin studies his superior officer. _This likely won't end well._

"How is team seven coming along?" Hiruzen inquires while cleaning his pipe. "Has any of your students' behavior changed much since you've had them?"

Somehow, Kakashi gets the feeling that he had better give this his full attention or else there will be dire consequences.

- ( - [ - [

"Rumor has it you got kicked out of your apartment! What did you do? Slip dye into the manager's shampoo one too many times?" Kiba asks while coming to stand by their table while they wait for their orders.

Naruto just stares at Kiba, he hadn't expect Kiba to be the one to breach the topic. Oddly enough, the blond genin had always pictured Iruka or the old man Hokage to be the first ones to bring it up before it circulates through the village.

"Where did you hear that?" Naruto asks Kiba after Sakura screeches about how he's homeless and why he never told them. The blond genin could only guess that ignoring pinkie will likely come bite him at a later date but he rather deal with Kiba's inquiry now then to get into an argument with his team-mates. _Wonder when Kakashi will get back?_

"Kurenai was telling Asuma about it while we were doing joint training with them." Kiba answers while Sakura is steaming from him not answering her questions. "Although Ino seemed to go pale upon hearing about it while Shikamaru mutters how troublesome."

As Sakura begin to speak at Naruto, the blond finds himself puzzled as to why the news would affect Ino since they weren't that close. But couldn't ponder it long Ino arrives at the table with an older blond guy who Naruto decides muse be her father cause of the resemblance, causing Sakura to leave off. It also seems as though they've suddenly become the center of attention of the restaurant.

"Uzumaki, my daughter has something to say to you." The blond jonin who's it seems is Ino's father says to him after Kiba retreats from his position at their table, making room for the two newly arrived blond ninja. "Don't you, princess?"

_Do all fathers call their daughters princess?_ Naruto wonders briefly as he turns to look at Ino. "Huh?" Naruto says.

"I took muffle muffle." Ino says, making sounds after the word took. Ino's dad gives her a stern look and Ino just grumbles a bit before saying, "Fine! I headed to your apartment after Asuma dismissed us to talk with you but I slipped on your rug and fell on your potted plant. I wasn't thinking and decided to take some of your money to pay for dry cleaning, I didn't think you'd miss a few bills since there were so many in the envelop."

"So you didn't take the whole rent?" Naruto asks and Ino nods. "But then, what happened to the rest of it?" The blond wonders and Ino couldn't help but shrug and shake her head.

Ino's father suddenly gets a dark look and after father and daughter stare at each other, the temperature goes down as Ino gives her father a bewildered look. "Ino, tell your mother I'll be working late, ok honey?" The man says before leaving.

"..." Nobody at the table seems to know what to say. _I thought somebody stole it all... That creep still accepted that money!_ Naruto thinks and despite everything, the blond still felt something at this betrayal from his previous landlord.

Although Naruto couldn't help but feel baffled and a bit hurt by Ino's thief of a few bills, he could, kind of, understand why Ino hadn't thought much of taking a few bills when it appears as though he wouldn't miss a few. _Stupid villagers... It's their attitude and treatment that's Ino and most of my classmates follow the example of._ The blond genin thinks as Ino sits down next to Sakura.

- T -T

Naruto glances around the edge of the forest where his current den is located. It had taken him about two weeks to perfect an earth jutsu so that he wouldn't have to spend hours upon hours of digging out a new den whenever he woke to find a team training within a mile or two of his den.

The sun is setting and he had thought of sticking around the village to buy super but Naruto just didn't feel like being stared at and hearing whispered conversation about the latest scandal concerning him. The blond genin just wanted to return to his den where its quiet.

Even now, outside of the village does he feel as if somebody is watching him. With a sly grin, Naruto creates thirty-one shadow clones and uses the puff of smoke to take the form of a weasel. The clones dart off and after a few minutes, a very dirty yellow furred weasel uncurls himself.

With a body shake, the weasel bounds forward, heading off in the direction of his den. Naruto the weasel waits a few feet before taking the form of a black fox and trots right to his tree and enters into his den.

Hinata hadn't chased off after the shadow clones like the rest of the genin assigned to track down where Naruto is living as she had seen something happen that lead her to believe that Naruto had tricked them.

After a few minutes, a mountain weasel darts off and she only pauses a few seconds before following after. The shy Hyuuga felt glad she had as that weasel suddenly becomes a black fox that continues to move through the forest. Hinata's a bit baffled about a few things as she follows the fox through the forest.

Then, the fox disappears under some roots. She waits a few minutes before taking a look at the spot to discover a tunnel. Activating her bloodline limit, the heiress discovers the fox resting in a a den that seems to be a circle with a diameter of four feet and is about three feet down under the tree. The den allows for a good three feet in height. Not much seems to be within the den but the fox that might be her crush.

Allowing her bloodline limit to fade, Hinata then begins to look around this section of forest, looking for signs that would prove that Naruto was indeed the black furred fox. She found a wire by the base of the tree that the entrance of the den is facing, activating her bloodline limit once again, she traces the wire to a bento box hidden about a foot under ground.

"Hinata! What are you doing here?" Sakura asks her after she memorizes the area. "Can you believe it? I followed one of his clones! Where is the idiot anyway? When I find him, I'm so giving him a piece of my mind for making me look for him!" The pink haired genin continues within seconds, not even waiting for her to answer the question.

Hinata doesn't say anything as they begin to leave the site of the bento box. It also seems that Sakura was in the mood to vent so her crush's crush soon stops talking about Naruto to lamenting about Sasuke's continuous rejections and declaring that one day she'll be the Uchiha's wife, something the pink haired genin couldn't wait to hold over Ino's head.

Hinata only listened with half an ear as she's trying to figure out how Naruto could get into such a tight space while wearing a Henge. After all, a Henge is an illusion one casts upon themselves to make them appear as though they were somebody else. It doesn't cause any real changes to the body, so it should be impossible for Naruto as a fox to fit into that tunnel since it's only a foot wide.

- ( - [ - [

Naruto woke and stretches. He even sat down and used a back paw to scratch an ear before walking down through the tunnel leading up and out. The black fox pauses once more by the entrance and glances around outside of the den, his ears perked up.

A sharp snap of a twig causes Naruto to lay down to try and glance in the direction of the noise. The black fox thinks about it and decides to retreat into his den. He decides to wait a while before trying to leave once more.

Hinata sighs as the fox retreats back into the main den. The young heiress glances over to where Ino is standing. The blond girl gives her a look that clearly says, 'what did I do?'

Hinata just shakes her head and tries to get more comfortable as it seems it's going to be a while before the fox tries to come out from under the tree.

"Is he coming out?" Ino asks using the radio.

"He heard you stepping on that twig and retreated back in." Hinata answers softly. She hears Ino curse softly.

About an hour later, the black fox that might be Naruto finally comes to the entrance once more and after a few heart wrenching minutes, the fox finally comes out, allowing them to have a good view of him. Smoke engulfs the spot and suddenly Naruto is standing there.

Naruto stretches a bit and then reaches into the tree, pulling out his frog wallet. Naruto pockets the wallet and then glances around the forest while walking up to that tree that has that wire. As Hinata and Ino watch, Naruto pulls the wire, following it to the bento box.

Once Naruto's out of sight upon picking up that bento box, Ino and Hinata move from their hiding spots to check the tunnel. They touch the tunnel entrance to find it very much solid. Even using the genjutsu cancel doesn't alter at all.

"Let's see if this works..." Ino says and with a single hand sign, Ino's form become that of a cute blond fox. Ino curses after trying to enter into the tunnel, the Henge gets canceled while Ino rubs her head.

"Ok, there's got to be more to this then that..." Ino says and Hinata just sighs as she tries to think some other reason for Naruto to move through solid ground but just keeps coming back to the idea that Naruto really does shape-shift when he does Henge.

"Maybe we should ask Naruto to demonstrate how he did that?" The shy Hyuuga wonders out loud in a soft tone, but it seems as though Ino's ears were sharper then what Hinata had expected.

"Sounds good to me! Let's go!" Ino says and Hinata soon follows after the mind walker.

They found Naruto sitting not far from the MIA tribute. "Are you a kitsune?" Ino asks as soon as they arrive within sight of the other blond genin, Ino stomps up to the log that Naruto is sitting on.

"Wha'? What makes you ask that?" Naruto asks upon swallowing what's in his mouth as the preteen boy looks at Ino like a deer caught in the beam of a flashlight.

"You're living under a tree, you came out in the form of a black fox, and most of the adults don't like you, some have been known to call you the Kyuubi brat!" Ino tells Naruto much to Hinata's chain grin.

"I knew they called me that but they shouldn't... I mean, the law!" Naruto mutters out dumbly as the blond boy tries to wrap his head around the idea that Ino and Hinata has seen him go from fox to human.

"Law? What law?" Ino demands.

Naruto manages to close his mouth and glance off to the side, mind racing about in panic, trying to think of how to defuse this without revealing about his burden. "If you know what it's about then you'll be subjected to the law. If you speak of it, you'll either be jailed or killed, so do you really want to know more?" Naruto asks his fellow blond genin.

Ino didn't believe it for a moment but Hinata touches her shoulder and shakes her head. "Don't, he's right. It's S-ranked in nature and it's safer for you not to know." The typically shy girl tells Ino.

Ino swallows, while she might not have believed Naruto on this, but that look Hinata gave her made her believe that there is a law. _I'm going to get to the bottom of this, just not now and preferably from my parents._ Ino thinks.

"You know?" Naruto asks Hinata and Hinata suddenly realizes who had been around to hear her. The shy girl had been more intent on calming Ino down that she totally forgot about her crush's presence.

Hinata nods woodenly, her face totally flushed. Naruto just kind of stares down into his breakfast bento. "Ah..." Was all Naruto could think of saying.

Ino glances between the two, her arms crossed and shaking her head at the pair's antics. _I wonder if I shouldn't... I mean, they would be good for each other, won't they?_ The blond girl thinks.

"Anyway, if you're not a kitsune, how is it you can fit into such a small hole? And don't say Henging into a fox cause I tried that!" Ino asks after a few minutes of awkward silence.

Naruto gives Ino a confused look. "But that's all I do to get into the den. It should have worked." The blond demon container thinks. "I mean, I'm beginning to get why Henging into birds don't allow one to fly, who knew it was tiring always flapping your arms? I'm also pretty good at transforming into a kunai. I'm working on transforming into reptiles and into larger creatures like rhinos and elephants."

Ino and Hinata kind of stare up at Naruto, each wondering if the blond boy attended the same classes on that jutsu as they had. "Ah, Naruto? Henge jutsu is an illusion that surrounds your body. It's not an actual transformation." Ino explains and Naruto gives them a bewilder look.

"Eh? When have did they teach that?" Naruto wonders before biting into what's between his chop sticks.

"When they introduced the three basic jutsus." Ino says.

"I think I was sent out of class during that one. I only learnt about them from watching you guys perform them." Naruto admits, using his free hand to rub the back of his head.

"Didn't you read the scroll on them?" Ino asks and Naruto says, "There's a scroll? All I ever got were these note sheets summarizing what the jutsus do."

"What a minute... You learnt the Replacement jutsu, Clone jutsu, and the Henge jutsu from watching us preform them? With no help or advice at all?" Ino asks, suddenly wondering if Naruto really was as stupid as he acts since if he did then...

"I never really perfected the Clone one, I'm better at Shadow Clones then I ever was with that one." Naruto admits, not very comfortable about discussing their academe days. "I began skipping class cause the teachers would only allow me to attend the boring lessons like history, math, and once time I was eleven, taijutsu."

_If they would go that far to keep Naruto down by kicking him out of those kinds of lessons, then what did they sabotage during the main lessons when they couldn't avoid teaching us when he's in the class?_ Ino wonders after a few minutes of trying to wrap her mind around the idea that not only was Naruto's education been sabotaged, but Sasuke's and her own as well.

- ( - [ - [

_I can't believe this is my new apartment..._ Naruto thinks as the blond boy just stands at the open door. _I can't believe I don't have to pay rent either... I wonder how the old man pulled that one off?_ He wonders as he enters into the apartment, the large window providing light for the apartment.

The kitchen table seems covered in gifts and upon approaching the table, Naruto discovers that the majority of the gifts come from ninja with only two coming from the owners of his favorite restaurant. Even though the young boy had long ago promised to never cry again, Naruto gets slightly choked up while tears well up at the gifts as he's never had this many before.

"Best day ever!" Naruto declares after wiping his face in his sleeve.

The End -- Hope you enjoyed reading this!


	77. Pokeball Rip off: Naruto

I don't own **Naruto**! Pokeballs are owned by people who are not me.

**- o 0 o -**

_This... better work._ Naruto thinks as he stares across the training field at his fellow male team-mate. Sasuke's Sharingan is fully active and there's a minor smirk upon Sasuke's face, one that really irked the blond genin.

Naruto had a plan and for that plan to work, Sasuke needed to be... indisposed of so he can take the other's place for a while. He didn't know if he'll impersonate Sasuke personally or have a shadow clone do so. Thus Naruto needed the true Sasuke to be on vacation or something, which is why the blond if fingering a carved wooden ball that is the pinnacle of Naruto's experiments with storage scrolls seals.

"Here it comes!" Naruto shouts and with that, the blond throws the wooden ball at Sasuke. His body tense as the ball sails through the air.

Sasuke back hands the ball and as the ball drops down to the ground, the ball opens up and as it closes, Sasuke vanishes. Naruto stood there for a few minutes, totally stunned that it worked as the ball didn't even shake within seconds of Sasuke vanishing. Naruto walks over and picks up the wooden ball his team of clones created based off of some manga they found.

"Ok... so maybe it can be called a Nin-Ball." Naruto muses as he turns the painted ball around, his thumb going over the wire hing of the ball. Around the middle of the wooden Nin-Ball was a gray band. The top half of the ball has an orange cute chibi fox on purple with the bottom half being yellow with the leaf symbol of Hidden Leaf village upon it in green.

Naruto puts the ball back into its clay case and then put that into his pouch. _I wonder which genjutsu this ball will put Sasuke under until I release him?_ Naruto wonders briefly but doesn't really care since Sasuke did have his Sharingan out so he doubts whatever genjutsu the ball is 'programed' with will work.

In the Ball

_"Repeat after me, 'I am a Ninjamon, my owner is Naruto Uzumaki.' Say this fifty times and you will be rewarded."_ A cheery voice tells him and Sasuke just growls.

About ten of this 'world's' minutes pass and suddenly, once mroe, Sasuke double overs in pain as something seems to fry his being. That cheery tone repeats itself for the seventh time since Sasuke arrived in this world. "I'm going to kill that idiot for sending me here!" He snaps.

_"No, no, no! Bad Ninjamon! Naruto is your owner! You never attack your owner! Attacking your owner is bad!"_ That voice tells him and he experiences a larger amount of pain.

_"Repeat after me, 'I am a Ninjamon, my owner is Naruto Uzumaki.' Say this fifty times and you will be rewarded."_ A cheery voice tells him and Sasuke just groans softly, mentally vowing to get vengeance upon Naruto for doing this to him.

_(I so believe that some kind of brainwashing goes on inside of a Poke-Ball.)_

Outside of the Ball

After having one of his shadow clones practice being Sasuke out in the training fields for about an hour, Naruto finally decide its time to proceed to step 2 of his plan, switch is to have 'Sasuke' speak with Kakashi about seduction training as he did want to woo Sakura but doesn't really know where to begin.

After all, following Sakura, Ino, and the other girls' example was working as well as it did for them went it came to courting Sasuke. Naruto felt it was time to pursue a different course of action and hence why he decided to approach Kakashi but doubted that the jonin would be willing to teach him one on one and he just knew that Sasuke wouldn't go for it either.

Which is why Naruto needed the real Sasuke to disappear for a few days, hopefully it will only take a few days to learn everything in regards to this whole seduction business.

Kakashi Found

_Hope this works..._ Naruto thinks nervously while his disguised clone keeps a mask of indifference on. Today was a free day so it took a bit of doing to track down his instructor.

"Kakashi-sensei!" He calls out as he picks up his pace, 'Sasuke' doesn't though. The silver haired masked jonin turns to face them as they approach.

"We," He gestures from himself and 'Sasuke', "want to learn more about seduction. Not that the bastard would admit it." He says in a stage whisper while 'Sasuke' makes a typical Sasuke sound.

Kakashi does this eye smile. "I see... Have either of you been given... The Talk?" The be-masked jonin asks them and the blond genin gives Kakashi a startled look while he hopes 'Sasuke' keeps a calm, confident that some how also looks a bit confused. He didn't dare glance at 'Sasuke' to see 'Sasuke's' reaction.

"Talk?" Naruto wonders out loud. "What kind of Talk are we talking about? Is it the one about perverts? If it is, then I've heard it."

He hears 'Sasuke' snort and he gives 'Sasuke' a glare. "Bet you don't know what he's talking about either, bastard!" He accuses 'Sasuke' who just "tsk" in reply.

"I see. I don't suppose I can send you to your old academe teacher for this?" Kakashi asks and Naruto just scowls at the man.

Finally Kakashi closes his book and motions for them to sit or something. After glancing at 'Sasuke', he sits down on the ground while Kakashi seems to summon a log to sit upon.

Inside the Ball

The real Sasuke couldn't find the energy to 'sit up' in this 'world'. Despite his thoughts of his nerves going to be too fried by the last shock, he keeps feeling them as though they're the very first shock he got. The Uchiha jerks as yet again he's shocked now that allotted time expires.

_"Repeat after me, 'I am a Ninjamon, my owner is Naruto Uzumaki.' Say this fifty times and you will be rewarded."_ A cheery voice tells him.

_Damn him!_ Sasuke privately curses but has grown too tired of getting shock that he finally repeats the phase, trying to say it quickly enough even though it left a foul taste in his mouth. "I am a Ninjamon, my owner is Naruto Uzumaki. I am a Ninjamon, my owner is Naruto Uzumaki..."

He stops after saying it fifty times and after a few seconds, he's rewarded by being engulfed in this smoothing, comforting feeling that also seems to calm his nerves. _"He can be taught! Congratulations! To be rewarded once more, please repeat the phase 'I am a Ninjamon' or 'My owner is Naruto Uzumaki' ten times!"_ The cheerful tone and Sasuke growls as that nice, comforting feeling fades by the end of the voice speaking.

In the end, Sasuke decides upon saying 'I am a Ninjamon' ten times as he sees it as the lesser of two evils and it will bring about a reward faster then the other one. "I am a Ninjamon. I am a Ninjamon..."

He quits at the tenth and that comforting feeling returns. Sasuke baths in the feeling for the next few minutes before that cheery voice begins speaking once more. _"Good boy! Say it another ten times!"_ The hated voice says, the feelings vanish. Sasuke groans but after a minute, does as commanded. The pleasure of the reward seems to last longer and longer.

After doing this for what felt like two hours, the voice has a new task for him. _"Good boy! Now it is time for you to work on the phase 'my owner is Naruto Uzumaki' ten times to get the reward!"_ He just groans, that one was so much harder to swallow...

Outside of the Ball

Naruto felt ill now that they were finished listening to Kakashi give them the Talk about intercourse and going into so much detail about jutsus that one can use in the bedroom to help increase the pleasure of this activity.

Neither 'Sasuke' or Naruto noticed Kakashi shrugging, getting up off the log, and walking away. 'Sasuke' recovers more quickly and moves to shake Naruto until the blond snaps out of it. 'Sasuke' slaps Naruto's face and upon seeing 'Sasuke', the blond growls out, "Why you...!"

'Sasuke' doesn't move, only smirks as the fist hit, causing 'Sasuke' to vanish in a puff of smoke. Naruto blinks as the clone's memories and sighs at feeling the clone's smugness before being dispelled. The blond sighs while wondering if he should continue to pursue this plan of seducing Sakura before his female team-mate some how manages to wear Sasuke down so that he'll go on a date with her.

With a sigh, Naruto creates another shadow clone that looks like Sasuke. The two then head off in different directions, 'Sasuke' going off to mimic the usual routine the real Sasuke does while Naruto heads off to think by training til he drops.

Inside the Ball

The reward fades, which informs Sasuke that another set of instructions will be given. _What more does this voice want?_ He wonders while 'laying' on his back.

_"Quiz time!"_ The voice declares and Sasuke flinches, remembering the last quizzes and he had failed them since they require the questions expected him to answer quickly, not giving one time to think of the answers or haste.

In other words, they tested to see how deeply he believes the concepts that this world if 'teaching' him. He knows he's being brainwashed but he so grown use to the pleasure and sense of fulfillment that the reward gives him. _"Who's a Ninjamon?"_

"I am!" Sasuke says.

_"Who's your owner?"_

"Naruto Uzumaki is!"

_"Does a good Ninjamon attack their owners?"_

"No!"

_"You are a?"_

"Ninjamon!"

_"Good boy! You answered all questions correctly! Enjoy your reward!"_ The chipper voice says.

Suddenly Sasuke is a washed with triple the usual levels of pleasure and whispering voices begin to say and repeat in a softly and a smoothing tone, 'I am a Ninjamon, my owner is Naruto Uzumaki. I obey my owner in all things.' The soft whispers become a soft hum and lulls him into sleep.

Outside of the Ball

Half way through his shower, Naruto's disguised clone pops, reminding Naruto to create a fresh clone to take Sasuke's place. He creates one outside of his bathroom before picking up the soap to scrub his body with it.

It has been two days since the dreaded Talk with Kakashi and Naruto's trying to gather up the courage to speak with the man about those lessons. 'Sasuke' and him just hadn't had a chance to speak with Kakashi without Sakura around since he rather not have Sakura know about his pursue at the fine art of seduction.

_Well, maybe I should have 'Sasuke' approach somebody about it... I mean, there's got to be plenty of people willing to teach Sasuke about this, right? And while 'Sasuke' is doing that, I can ask Iruka-sensei!_ The blond genin thinks, nodding at that course of action since it almost means that he doesn't have to worry about Kakashi accidentally spilling the beans to Sakura.

Once done in the shower, Naruto takes a towel and wrap it about his waist before exiting the bathroom. It doesn't take long before he's dressed in a white shirt and a pair orange pants since its laundry day, thus his jumpers were all in the wash.

Once his weapon pouches were on his person, Naruto heads to the fridge to get the milk before getting his cereal, bowl, and spoon. Siting at his table, Naruto suddenly gets up to get his headband and puts it on with a sheepish look even though nobody was around to witness his forgetfulness.

Once he's eaten his breakfast, he creates a single shadow to attend to his laundry. With that done, Naruto leaves to hook up with his team.

"Hey Sakura!" He calls out a greeting to his pink haired team-mate. Sakura just waves weakly at him, it seems that Sakura is distracted about something which causes Naruto to give 'Sasuke' a look, but 'Sasuke' just ignores him.

Naruto sighs, those clones that take over Sasuke's place seem to very much enjoy their roles, which kind of means he enjoys it as well since those clones were him... Naruto just shakes his head, trying to dismiss that train of thought. _Guess I'll learn what he did come either supper or tomorrow morning._

"Why do we even bother to show up on time when we know he'll be two to three hours late?" Naruto wonders out loud as he distracts himself as he's really, really bore with waiting for Kakashi-sensei. "I mean, we can get some training in during the hours we spend waiting for him to show up."

"Naruto..." Sakura growls at him and he winces at the girl's tone. It seems that whatever thoughts were circling around in that girl's head had turned into frustration and Sakura was looking for someone to take it out on.

'Sasuke' grunts softly and begins to walk from the spot, leaving him a bit confused by this course of action. Sakura hurries to walk along side of 'Sasuke' and with a shrug, Naruto follows after, kind of curious as to what 'Sasuke' has planned.

"Sasuke!" Ino's voice cries and within seconds, a blond girl has lashed herself onto 'Sasuke' from the right. Sakura growls while holding a fist and a fiery aura sprout around her like a cloak.

"Get your hooves off my Sasuke!" Sakura snaps at Ino. Naruto just knows that this wasn't going to end well as 'Sasuke' explodes into smoke with a few twigs falling to the ground.

"You chased him off, forehead-girl!" Ino accuses Sakura, thus the two girls got into a rather loud argument while he's just glad that 'Sasuke' hadn't been dispelled.

"Brothersome." Naruto hears Shikamaru say and he glances away from the two girls to see the rest of Ino's team coming from the right. "Naruto." The lazy genin says.

"Hey yourself, Shikamaru." Naruto says before addressing Choji. "Hi Choji." The rather large genin nods in reply while eating chips.

"Seen Kakashi today?" The smoking jonin instructor asks them and Naruto just shakes his head. "Well, we were on our way to collect you since we have a mission together." The jonin explains and Naruto brightens at that.

"Mission? What kind of mission? Is it protecting a merchant caravan? Or tracking down a spy?" Naruto asks, hoping against hope that it's something that will take them out of the village.

"Not exactly..." The jonin says.

Day before First Chuunin Examine

_I can't help but feel as though I'm forgetting something... Something important..._ Naruto thinks while sitting on his bed with a frown fixated upon his face.

_Let's see... Clone is still functional, I've finished reading those books that Iruka suggested, 'Sasuke' managed to get a few lessons from a few specialists on the art of seduction, and pushed back plans to seduce Sakura cause of the examines..._ He thinks but can't seem to think of anything he's missing.

In the end, the blond gets up and moves to check on those Nin-Balls his clones had created, there is suppose to be six in total. He found five of them in the hidden bottom of his closet and suddenly he remembers what it is he forgot. "Sasuke!"

It takes him a good halve hour before finding the wooden ball hidden in this spot by the window. Naruto takes the ball out of the case and tosses it to the ground, saying the phrase that will release the captured ninja, "Go time!"

The ball opens up and suddenly his actual team-mate is standing in the room with this dazed look upon his face. Then Sasuke blinks a few times and then glances around the room. "Sasuke?" Naruto asks and Sasuke doesn't seem to pay him any mind.

Naruto moves and grabs Sasuke's shoulder, causing the other to look at him. "Sasuke? Are you alright?" Naruto asks and Sasuke gives him a puzzled look.

"Sasuke?" Sasuke asks and he nods his head slowly. "Yea, you're Sasuke, remember? Sasuke's your name." Naruto stresses.

"I am a Ninjamon, my name is Sasuke. My owner is Naruto Uzumaki." Sasuke says and Naruto would laugh, if this wasn't so serious.

"Do you know who I am?" Naruto asks and Sasuke responds promptly, "My owner."

"Ok... I guess being in that ball for three weeks was long enough for you to finally give into the genjutsu. Sharingan or no Sharingan..." He muses as he moves away from Sasuke.

Naruto picks up the ball and after thinking about it, the blond holds it out and says, "Rest time, Sasuke!" Within seconds, Sasuke vanishes and Naruto stares down at the ball in his hand, his mind slowly going over his opinions.

"Ok, now what do I do with him?" He wonders to himself as he rotates the ball around in his hand.

Forest of Death

Naruto fingers the blank ball as he watches this freaky snake like ninja move about the clearing. _Well, I'm sure as hell ain't strong enough to defeat this guy..._ He thinks and then with a snort, throws the ball while the more experienced Grass ninja is ready to throw a pair of kunai at 'Sasuke' and Sakura.

The ball flies through the air and the ninja snorts as the Grass nin easily back hands the Nin-Ball. The ball opens up and suddenly, the Grass nin vanishes before the ball closes. He's already leaping down to the ground as the Nin-Ball drops down onto the ground.

He waits a few minutes before walking over and picking the wooden ball up. He's more then a little stunned at the fact that it had been a successful capture. "What are these things? Master Balls?" Naruto wonders as he stares at the blue chibi fox on the ball.

As he tries to think of what kind of genjutsu is tied to this ball, Sakura seems to be suffering from having a minor mental break down. 'Sasuke' just seems to be glad that he hadn't dispelled, which would likely only add to Sakura's confusion.

_I'll let Sasuke out and see how much of his ninja skills he has._ Naruto decides.

Inside the Blue Fox Nin-Ball

Orchimaru was not having a very nice day as not only did Sasuke no preform as expected but the annoying blond had somehow placed a genjutsu upon him! One that he can't seem to be able to break!

The worst think about being in this white space seems to be the shocks of pain for whenever he discuses his plans of payback out loud! Which is accompanied by this cheery voice that has the never to call him. Him, Orochimaru, S-ranked missing nin to be a bad girl!

It unnerves the snake sage that the blond child somehow discovered that the body he inhabits was originally a woman. Too few people knew of that and the snake sage already plans to first investigate them before killing them to see if there were any other leaks among his ranks.

Suddenly pain goes throughout his being, a pain that seems to hit the nerves directly before that irritating voice begins again. _"Remember, you must repeat the phrase 'I am a Ninjamon, I belong to Naruto Uzumaki' fifty times to receive a reward!"_ The cheery voice tells Orochimaru.

"Skinning is too mild for the brat!" Orochimaru growls to himself and receives that shock with that voice reproaching him, _"Bad girl! No attacking your owner! As a Ninjamon, your job is to obey your owner."_

"His head will hang from my fireplace!" Orochimaru counters only to be shocked once more. _"Bad girl! No attacking your owner! As a Ninjamon, your job is to obey your owner."_ The cheery voice reproaches.

"Bleed him dry!"

_"Bad girl! No attacking your owner! As a Ninjamon, your job is to obey your owner."_

"Nail him to the..."

_"Bad girl! No attacking your owner! As a Ninjamon, your job is to obey your owner."_

_(Like none of you saw this coming.)_

Night

Sasuke glances around the forest, looking for the reason why his owner would allow him out of... whatever that black space was. "Sasuke, we're going to see just how much of your ninja skill you retain from before I... ah, became your owner." Naruto says and Sasuke nods, acknowledging his owner.

Naruto watches as Sasuke uses a trunk of one of the huge trees that grow in this forest. The blond watches as various weapons hit the trunk before a log puffs into existence where Sasuke had been standing before the Uchiha comes running down from the trunk of said tree.

Clones poof into exist on either side of Sasuke before Sasuke doesn't some aerial manoeuvrings before launching another two kunai at the trunk. Then the clones move to attack Sasuke, he watches as fists, kicks, and other physical actions seem to go right through the clones before they vanish.

Suddenly that log rises into the air with wires wrapped upon it. Then he watches as fire speeds down the wires and engulfs the log. _I've never seen that move before..._ He thinks and stares at Sasuke's face to see if Sasuke has the Sharingan active but its not.

A few more jutsus later and he calls a halt as Naruto notices how deeply breathing Sasuke was. "Well, it seems you haven't lost much of your skill but it seems as though we're going to have to work on your stamina." Naruto muses before asking, "You're hungry, aren't you?"

Sasuke seems sheepish about nodding and Naruto felt a bit stupid for not thinking of it before. _Although, this is only the third time he's been out since I..._ Naruto felt a wave of guilt at what he did but didn't the Sharingan see through genjutsu? Naruto tosses a ration bar over to Sasuke, who promptly eat it after unwrapping it.

After Sasuke eats the bar, Naruto uses the ball to dismiss Sasuke back into that storage space that is connected to the ball.

_I hope I don't get too use to doing that..._ Naruto thinks as he returns to where 'Sasuke' and Sakura were.

Preliminary Matches

Naruto's already regretting not having a clone stand in as Sasuke but it's not like he can do anything about it now, not when the old man and out of town ninja were around. The blond could feel people looking at him as Sasuke stands to his right and a bit behind.

Sasuke stood a bit behind Naruto, tense at being around so many people. Some he remembers from the before time while others are new to him. Sasuke found it hard to follow Naruto's command about acting like he did before he became owned by the blond.

Sasuke just found it hard since all he had done back then had been brood about... ah, what did he brood about again? Oh yea, his brother killing his family... But that wasn't right cause he arrived too late to witness that. The massacre was over when he entered into the compound.

_Oh yea, he caught me in a genjutsu._ Sasuke tells himself. _So... how do I know he's the one that actually killed?_ Sasuke thinks as he watches some guy from Sand get wrapped up by a Leaf nin.

That thought floored him and suddenly new questions erupt following that thought. So Sasuke became so distracted by these new thoughts that if it weren't for Naruto saying his name, he wouldn't have snapped out of that line of thinking and likely would have been touched by somebody who wasn't his owner.

"Yes?" Sasuke asks him and Naruto motions to the board featuring Sasuke's name and that of Lee. The green wearing genin has already leaped down off the catwalk and seems to very excited about being chosen.

"You can do it Sasuke!" Ino says while Naruto gives Sasuke a little shove to go down the stairs since it seems as though Sasuke wasn't going unless he gave him an order of some kind, which was what the shove was.

"You didn't, I don't know, replace the actual Sasuke with a shadow clone before you two arrived here, Naruto?" Kakashi asks and Naruto glances over at his jonin instructor.

"I can honestly say, I have not, sensei. Besides, shouldn't Sasuke be able to escape before his match?" Naruto counters and after a few tense seconds, Kakashi just smiles that odd one eye smile.

"Just checking. We are ninja after all." Kakashi says and Naruto couldn't help but wonder what that means...

With a shake, Naruto focuses on the match going on below. Naruto had managed to stop Lee from challenging 'Sasuke' that day of the first exam but it seems that Lee's making up for that failure pretty well.

"That or he's not focusing on the match..." Naruto murmurs to himself out loud as he watches as Sasuke manages to use a pair of kunai and wire to trip Lee up slightly, allowing Sasuke to create a small cluster of regular clones. Lee seems to sprout a fiery aura before charging the cluster of Sasukes, most of whom dart off and spread out, not that it seems to cause Lee to lose that aura of his.

As Sasuke finally engages in combat with Lee, Naruto watches as Sasuke seems to be absorbing some maneuvers of Lee's while using his clan style. And yet, no Sharingan was active, which caused the blond genin to wonder just how badly that Nin-Ball had screwed with Sasuke.

Although, sadly, Lee won by simply outlasting Sasuke. The Medics arrive and escort Sasuke off. Naruto would hurry after but gets this feeling that it would only be proof that he had something to do with how odd Sasuke has been acting. _Should have left a few clones in the building so they can go where I can't..._

Sasuke felt very uncomfortable about Naruto being out of his sight but wasn't going to say anything about it. He knew that Naruto didn't want anyone knowing that Naruto is his owner since the village does hate his blond owner for some, yet explained reason.

Three Days After the Chuunin Exam Preliminaries

Naruto watches as Kakashi dismisses Sakura while pinning him with a look. Naruto shifts uncomfortably under Kakashi's gaze. "Do you want to explain why you've had a clone impersonate your team-mate?" Kakashi asks him after a few minutes.

"Well... you see, ever since that mission to Wave, I've had my clones work on storage seals. And well, this is what they came up with." Naruto says and he takes out the Nin-Ball containing Sasuke.

Kakashi takes it from him while giving him a skeptical look, as if not really believing that he, Naruto Uzumaki, had managed to come up with something using seals. "Go Time!" He says after Kakashi returns the ball upon studying it for a few minutes, even opening it and finding nothing in there.

The Nin-Ball feels warm in his hand as suddenly, Sasuke appears before him. Sasuke blinks and seems a bit surprised to see Kakashi standing there. Sasuke gives him a baffled look.

Kakashi moves his headband and looks at Sasuke with his Sharingan. Their jonin instructor then glances at the Nin-Ball before falling over with a vacant expression. "That's... unexpected." Naruto muses as he stares down at Kakashi.

"Should I begin my training?" Sasuke asks Naruto and he glances over at Sasuke before taking out a storage scroll.

"You know how to used a storage scroll?" Naruto asks and Sasuke seems to think about it for a few seconds before nodding. The blond tosses the scroll over to Sasuke and says as he bends down to pick up Kakashi, "Good! In that scroll is lunch, supper, and drinks. Eat the lunch before beginning your training and if I'm not back by sun set, eat the supper. The drinks are for when you are thirsty."

Before leaving, Naruto makes a clone to help carry the fallen jonin to the hospital.

Two Months After Invasion

Naruto takes out the Nin-Ball with a blue chibi fox upon it. It has been a good three months since he captured that snake like ninja and caused Kakashi to enter into a coma that he has yet to come out of.

Naruto then takes out the two other Nin-Balls, neither of which were Sasuke is already out of the ball and going about his training. The blond still didn't understand Sasuke's reasoning concerning the fact that Sasuke is a Ninjamon but he himself wasn't a Ninjamon even though he fights other ninja.

With a sigh, Naruto allows his chin to touch the table top as he slouches, staring at the ball featuring a purple chibi fox upon it before glancing at the green chibi fox ball. The purple contains some blue skin swordsman while the green contains Sasuke's look-a-like.

_I can't believe I've filled four balls. Granted three of them are filled with insanely powerful ninja, but... Oh damn it all, if my luck keeps going on like this, I'll need more Nin-Balls._ Naruto thinks, the last two empty Nin-Balls feature a white chibi fox and yellow chibi fox.

"Playing with balls, eh?" A voice says, breaking his concentration. He glances over to find a certain purple haired woman holding the Nin-Ball with a blue fox upon it.

"..." Naruto watches as the woman tosses the ball up into the air and catch it. He rests himself up on his chair, he manages to put the other two balls away as he regards the woman across from him.

"Show Time." He says just as the ball is tossed up into the air and the ball opens up slightly before closing once more. He turns his head to the right to finds that the Grass nin glancing around with a very out of it expression.

"Hahaha, nice prank kid." The purple haired woman says as she slams the ball a bit on the table, not that it caused the ball any hurt, just cause it to make a bit of noise.

"Why don't you tell the lady what you are?" Naruto asks the brainwashed Grass nin.

"I am a Ninjamon, I belong to Naruto Uzumaki." Comes the answer.

"What was your name before I became your owner?" Naruto asks the still out of it Grass nin.

"Orochimaru." Came the response.

"What is your name now?" He asks.

"Whatever you decide." The Grass nin replies.

"What the hell?!" Is the woman's abrupt response.

"Home." He says and within second of saying that, Orochimaru vanishes back into the storage space.

Naruto then begins to roll the ball back and forth on top of the table. "Who's have thought using a storage seal and a genjutsu anchor could be so effective, huh?" He says to the purple haired woman.

He glances up at her and finds the purple haired woman just staring at him with a bit of alarm and some other emotion that he could only describes as 'Mine!'

"How many of those balls do you have?" The woman asks with this smile that really, really, REALLY creeps him out.

"My clones created six but only two are empty." Naruto admits slowly. "Whatever you do, don't touch those two as they'll react to anyone other then me touching them by capturing them." He adds, trying not to fidget as that smile just grew half an inch.

"And how much will it cost for you to create one of those balls for me? Also, how much for that one there?" The woman asks.

He glances down at the ball and moves it so he can look at the blue fox. "I'd have to reprogram the genjutsu on this one, something I really don't know where to begin since my clones copied these seal anchors from some discarded scroll I found behind Ino's family's Greenhouse." Naruto says and within two breathes, he's being dragged away from the table by the wrist.

"I know the perfect genjutsu mistress to help with that." The purple haired woman says.

It took them two hours to find Kurenai and, strangely enough, Asuma out on a training field. Out on the field, Ino and Hinata seem to be sparring, only Hinata is just defending while Ino is attacking, it also seems as though Ino's angry about something.

"I need you to teach him what he need to know so he can reprogram the genjutsu on this ball!" The crazy, energetic purple haired woman says while holding said ball.

"What is that?" Kiba asks, it seems as though the guys were all hanging around a game board. "Is that a fox painted on it?" The dog trainer asks.

"I call it a Nin-Ball, well, that's what my clones dubbed them to be." Naruto admits while Kurenai takes the ball from the purple haired woman. Kiba snorts, clearly finding the name to be funny.

"What does it do?" Choji asks and he sighs.

"Show Time." Naruto says after taking the ball from the ruby eyed woman, he makes sure to point it at a clear spot. Orochimaru suddenly appears out of no where with that same look upon the Grass nin's face.

"That's part of what it does." The blond boy says to his crowd at large. "I say the phrase that causes whoever I captured to appear and then I say another phrase to cause them to go back to the storage space." He adds.

"Why would you need my help with this?" Kurenai wonders and he rubs the back of his neck.

"Well, while they're in there, there is this genjtutsu that's designed to brainwash them into obeying a specific person, namely me." He explains and its clear that nobody really believes that.

"Orochimaru! Bring me the blond girl over there! Alive!" He orders and within seconds, Ino is tossed before him under a minute. "Thank you."

"Ok... That's pretty... just wow." Kiba says while Ino is still trying to recover from the blow to the head that Orochimaru had delivered.

"Home." He says and Orochimaru vanishes back into that space.

"It's it just the greatest?" The purple haired woman says with a sigh. Most of the genin turn to stare at said chuunin examiner of the second part of the test that happened little over three months ago.

"Do you have, ah, more of those?" Asuma asks and he sighs.

"My clones made six and at this moment, only two of them are empty. I captured some blue skinned swordsman and a Sasuke look-a-like who was with him." Naruto says.

"And the fourth?" Shino asks and he glances over at the bug user, wondering if Shino already has an idea of who the fourth is.

He sighs in defeat before stating out loud, "Sasuke." Ino stirs while Kiba lets out a laugh.

"Did Kakashi know?" Kurenai asks him sternly and he nods since before the jonin entered into that coma, Kakashi did witness Sasuke coming out of that Nin-Ball. It seems that only caused Kiba to laugh harder while Choji seems to be choking upon something.

He glances down at Ino to find her coughing too, although she does send a glare up at him. "That's why Sasuke's been acting weird!" Ino finally manages to croak out between whizzes.

"He kind of ended up inside his Nin-Ball for about two weeks while I had a shadow clone pose as him. I was trying to get Kakashi to give us seduction lessons but I knew Sasuke won't agree to help me get Kakashi to teach us, so I needed him out of the picture for a while." He says before adding in his defense, "He had his Sharingan out when I threw the ball at him! I thought it would mean that the genjutsu wouldn't have any effect on him!"

"But it did, didn't it?" Their examiner asks with a smirk and he just sighs before nodding.

"He wasn't as out of it as Orochimaru though. His eyes only possessed a touch of daze to them. He also seemed interested in his surroundings too." He reports while the two jonin instructors shake their collective heads at him. One sported a slightly amuzed grin while the other looked fairly angry about this.

"Is he in his ball now?" Kurenai asks and he shakes his head.

"I've taken to letting him out a noon. I give him a storage scroll with food and drink before leaving him to his training. The when evening comes, I..." He trails off before the blond says in his defence, "Well, he's not as broody as he use to be, so that's something, isn't it?"

"He's your pet!" Kiba manages to say between laughs and he just rolls his eyes while shaking his head, his shoulders slacken. "You tamed the Ice Prince!" Kiba adds giggling.

"Keep this up and I'll tame you!" Ino snaps as the blond girl finally gets up off the ground, Naruto helps her as the young girl tries to regain her balance.

"Sounds fun!" Kiba replies impishly, causing Ino to growl at the dog trainer.

_And here I thought I would have freaked her out enough for her to go away._ Naruto thinks while Ino lunges at Kiba, causing Shikamaru to mutter 'Troublesome' as the lazy genin gets up out of his seat to wander off to find a nice spot to watch the clouds over head.

So it ends without any real ending... Scary, no?

**Nin-Balls:**

Orange Fox - Sasuke

Blue Fox - Orochimaru

Purple Fox - Kisame

Green Fox - Itachi

White Fox - Empty

Yellow Fox - Empty


	78. Worlds Apart: Naruto Chapter 1

**I don't own Naruto and Cyantian Chronicles.**

- = -

"Hey Enfys. How did you get out?" He asks as the female Shivae butts her head to his chest. He scratches behind the 'ear' for a minute before gripping Enfys' collar.

"Come on, let's go home." He says, tugging at the collar to get the Shivae to follow his lead. Enfys doesn't need much prompting and walking next to him. Enfys seems to enjoy continuing to press her body against him as they walk down the dirt road.

"Enfys! Where are you girl?" He hears Kaelin call out.

"Kaelin! I've got her!" He shouts and his guardian comes to the gate as they near it. Enfys waits a pace before trying to hide behind him, it seems as though the Shivae doesn't particularly like the look upon Kaelin's face.

"Enfys..." Kaelin says in a firm voice and said Shivae nudges him in the back while Ifor comes to the gate to see what the fuss is all about. His guardian crosses his arms over his chest while Ifor calls out a greeting to the wayward Shivae.

He tries to move out of the way but Enfys keeps following him, remaining behind him until he finally turns sideways to allow Enfys clear view of Kaelin. The beautiful Shivae known as Enfys gives Kaelin a meek chirp. "Enfys..." Kaelin sighs causing the female Shivae to look up at Kaelin.

Minutes pass and finally Enfys approaches Kaelin, he moves to the gate and upon Ifor nudging his out stretched palm. He begins to stroke Ifor's muzzle and then under his jaw. He climbs over the gate instead of opening it and pats the teal Shivae on the neck before dropping off the gate.

"Your homework comes first, Kirit." Kaelin reminds him and he feels his ears kind of go back as he feels a flash of guilt about his hope do something physical before doing something mental work. He just nods and drags his paws to the house to begin just that.

As he makes himself a snack, the phone rings. "Hello, Maemi residents." He says into the phone.

"Hey Kirit! Is Kaelin free?" Jadine Maemi asks.

"He's currently dealing with Enfys. She managed to slip out off the property again." He informs Kaelin's second cousin. "Did you want to leave a message for him?" He adds.

"It's nothing too pressing, just a reminder about the family luncheon coming up." Jadine tells him. "I'll phone back later, Kirit, so you can get back to doing your homework. Later." Jadine adds before hanging up.

With a sigh, he hangs up the phone and then leaves the kitchen, only to return a few seconds later to grab his snack and drink. _Wonder if that's the weekend where my class is heading into Mounty Country for that field trip?_ He wonders as he doesn't recall Kaelin mentioning a family luncheon.

x )( x

"I pick... Tacy." He says after his credit manages to land in the middle of the small plate that had held a small collection of cup cakes. The jaguar type Mounty growls mockingly at him before taking a sip out of the cup of bitter tea.

"I pick Eavan." Oke, one of the foxes living within the area, a silver Fox at that. The white furred vixen just rolls her eyes but drinks from her cup.

"Ok, go!" Tacy says and once more credits are bounced off the table top as they try and slam the coins with enough force and accuracy for them to land upon the plate. He couldn't help but grin smugly as, yet again, his credit lands upon the plate.

"That's the seventh time Elsu's manage to get a credit upon the plate... Maybe we should try a different drinking game." Oke suggests while Tacy nods in agreement.

"I can't help it if I'm skilled at this game." He defends himself and his table-mate give him bemused looks. He picks up a cookie off his plate near his tea and eats is, after all, he needs more food then the average Cyantian.

"You're skill at everything you try, Elsu, which is kind of scary and fairly intimating too. You just show up one day out of the blue without a single memory of who you are and yet you were allowed into military classes; which is understandable since it didn't take you long to take the top position." Tacy points out.

He sighs, he guesses Tacy has a point. "Not like I meant to make you guys look bad..." He says but Oke just waves it away. Oke says, "We know, we know, it just clicks for you Mr Perfect Solider." _I'm not as prefect as you think I am._

"You're a little too good." Eavan adds. "And combined with the fact that nobody has been able to find any records of you... It's simply amazing that you're still taking classes and not move into a patrol or guard unit."

"I don't think I'm going to be moving out of class until my memories surface. I think they're allowing me into class in hopes of the training exercises will cause something to surface since its clear I've received this kind of training before." He tells his fellow students. "So far... Nothing."

"Guess it really sucks not knowing who your parents are or if you have any siblings." Tacy says, after all, the pair of foxes at the table also lack knowing who their parents were as either they were abandoned or their parents were killed seeking sanctuary for their kits.

_Might be why I enjoy their company so much._ He concludes to himself. He glances over to the clock. "I got a bit of time left before I'm needed back at the training fields for clean up duty. You guys want to hit the court for a game?" He asks his table-mates.

x )( x

"Kirit! Balin and Mahon are here!" Kaelin says upon knocking upon his door.

"Thank you, Kaelin." He says as he turns off his data pad upon saving his essay. He had hoped that they'd show up tonight so they can go out.

He makes sure to grab his credits before leaving his room. He takes the stairs two by two and then enters into the living room to find his two friends, the young chocolate brown Otter is Balin and the Wolverine is Mahon. "Great! You guys finished your chores early?" He asks the two as they get up off the couch.

"Not exactly, it just so happens that the twins have my chores added to their list of punishment for causing that stampede the other day." Balin tells him with a bemused grin. "Of course I was just so disappointed about it but what can I do?" Balin adds causing Mahon and he to chuckle.

"My sister is still out so if I return home at a decent hour, I should be able to finish my chores up before she comes home." Mahon explains. "Phoned around and found that most of the gang can make it, although they want to hook up in town instead of at somebody's house."

"Who couldn't make it?" He asks as he shoos Ifor from the outside door. Ifor keeps trying to get him to give him chin scratches, it seems as though Enfys' punishment is to be within the barn for the night, so Ifor is likely lonely without her around.

"Most of the girls can't make it, it seems that they're planning a girls night and are busy with that." Mahon says. "Although Misha is coming since you're coming." Mahon adds and if it weren't for his golden fur, the pair would see his blush.

"Ah, how cute. A pair of star-cross lovers." Balin says and his ears go flat out of embarrassment then anger. "Who would have thought you, a Golden Fox, would have fallen for a Blue Fox?" Balin adds and he just rolls his eyes, but did kind of get why it seems so impossible since Fox society is a caste system. Gold Foxes are a caste higher then Orange/Blue Foxes, which is the source of much jokes among his circle of friends.

"It's not that much of a gap between Misha and mine caste." He reminds Balin. _Too bad Foxes and Wolves are currently so hostile to each other. I wouldn't mind learning more about who my parents are and if I have any relatives. All I know about my culture comes from what Wolves know about them._ He thinks to himself.

"Just makes it all that more interesting, no? The forbidden does have its allure after all." Mahon points out while Balin nods in agreement.

"I wonder if her parents are protesting your involvement with their daughter?" Balin wonders as they walk through the gate. He makes sure that Ifor remains within the walls and makes a point of checking the gate after closing it to make sure its closed.

"See you later, buddy." He says to Ifor before walking away from the gate. Neither of the two remark about his saying good bye to Ifor.

"You're so lucky to have not just one Shivae, but two of them for pets. All I'm allowed to have is either a flurry gryphon or a miniwhip." Balin says, its not the first time Enfys and Ifor invoke feelings of envy among his friends.

"My sister's latest boyfriend has a miniwhip." Mahon says. "I think I'm close to wearing her down so that I can get a Pygmy Shivae as a pet." The Wolverine adds with a hint of smugness.

"Oh! Lucky! Those are so female magnets!" Balin says. "And expensive to boot." The Otter adds.

"Our landlord has an uncle breeding them. So we might be able to get a discount on one from him." Mahon explains.

"I guess you would need all the help you can get since you lack my charm, eh?" He says in a sly tone with a mischievous grin. "Maybe if you hang around me long enough you'll pick up some of my charm."

"Since when did you possess charm?" Balin wonders and he just huffs as he crosses his arms over his chest as they head for the local gate pad.

x )( x

He arrives as the stragglers leave the field, dragging themselves off to see a doctor to get checked over or home to rest. He and his fellow students assigned to clean up duty have two units(2 and half hours), to go around and collect discarded dummy ammo and their shells, to use a hose to wash off paint splatter, and to set up the sword practice dummies for tomorrow's class.

He deals with the larger equipment since out of the group, he's the oldest and strongest one of the group since clean up duty is typically done by students who are ten Rots old(130 months old). He does gather odd looks from those who share clean up duty because he's not only older then them, but has odd coloring.

They finish early but they wait for one of their teachers to arrive to take a tour. If their satisfy the instructor, they'll be dismissed and if not, then they have to work a bit more to meet the teacher's standards of clean. He found that its usually pressed upon groups that prove to be more then a little lazy or upon individuals who the group believed weren't carrying their weight to help clean up the field.

Upon being dismissed, he heads home. He finds a note upon the table informing him that Wajid has left for a long term patrol and should be back in one Set(26 days). Since the note hasn't mentioned Cait, he just assumes that she hasn't left on a long term assignment so he can expect to see her around.

He heads for the kitchen, dropping the his wooden sword and bag by the door as he enters. It takes a bit of effort but he has supper underway while snacking upon some fruit. _Might need to get groceries later. Hope Cait will be up to help with that._

Cait comes wandering into the kitchen, looking less then perfectly groomed so he assumes that she just woke and hasn't had a chance to hit the shower yet. Cait wrinkles her nose as she pauses in grabbing a glass. "Dad left on patrol?"

"Yea, the note says he'll be gone for a Set." He answers while stirring the sauce. "You working tonight?" He asks his primary care giver's daughter.

"Yea, I plan to go visit my mom tonight though, likely by gate since it's quicker. Her ship should still be in orbit since she hasn't left a vid message saying goodbye." Cait informs him.

"It's been about a few Sets since she's come planet side, right?" He asks and Cait nods as best as she can while drinking her glass of water. "Well, say hi for me, will you?" He asks Cait who just waves it away.

After having a second glass of water, Cait leaves the kitchen and soon he can hear the shower going. It wasn't long after Cait began her shower does he find himself busy with his dishes. He sets aside something for Cait's... breakfast before eating his supper.

By the time Cait comes down looking for something to eat, he's busy loading up the dish washer with dirty dishes. "Thanks." Cait says as she finds what he set aside for her.

"No problem." He says as he sets the dish washer's settings. He presses the door and it locks before beginning to run through its cycles. With that done, he picks up his stuff and heads for his room.

After changing his cloths, he heads for the living room to find something to watch. He'll wait a bit before having his own shower.

- = -


	79. God Sight: Ranma

**I don't own Ranma 1/2.**

- o 0 o -

He never asked for this power and yet because of a stupid accident when he was six. Ranma did place blame on his father for how the garden hose ended up in that temple that day three years ago. It didn't help that his pops continues to think he's delusional and about five months after that accident, pops had given him a very through beating.

Ranma had learnt his lesson, he never mentioned his new found sight again to his pops nor ever mentioned he had discovered using it. _I wonder if I should tell him about the curses he picked up? Or that his attempts on using that ritual to pass on his bad karma no longer works on me? Ah well, he'll learn in due time._ The nine year old thinks with a slightly savage smirk as he continues to practice his first love.

"Stupid furball...." Genma Saotome grumbles as the fat father of Ranma Saotome presses his hand over the latest scratches from his latest catch. "This technique had better be all it promised it could be..."

_I can't believe he's still on about that Neko-Fu even after I unstuck the pages so he can read the negative effect of it. If he thinks I'm going through that technique, he's taken one too many lumps on the head. I'm not going to risk losing my mind for a forbidden technique that drives the victim insane._ Ranma thinks.

Ranma glances up at the sky as a symbol glowing teal flares with other symbols twinkling and rotating around the central teal symbol of storm, at least that's what his altered sight translates the middle symbol to be. _Huh... I wonder what brought this on? Ah well, I'll just have to remember to bundle up tonight before going to bed._ The boy concludes as he finally brings his practice to an end since if he plans to eat something that wasn't rice, he should head into town before the stores closes up.

"I'm going into town! Be back before midnight!" Ranma says while his pops is already hitting the bottles of sake without it even being evening. _But then, some of his true fortune is rearing its head. I'm so glad that I'm not pops, I don't know what I'd do under all that bad karma._ He thinks as he mentally evaluates his pops' current karma with a parting glance at the man.

Ranma found he can't find it within himself to trust his father and couldn't wait for the day that he'll find the right opportunity to slip away from the man, particularly just as the man beings to reap what he has sown. Ranma knows that it's only a matter of time before Genma's problems finally catch up to him and occupy the man's focus. So much so that the man wouldn't notice him gone until he's put at least a few countries between them.

"Head start is a must." He mutters out loud. "I also have to start on legal leg work too." Genma had left a very detailed paper trail throughout their travels and it shouldn't be hard for Ranma to become a legal adult, specially if he makes use of his mystical abilities to speed things along.

- { = [

"Who'd have thought it would take two years to push this through? Especially after everything pops has done..." The eleven year old muses out loud after reading through the legal document that officially makes him an adult.

Ranma opens the envelop that he's been waiting to send for over a year now. The papers contained within that one is to get his name off the Saotome family register while also changing his name to something more common then Ranma and Saotome. He knew that Ranma was a very unusual name and as long as he kept it, there's a good chance that a certain fatty will be quicker to find him if pops ever got a chance to run away from his troubles once they catch up to him.

_Also, it would make it harder for those arrangements that pops made to find me as well._ Ranma thinks. _The problem will be picking out my new name. I'm sure I can pass Ranma as a nickname if pressed._

Ranma taps a pen on the pad of paper, racking his mind for names. After writing down at least five last names and at least thirty first names, a symbol of warning appears within his sight. It flickers red and black with hoof prints circling around the red and black symbol. The warning swirls to take the form of an ox, which stands for the direction Genma wishes to head in.

Ranma begins to gather his papers and places the lot into a shoe box that his pops can't see. It is just one of the experiments he's carried out that's keyed to keep the man that is his father from noticing it. The door of the apartment opens to reveal Genma Saotome.

"Pack it up, boy! We're leaving!" Ranma's father says as the fat martial artist begins to grab cloths out of the dirty basket and stuff it into a pack. Ranma doesn't say anything as he grabs his pack and put it onto the table.

By the time twenty minutes have passed, Genma has already packed up what dry goods they had purchased during their time in this city after a sudden snow storm. It had been too dangerous for them to camp outside, so Genma had to fork over his sake money to rent the apartment for three months.

Ranma takes one last look around the apartment, it was the first time that the pig-tailed child could remember his father actually being forced to pay for lodging instead of camping or freeloading. Ranma had enjoyed having the apartment since it gave the illusion of normalcy and stability, something which is very much in lacking in his life.

_I wonder what pops has done now? We still had two weeks left in there._ Ranma thinks but since Genma has committed so many crimes, he'll likely never know the truth, only the man's spin on things.

_Soon, soon I'll be rid of you and the hell you carry around with you._ Ranma thinks to himself as he stares at his pops' back.

- { = [

_I wonder if I can copy and apply that transformation scheme? I know I can alter it, but can I duplicate it?_ The fifteen year old wonders while staring at the beast that was his father.

Ranma watches as the bull continues to try to stand upright and falls back into the spring. The green clad guide is trying to find planks long enough to reach the spring his father had fallen in. _So glad I didn't get too close to those springs, I could only shudder to think of what curse I'd pick up if he had fallen into one of the edge ones instead of that one._ The pig-tailed teen thinks with a slight smirk.

As he continues to watch, the bull that is his father finally snorts and begins to try and move onto the thin dirt ridges surrounding the pools. Ranma snorts, he already has an inkling of what would happen when, not if, his father touches those other springs. _He'll finally look like the monster his actions warrant._

Sure enough, less then a minute of trying to balance upon the ridge caused the bull to fall into the next spring. Ranma's mystical sight shows how the curse begins to take on the new spring's characteristics. A second set of horns, ram type this time, grow a inch below the first set. The muzzle gets drawn out and more pointed while his father shrinks a bit while the coat coloring alters a tiny bit. _Goat or ram, hard to say really._

The altered beast bellows out in pain as soon as his father raises himself out of the spring. The hybrid beast turns to give Ranma a dirty look before trying once more to balance upon the dirt ridge. He couldn't keep a bemused look off his face at his father's struggles. "Baka! You should wait for the guide to get those planks!" The teen shouts but his cursed father snaps in his direction before glancing around.

_He's going to try jumping it, isn't he? Oh, this will be fun._ Ranma thinks as he crouches down before sitting down upon the ground. The teen just knew this was going to be very entertaining.

Sure enough, Genma tenses upon finding a suitable spot to land upon. It didn't bother the cursed man in the least that he couldn't see it very well. Nor did it matter that it sports a bamboo pole. Genma glances right and then left at the chunk of ground seconds before leaping with all of his might.

Ranma watches as Genma over shoots the medium size island of earth. Once more Genma's curse opens up to receive new characteristic of the new spring, one that ironically, seems to be that of a hare or rabbit. Genma's ears grow longer, muzzle doesn't change much other then to accommodate longer whiskers, the tail shortens, and the hind legs grow at least a foot in length as well as sports new set of muscles.

Genma once more bellows out in rage over his failure. Ranma watches as the beast that is his father rears up and then slams his front hooves down into the spring, causing minor waves to raise over the land ridge between springs, causing small amount of this spring to enter into the surrounding springs.

The guide comes racing towards the very edge of the springs, shouting out how Genma is only enraging the spirits of springs. That Genma should stop and wait until the guide can offer up prayers to calm the spirits of the springs. This doesn't do anything but increase the triple cursed man's rage.

Genma jumps towards the guide, intent on giving the man a good thrashing since it's clear to Genma's mind that the guide should have done more to warn him about the springs. Nevermind that the elder Saotome would have stopped and listen even if the guide had thrown himself around Genma's leg to try and keep the fat martial artist from approaching the springs.

Genma lands in the spring of drown boar and the spring of drown crane-with-fish-in-beak. The boar gives Genma a short pair of tusks and smaller beady eyes and the drown crane-with-fish-in-beak gives the man scales along the back, short broad feathered wing and a longer, more serpentine neck, and a tail covered in feathers instead of fur.

_Such an ugly beast._ Ranma thinks as the guide gets chased around by Genma, the wings allow for longer jumps but not for true flight. The teen wonders how many demon hunters will be after them as soon as they arrive in a modern city.

_But at least I have an idea of how to get rid of such a curse._ Ranma muses to himself.

- { = [

_Stupid old man._ Ranma thinks, despite everything, the man had manage to get him cursed. Thankfully Ranma knew how to cure it but couldn't for risk of being forced to cure Genma's own.

_At least I didn't land in something embarrassing like drowned girl or drowned squirrel. Drowned Fu Dog is pretty cool actually._ The transformed teen thinks to himself while following the transformed guide, that guy landed in spring of drowned tiger-fighting-eagle-and-monkey. The guide sports orange and black pelt of a tiger plus the size and bulk of one, the head and nice large wings, also sporting the tiger pattern, of an eagle, and the over all body structure of a monkey.

Bringing up the rear is the source of the reason that the guide and Ranma's curses, Genma. Genma hadn't picked up any new curses since landing in the spring of drowned crane-with-fish-in-beak, sadly enough. _Not that its such a bad thing since it just means that he avoided landing in any of those 'cooler' springs._ Ranma muses.

Finally, they arrive at a gate of a walled village. There weren't any guards so they just walked right in. Ranma spots the table filled with food but the symbols of prize flare up and dance around in yellow and light blue so he doesn't move to touch it. Ranma's not concerned that Genma would touch the food since the cursed man can't consume most of what's on the table as most of the beasts that make up Genma's curse form are herbivores. Also, the few times Genma had tried to eat cooked vegetables caused Ranma's father to develop stomach problems.

Ranma watches the pair of girl fighters upon the hanging log. Sitting down, Ranma considers the two and decides the smaller one will win. Ranma shakes his head, his tightly curled mane shakes as well. The transformed teen's fluffy tail curls up next to his right, back leg. His noses twitches at the various scents of village life comes to reach his nose as the wind gently blows.

Ranma hears the guide move else where and glances to see where the guide is stalking towards. Within seconds, the guide had over turned a tea pot over his head and becomes human once more, a very naked one at that. The short, portly guide quickly digs through his pack for cloths.

Before Ranma glances back at the hanging log, the teen feels his father begin to approach the guide, likely to demand the shorter man to get water so that Genma can transform back. He snarls at Genma before the man gets within six feet of their guide. Genma pauses and glances in his direction.

Before anything can get out of hand, one of the girl fighters lands between the guide and Genma. The girl with purple hair seems to threaten Genma while saying something in the local dialect. The guide hurriedly translates the girl's words.

Symbols subtlety flare up, they were warnings informing him to tread lightly in his dealings with this village. Ranma glances slowly around, studying which types of warnings apply to which crowd members. Finally, as Genma gets annoyed at the girl, clearly wanting to transform back to partake of the meal upon the table.

With a bellow, Genma rears up but before Genma could do anything, Ranma watches as a staff whacks his father with enough power to daze the monstrous beast that his father is cursed to become upon coming into contact with cold water. The warnings were worst around the 'mummy' monkey that owns said staff.

The very short woman address the guide, its clear that the guide is being really respectful towards the short, wrinkly 'mummy'. The 'mummy' glances at Ranma after the guide finished answering the 'mummy's' question. The young teen also glances in his direction and upon seeing him, her eyes widen before glancing over at the 'mummy'.

Ranma thinks fast and constructs a hasty scheme that causes interest in him to die down. It helps that Genma choose this moment to recover and to charge the two villagers. Ranma continues to enforce the scheme around him while slowly adding bits that would cause them to find Genma to be annoying and want to get rid of the cursed man.

Ranma does this ever so gently since he's not sure if anyone within this village sports the same mystical ability as him. A pot of hot water finally hits Genma in the forehead during the fight the cursed man has picked with the 'mummy' and teenager. A single jab of the staff and the metal pot explodes and hot water hits Ranma's father, causing the man to transform out of his cursed form.

It's clear that the two didn't particularly like Genma's natural appearance and the 'mummy' speaks sharply to the guide, who translates it. Ranma's glad that they're being asked to leave the village, although the teen could had done without the threats of locking them in their curse forms, Genma, reluctantly, motioned for them to leave. Ranma could imagine that they're leaving because more of those 'mummies' had appeared and the often greedy man didn't want to mess with them.

Ranma adds in a desire not to see Genma or Ranma himself ever again into the village's natural symbol scheme while adding encouragements to forget about the unpleasantness their presence had caused to the over all nice day. The changes will fade in a few years, which should be long enough to cause the details of this to become highly unclear even if anyone tries to remember them.

- { = [

Ranma glances over to the sleeping figure of his father. Ranma then glances pass his father to the door of their room. With a slight upturn of his lips, the teen completes the scheme upon the room, a scheme he's been building up since they were given the guest room.

The scheme had been carefully constructed in the three months they have been guests of the Tendos. It had been slow because Ranma didn't want to accidentally miss an important aspect of this particular scheme for it would not only help those living here at this house to forget that he's suppose to be living here, but it serves to tie Genma to this ward, to this room.

_Even if he does leave to drag me back here, it won't matter since as long as Genma wants to keep returning to his human state, the man will have to sleep in this room once every forty-eight hours._ Ranma grabs the pack he had hidden from everyone's sight but his own and checks to be sure it contains everything important.

With a nod, Ranma moves out of the open window. Before leaving, the pig-tail teen stops by the windows of the Tendos to leave parting gifts that won't activate until they fully realize they hadn't seen him in four months. Ranma had thought long and hard about what kind of gifts to leave, it helps with how they treated him since it gives what he's about to do a greater chance of sticking.

_Guess the Christians were right about doing onto others as you would have do unto you._ Ranma thinks as he stops before Akane's window. These schemes will be easier then what he had been constructing in the guest room.

And so, Akane would transform into a boy whenever she lost her temper and wouldn't return to normal until she apologized for losing her temper. Upon Nabiki, Ranma granted the girl with luck in gathering money, how she'll keep it when she gets is... it wasn't his problem since the girl needed to learn that money makes a poor substitute for a human companionship. Ranma comes to Genma's 'good' buddy and the other partner in trying to push their combine bad karma onto him.

It hadn't been easy to think of what gift to leave his host but Ranma had found it. _He needs to pick himself up and be the father these three need._ Ranma thinks. _Or perhaps be the mother they lost._ Ranma adds as he constructs the scheme upon the resting owner of the dojo and house.

Mr Tendo will switch genders, not just based on the cycle of the day but when the girls need a responsible adult. If the man doesn't come to his senses concerning how much this daughters require a stable parental figure in their lives, the man will be a woman at all times but one night a year, when Mr Tendo will shed that role to remember who he truly is and how much he truly lost while seeing what's going on while a woman, but unable to influence the mother persona. This gift will remain even when the man's daughters move out of the house.

Only way for the scheme to be destroyed is when the man steps up and takes the role of father more seriously. It'll help if the girls prefer the man over the woman too.

Ranma drops to the ground and then enters into the house viva the ground floor since that's where Kasumi's room is. Ranma admits that the elder daughter had been nothing but kind to him since living here, but Ranma had become frustrated that the girl wouldn't truly step in and discipline her sisters. _She needs to snap out of her role as 'mother'._ Ranma thinks.

It wasn't as quick as Akane or Nabiki's gifts but it didn't take as long as Mr Tendo's gift either. In the end, the gift would 'awaken' every full and new moon. The young woman will forget about all of her responsibilities and motherly duties, to be free to act her age during that twenty-four hour period from the evening of the full or new moon to the evening of the next day. The gift will fade when the woman becomes pregnant.

_Hopefully that won't happen for a few years yet._ Ranma thinks before leaving the house. A single leap and the teen vanishes over the wall.

_And so Ranma Saotome dies._ The teen thinks as he is cured from that curse Genma had caused as well as an illusion scheme engulfs him, making him appear older then he actually is. The illusion will remain until he's left the city, which will be in a few weeks since the teen wants to settle a few things before hitting the road.

The End . . . ?


	80. Ver 2 Magical Catalog: Naruto

I don't own Naruto!

**- o 0 o -**

"Beastly teas?" Naruto muses as he walks down the street. The catalog is rather old as the year on it shows it's at least three years old and yet it looks as though it's never been read. The title of the catalog is Lady Moriko's Mail Order Magical Business, not that the new genin believes that the stuff in the catalog were real magical items.

"H'Otter Orange? Leaping Lavender? Aping Apple? Chimera Cherry? Meowing Mint? Draconian Durian?" He reads out loud just some of the flavors. The blond scratches the side of his head before shrugging and adding a sample pack to the order form that he is filling out.

The other items he's written upon the order form is one pack size bag of holding, one medium size bag of holding, one true flight dirk, a dozen of demon suppressing paper wards, a dozen shield paper wards, one white ever fitting shirt, one orange ever fitting shirt, one blue ever fitting shirt, three ever fitting cargo pants, a dozen ever return kunai with own pouch, a sample package of Jusenkyo spring water, and that sample pack of Beastly Teas.

Naruto wondered if he should just total it all up or keep reading through the catalog. The blond arrives at his favorite ramen stand, setting the open catalog onto the counter before sitting down upon one of the seats. The blond taps the pencil's eraser upon the order form that allows up to thirty items to be ordered at any one time.

"What you got there, Naruto?" Ayame asks after coming out of the kitchen area. The blond glances up at her before replying, "This? Some kind of mail order catalog."

"What kind of catalog is it?" Ayame asks as she peers down at the open page that's now featuring candies, like Shrinking Sours or Fish Gummies. "Those look pretty good." The waitress muses at the sight of Faerie Sparkle Toadstools.

"Supposedly, everything in this catalog is magical in nature." Naruto answers. "Don't know if any of this stuff is still continued since the catalog seems to be three years old."

"Magical? Really?" Ayame asks the new genin and Naruto just nods.

"Lady Moriko's Mail Order Magical Business." Naruto says. "They offer ever fitting cloths, adventuring kits, paper spirit wards, heck, there was this one page that sported one-time summoning contracts." The blond adds.

"Mind if I see your order form?" Ayame asks and with a shrug, Naruto hands it over, after all, it's not like there's anything on there that he's ashamed of or don't want anyone to see. "Demon suppressing wards? I didn't know there was a lot of demons around for you to fight." Ayame muses and he flushes.

"You never know, it's better to have it on hand when you need it then not having them when you need them." He explains and Ayame's father, Teuchi, nods in agreement. "That's some forethought you got there, Naruto." Teuchi says, causing Naruto to flush even more, although he's glad that is all Teuchi has to say before calling out that his order is ready.

"But I didn't even order anything!" Naruto points out but the owner says in response, "I would like to think I've got a rather good feel of what you like on any given day, Naruto. You are our best customer after all."

"You got a point there." The blond genin admits as he moves the catalog to the side to make room for his bowl of ramen. Naruto then digs into his bowl of ramen while Ayame places the order form onto the open catalog.

After having another bowl of ramen, the blond pays for the bowls before heading to his apartment with the catalog and order form. It wasn't until around midnight that Naruto finished going through the catalog, adding a few more items to his order and they were a pack of English language hard candies, a pack of French language hard candies, a dozen food summon scrolls, two dozen water pure stones, six anti-venom potions, and a subscription to a comic book series centering around the adventures of a rune magic using gryphon named Scythe, Naruto found he liked that story out of the seventeen sample comics that the catalog had at the back.

Before Naruto could get around to calculating total of the order form, it just appears at the bottom. The blond is just too tired to care and after raiding his cash for emergencies purposes, he has enough money to cover the order total, especially since he had to check the exchange rate for his ryo to gold and silver.

_Handy thing, that. Looks like I'm not going to be spending my pay on ramen like I had planned._ Naruto thinks as he finishes putting everything into a large envelop. The blond figures he'll mail it in the morning as he gets out of his cloths and into his PJs.

The only reason Naruto was giving this a try order form thing a try was because he was just bored and didn't care to give local merchants his money. He's still a tad angry at the villagers at large for thinking he's the fox demon that the Four had given his life to seal inside of him.

Four Days Later

"What the hell?!" Naruto exclaims at the sight of a brown package outside of his door. The blond genin scratches the side of his head as he crouches down to look at who sent it.

His eyes wide in astonishment at the fact that his order had arrived from that mail order business. "But I don't send it in, did I?" Naruto wonders as he picks up the box and brings it into his apartment.

Using a kunai, the blond slices through the tape of the box. The blond slides the kunai back into its hostler while his other hand opens the box. Wind rushes out and something clicks and clanks within the box. It wasn't long before Naruto takes out the top shirt, which happens to be be blue and feels the fabric of it. Putting the shirt down, he pulls out the next two shirt to find various boxes on top of brown bags.

Naruto takes hold of what appears to be the mouse brown hilt of dirk and unsheathes it. Upon the metal of the blade is a design of feathered wings done up in a stylish way. After tossing it up in the air and catching it, the blond then re-sheathes the dirk and sets it down upon the table next to the box.

The next item Naruto takes out is that sample pack for Beastly Teas. With a shrug, the blond sets it down and pulls out those language hard candies. He sets those down next to the tea to pull out the rest of the boxed items such as those water curing stones, food summoning scrolls, and potions vials.

As he pulls out a weapon pouch that contain the kunai he ordered, Naruto found a note explaining that the pack size bag of holding contains his dozen random samples of Jusenkyo water in vials. The note also explains how to increase his reserve of this magical cursed water. On the back it lists the samples he received, which are waters from spring of drowned bat, spring of drowned boar, spring of drowned child, spring of drowned horse, spring of drowned gaot-man statue, spring of drowned panda, spring of drowned sparrow, spring of drowned twins, spring of drowned spider demon, spring of drowned monster cat, spring of drowned metal-demon-being, and spring of drowned man-who-likes-to-dress-up-as-women-but-beats-other-guys-up-for-trying-to-date-him.

_Ok... How... odd._ Naruto thinks but decides to leave the vials of water within the pack sized bag of holding since he really didn't know where to put those. Naruto pulls out the two bags of holding out to find the three pants under there. And then, upon moving the pants finds this month's release of that comic he subscribed to.

Naruto glances at the clock at on the wall and creates two clones to put the stuff away while he leaves to hook up with his team-mates. He manages to grab that dirk before leaving the apartment in a hurry.

"Sorry I'm late! I just received my order from a mailing business!" Naruto says as he gets with seven feet of his waiting team-mates.

"Lair!" Sakura shouts at him and then there's this strange, awkward period between Naruto and his pink haired team-mate. The blond felt kind of hurt at the accusation since he didn't have any reason to lie.

The feeling remained until Kakashi shows up, although Naruto doesn't feel like joining Sakura in shouting "Lair!" when the jonin musters up his excuse. Naruto did note that Kakashi's gaze settle upon him for a few seconds before the silver haired jonin outlines what's on today's agenda.

Wave Mission

Naruto takes out a balloon filled with cursed water of drowned horse and flings it at the incoming ninja. Three days ago, Naruto decided to put create water balloon filled with cursed water, which meant that Naruto had to increase his reserve of one of the waters to fill up a hundred or so balloons. It had taken the blond some time to pick which of the water would help in a ninja battle.

The magical curse takes effect a second after the water balloon bursts open upon the incoming ninja. A confusing nicker rings out as where there had been a ninja now stands a black stallion that's leaping towards him, the metal gauntlet falls off the one front hoof while ruin cloths hang upon the stallion. The transformed ninja lands before him and grunts questioningly while examining themselves.

The one heading for the client also seems to pause, allowing Naruto to bring out another one and to throw it. The other ninja slices through the balloon and gets splashed with the water. Thus as Kakashi appears, there were two black stallions standing around, clearly confused about how it happened.

"What the hell?!" Sasuke exclaims, totally out of character at him while Kakashi uses some wire to tie up the two stallions. The blond glances over to Sakura to find the pink haired girl speechless concerning what happened.

Naruto hears the Uchiha growl slightly after some time since he hasn't answered the question. "What? You saw what happened! What more do you want?" The blond genin asks.

"What jutsu did you use?" Sasuke demands while the two ninja turned stallions finally get their mental barrings to try and lung towards their client, the wires digging into their muzzles and necks. The two whinny in surprise and try to snap the wire that ties them to the tree.

"Is there a way to cancel the jutsu?" Kakashi asks and Naruto hums, before asking, "Why? I mean, it's not like they can do anything as horses, right?"

"The village will need to interrogate them and they can't answer questions as they are." Kakashi explains while the two transformed ninja try to use their hooves upon the wire that's around the tree.

"Warm water will turn them human again and cold water will turn them back into horses. It's kind of a permanent curse." Naruto explains. "I have, like, a hundred of these water balloons with me." The blond adds, not even patting his medium size bag of holding that's hanging from his belt.

His team-mate glance at each other while their client gulps down some sake. The two transformed enemies had paused to glance at the blond, their ears kind of going backwards. "Maybe you should hand them over." Kakashi says gently and Naruto gives the man a look.

"I don't think that's a good idea cause of this warning saying that only the buyer can safely handle the Jusenkyo water. That's what this note says anyway." He says and hands over the note detailing Jusenkyo spring water.

Kakashi takes it and begins to read it while Sasuke just begins to brood once more. Sakura seems to be staring at the transformed pair of ninja, Naruto did notice how pale Sakura seems to be but didn't know why she was so pale as he wouldn't use it on them. Well, maybe he would buy that powered instant stuff to use on them but not the permanent one that he just used on their attackers.

Kakashi turns the note over and reads it before handing it back. "And where did you purchase this... water from?" Kakashi asks.

"From a mail order business." Naruto explains. "I bought a few other items from the catalog along with the sample pack of Jusenkyo spring water. Like this dirk." The blond says, patting the spot where the dagger is upon his belt.

This cause the others to give the item in question a wary look. It wasn't long until they're moving away, Kakashi had knocked the two captive stallions out and then hobbled them while leaving a note about pouring hot water upon the pair before interrogating them.

In Wave

The dirk flies and as the enemy jonin leaps, the dirk alters its flight to enter into the knee cap. The so called demon of the mist withdraws his hand from the water prison to take the dirk out of his leg, thus Kakashi escapes while Naruto puts on his headband. Zabuza tosses the dirk towards the shore of the lake and the blond genin moves to retrieve it before somebody else nabs it.

"Didn't he dodge out of the flight path of that dagger?" Sakura wonders and Naruto just grins in reply while backing away from the water clone that's not standing far from their location. "How could it alter its path in mid-flight?"

Naruto wasn't going to say anything, after all, the enemy is right there and can still get away. Zabuza's water clone charges towards them while Kakashi deals with the bleeding Zabuza, who favors that injured leg. The blond reaches into that pouch with the returning kunai and tosses them at the clone, Naruto didn't want to use the dirk just yet, although it could dispel the clone with one throw.

The clone bats the kunai with the water created sword. As Sasuke and Naruto fight with the water clone, Sakura sticks close to their client. As they finally do deal with the clone, they soon find themselves caught up in a sudden surge of water.

As the water recedes, Naruto finds Sasuke had grabbed his legs to keep from being washed away. As Sasuke hurriedly lets go of his legs, Naruto lets go of the tree and stands. The young genin checks his stuff and if more then a little relieved that his new items seem to have held up against the surging wave better then the rest of his stuff.

As Naruto runs a hand through his wet hair, something happens to Zabuza. The blond frowns as he watches as some kid appears next to the body. He doesn't hear what Kakashi and the new comer are saying but in the end, the kid vanishes with Zabuza's body and a few minutes later, Kakashi faints.

_I wonder if I should have just used a water balloon on Zabuza when he appeared on his sword hilt?_ The blond wonders as he reties his headband. Naruto walks over to where the rest of his team is. "So... is he dead?" He wonders and Sakura gives him a glare.

"He's just suffering chakra exhaustion." Pinky informs him, the look she gives Naruto causes the blond to look away guiltily since the look was very accusatory in nature.

"My house isn't far from here." The old man says and thus, Naruto found himself carrying Sasuke's pack while Sasuke carries Kakashi.

Next Day

Naruto sucks on one of those English candies while sitting at the window. The candy causes his tongue and throat to vibrate slightly, at first Naruto had taken the candy out and the vibrating stopped only to start up again upon popping it back in. The candy tasted like ramen, of a ramen he's never tasted before, so despite the oddness of what's going on with his tongue and throat, Naruto keeps sucking upon the candy.

The blond can feel Sakura and Sasuke giving him looks, it seems as though the pair thought the world was ending since he's not wearing his orange jumpsuit. Naruto hadn't brought another jumpsuit and is wearing the orange ever fitting shirt and one of the ever fitting cargo pants. Naruto's headband is hanging around his neck while his weapon pouches remain in with his pack with the exception of the dirk and the medium size bag of holding.

_Just how many copies of those outfits do they own?_ Naruto wonders after the blond had spared a look at his team-mate's clean outfits, they were of the same style as what they usually wear. _Come to think of it, they wore those same style of cloths back when we were in the academy. Are these outfits all they ever wear or own?_ Naruto wonders, true, he had plenty of orange jumpsuits, but that's because he found the lot in the garbage in the back of a thrift store.

_Creepy. I mean, Kakashi has worn a few other colored under shirts in the time that I know him. Sure, he seems to prefer a single color but then, most jonin seems to prefer that color. As to why Kakashi or Iruka use to wear the same style, it was their rank typical uniforms._ The blond genin thinks to himself. _Are they wearing the same style to train themselves for the day they're to wear an actual uniform?_

With a sigh, Naruto takes out the latest edition of his comic book subscription to read. While Naruto hasn't read the comic from the first issue, it doesn't stop the blond from enjoying the any of the issues he's received since he placed that order.

"Ok! Who are you and what have you done with the real Naruto!" Sakura says upon drawing a kunai out.

"Huh? Oh for the love of..." Naruto grumbles upon looking up from his comic to his team-mate and then just rolling his eyes before finding his place upon the page. This comic reads from left to right instead of right to left, which is just crazy really.

"Naruto would never be seen without that orange monstrosity. Nor does he sit around reading anything." Pinky explains and the blond just rolls his eyes. Naruto just didn't feel like dignifying anything that's coming out of them with a response.

"Start talking." Sasuke snaps but he just continues to ignores them, it's not as if they spent a lot of time around each other outside of school and missions. Sasuke throws a kunai just an inch from his head.

"Oh, bugger off you two! I'm trying to enjoy this comic book! Just because you lack something to entertain yourselves doesn't mean you can take pot shots at me!" Naruto snaps, although he's a bit confused as to why he said bugger off instead of something else. "If you really want to keep this up, we can take it outside where I'll kick both of your asses, believe it!"

"That kind of sounds like something Naruto would say..." Sakura admit but before Sasuke could do anything, Kakashi wakes. "Kakashi-sensei! You're wake!"

"Glad to see you too." The silver haired jonin says. Kakashi then asks, "I only see two of my cute students, so where's the third?"

"We might have a spy who did something to him." Sakura explains and Naruto growls as he pockets the comic before getting up from the window.

"You two are idiots. I wear cloths that aren't that orange jumpsuit and try to read a comic and you two automatically suspect I'm an impostor!" Naruto snaps as he adds, "Just because you two lack different cloths then that, doesn't mean I don't! Do you know how hard it is to go cloth shopping when people are watching you like a hawk? Especially in the changing rooms? You know how many perverts own shops in Hidden Leaf? Tons! Pretty much every store is run by a pervert!"

"So excuse me for hording away over three dozen orange jumpsuits!" Naruto says, crossing his arms after a few seconds of Sakura going red and then pale, and red once more. Sakura can't seem to form a complete sentence.

Oddly enough, Sasuke seems unusually alert and seems to be remembering something since the Uchiha's grip upon the kunai tightens. _Ok... Maybe I broke broke him? Or maybe I just reminded him of his own shopping experiences._ Naruto thinks to himself.

"Yes, well, how are things beyond that issue?" Their teacher asks. Naruto just gives the man a blank look.

"Maybe you should get back to that one after they recover their voices?" Naruto muses. "So, what kind of training are you going to give us to do while you recover? Are we going to be learning some super cool jutsu?" The blond asks his teacher.

The mask wearing jonin smiles at Naruto after raise up upon his elbows. "I'll think of something for you to do after breakfast." Kakashi explains and Naruto couldn't help but correct, "After lunch you mean."

"That late, huh?" Kakashi muses out loud and Naruto just nods. The blond genin then goes down the stairs to inform their hosts that Kakashi has woken since it seems as though Sakura and Sasuke seem content to remain in their spots. Naruto could only imagine what else the two wish to speak with Kakashi about without him out of the room.

Leaving Wave

Haku's grip upon Zabuza's collar tightens as the man turned child strains to wring the neck of Sakura who just cooed about how cute Zabuza's new cloths were. Naruto grabs the kunai from the six year old Zabuza when the missing nin produces it since he is trying to help some of Haku's burden concerning Zabuza.

_At least Kakashi seems to be taking turning into a six year old a bit better then Zabuza is. At least Sasuke hasn't snapped and killed anyone yet._ Naruto thinks as he glances to his right at the six year old Uchiha. _Serves the bastard right, going through my stuff._

Kakashi and Sasuke hadn't complained much about their new cloths, but then, he had been sent to purchase their cloths while Haku had purchased Zabuza's. Haku had suggested mini kimonos for the pair but he had a limited amount of cash to make purchases so he couldn't afford to buy even a one kimono, so he just stuck to buying simple shirts and pants, although Haku and him did pool their money together to buy underwear and sandals.

Kakashi is wearing a bandanna to cover his lower face and is walking while keeping his Sharingan eye closed since the jonin's headband is acting as the silver jonin's belt since there had been only one belt and Sasuke is wearing it. The six year old Kakashi is still reading that perverted book as they walk over the bridge that their client had built.

Sasuke had refused to wear any shirts since they lack the Uchiha fan upon them, but quickly changed his mind when Sakura blushed at looking at his bare chest. It seems that it dawned on the rookie of the year that if he didn't wear anything to cover his upper body, then when warm water hits him, he'll transform into his true age with his upper body bare. Something that Sakura had likely linked together when she saw Sasuke refusing to wear a shirt.

_I'm just glad he only got into that set of water balloons instead of the first set. I shutter to think how Hidden Leaf will treat me when they learn that I'm responsible for their ice prince becoming a beast._ Naruto thinks. _Which reminds me..._ The blond takes out the bottle that contains chilled tea.

_I never got a chance to give this a taste... Just bottled it up really._ Naruto thinks, oh, he knows that the tea as magical but he's never seen anyone drink it or tried it himself, so he's not sure what Beastly Tea really does. Its not as though there was any real warnings beyond not drinking too much and mixing the flavors.

"Thirsty?" Haku asks him as they come to walk upon solid ground. "Huh? Oh, just thinking about something. Not sure if I should try this or not." Naruto admits to the girly ninja who had posed as a hunter nin to carry Zabuza away.

"Any reason not to drink it?" Haku asks Naruto. "It's safe enough, it's just that, well, I don't know if it'll taste good and what not. The blond explains.

"What kind of tea is it?" The ice user asks. "This? Draconian Durian." The blond Leaf genin answers.

"Durian flavored tea? I didn't know they make it." Haku says politely.

"Well, it's part of this collection." Naruto admits. "Anyway, I guess I should be the one to sample it since I did buy it." The blond explains.

Kakashi asks him to wait but it's too late as he's already unscrewed the lid and swallows a mouthful before lowering it. Naruto makes a face at the taste while screwing the cap back on. "Naruto... Tell me, was that tea part of _That_ order?" The jonin turned kid asks him.

"Yea, the collection is called Beastly Teas." Naruto admits after he has handed the bottle over to Haku, who kind of seems puzzled by something.

Sasuke suddenly decides to give Naruto a lot of space while Haku untwists the lid and takes a small sip before handing the bottle back. "Not bad." Haku agrees as while Naruto puts the bottle back into his bag of holding that's on his belt.

"And you just drank something **That** has that in it's title?" Sakura shouts. "Oh god, we're all going to die!" The pink haired genin exclaims.

"What's..." Naruto says before something seems to kick him in the stomach. "Arg..." The blond exclaims while holding his stomach.

"Are you alright?" Haku asks and isn't quick enough to keep Sakura from dragging Zabuza away from Haku and Naruto. The blond tries to say something but other then breathing, everything seems to be painful.

Naruto falls to his knees as his balance suddenly leaves him. With a grunt, Naruto's head lunges forward. Naruto's mouth is open, giving everyone a good view of the changes going on within the genin's mouth as the teeth suddenly grow larger and pointed.

As Naruto's skin begins to darken to a deep brown, Haku suddenly begins to become affected by the tea's effects as well. Naruto opens his eyes to glance at Haku, the blond's glowing blue eyes finally flicker away to glance over to where Sakura is standing with her hand upon Zabuza's shirt.

Narut's upper body suddenly straightens as a tail grows out of the blond's pants. Scales begin to become more pronounce as Naruto's head alters to mimic a lizard's head. Horns grow from Naruto's temples and Naruto's frame suddenly grows half an inch and then another ten seconds later. Slowly, Naruto's frame expands and muscles begin to ripple below the leathery scales.

As Naruto's blond hair become honey brown scaly strands. After reaching six feet, Naruto's glowing eyes fade to reveal blue reptilian eyes. Naruto's toes have gone from five small toes to three thick toes sporting claws. Without any pain racking his senses, Naruto gets up off the ground and tries to examine himself._(Think DragonBorn!)_

Haku's transformation hadn't been as long as Naruto's even though Haku had started later then Naruto. The only changes Haku sports are scales empathizing Haku's jaw, nose, and eye ridge. Tiny scales band Haku's fingers while the nails upon each finger and thumb look sharper then they usually do. Haku's pupils had taken a more reptilian look but again, Naruto's eyes were the most changed when somebody compares the two.

"Why couldn't I have found that tea?" Sasuke wonders with jealousy coloring his tone. Naruto just shakes his head after a snort.

"Ah... We should continue on our way." Kakashi suggests and Naruto just shrugs, just glad that his cloths still fit and nothing seem to have broken, although he did have to adjust his pack and his belt before following after.

_Well, this proved to be our more interesting mission yet._ Naruto thinks to himself as they continue walking to Hidden Leaf.

Ending it Here


	81. Wilder: Naruto

**I Don't Own Naruto!**

- o 0 o -

Naruto

Naruto couldn't help but bite his lower lip as he waits in the waiting room of the lab. At seventeen, the blond young man is a legal adult and more then capable of deciding what he wants to do with his life. _I'm not sure if I'm making the right decision... But..._ The young adult sighs as he recalled the latest disaster that had come about since he reached legal maturity.

_First Sakura breaks up with me after graduation, she's leaving the ward to take an apprenticeship to become a medic._ Naruto's eyes stare out of the window across from him. _Then I don't hear from any of my old classmates since I was moping around after the break. Not a single one of them bothering to leave a message or forwarding addresses or numbers so I can get into contact with them..._

That had hurt more then the break up since they had been friends for _years_ and yet they just broke off contact without a word. _I find out I lack the right grades in the right classes to get into that flight academy. Why the hell didn't they send a memo before the day classes begin? I could have gotten retested before the academy started up last month!_ The young blond thinks with a hint of anger coloring his mental tone.

_That, of course, lead to dad hedging me to find something to do in the mean while. Finding and forwarding job listings, picked over job listings at that._ Naruto thinks, although the blond had been tempted to accept that assistant job at his god-father's company. _Until I recall what that entailed..._

It has been two weeks since his seventeenth birthday and the pressure from without and within finally drove Naruto to decide he needed time away from civilization, which is what have brought him to this bioengineering station. _It'll only be for ten years... The money is good too, but then, to risk your sanity and humanity, they got to offer a really, really big carrot._

The door opens and Naruto glances away from the window to look over at the doctor. The blond gets to his feet and bows politely towards the glass wearing twenty something year old. "Greetings Doctor Kabuto." Naruto says with a faint smile.

"Greetings, Mr Namikaze. Come this way, if you will." The silver haired man in a white lab coat says before turning and walking back into the doorway.

Naruto hurries to follow after, afraid that if he wasn't quick enough, he'll lose his nerve and resolve. "I believe you would be surprise how many people are willing to go through with this opportunity to become closer to nature. We generally have two dozen a year coming to us. Of course for every third person we send out, we receive one person who return to us."

"I didn't know the survival rate was that low." Naruto says as they walk through a hallway with various people in lab coats and wearing nursing outfits moving briskly about. _I wonder what else they do here... I know that fashion splicing is coming back but not this quickly..._

"The trouble isn't from people dying, actually. It's from people going... feral if you will." The good doctor explains.

"Isn't that 'going native'?" Naruto asks as they wait for the hall to clear. The blond watches as the Wilder, a popular name for those who leave the confides of civilization in bio-engineered altered bodies, huffs in annoyance as their guide seems to have stopped to flirt by a station.

"Going native is usually used when one adopts another culture." The doctor explains as finally somebody arrives to guide the Wilder to a tank to begin the process of reverting the transformation. _That will be me in ten years._

They arrived in a room with a number of screens. "Take a seat here. A minor scan will begin to record your DNA and other statistics." Doctor Kabuto says as the room lights up.

Naruto does so and within seconds, the various screens fire up and the scans begin. The young man watches as his name, his parents' names, and other bits of information appear upon one of the screens. Where it said he was unemployed, it now read that he's employed and that his position within the company was environmentalist.

The scans stop and the information vanishes, leaving only an image of Naruto's naked body. "Did you have any specified 'critter' or beasties you would like to be included in for your Wilder career?" Doctor Kabuto asks him.

"Are there a basic form or something that we can start with?" Naruto asks and the doctor's eyes flash. Seconds later, at least three chimera beasts appear with the man explaining the difference between them.

_This is going to take a while, isn't it? Damn, I hope to get into a tank before dad finds out where I 'applied' to... I just know he'd kick up a fuss about wasting ten years of my life away from school or civilization in general._ Naruto thinks while doing his best to follow along with what the doctor is saying.

Minato

"Excuse me. Excuse me!" Minato says as he tries to grab the attention of the woman behind the glass of the information desk.

As Minato taps a finger upon the counter on his side, waiting for the woman to finish with the phone, Jiraiya and Kakashi catch up. The blond man couldn't help but feel impatient since every second spent wasted waiting means the less likely he'll arrive to drag his son out of this place. _What was Naruto thinking, becoming a Wilder? Doesn't he know of the risks involved?_

"Calm down, Minato. I'm sure the boy's senses returned to him and he left as soon as they began to display the changes they plan to do to his body." Jiraiya says, trying to calm Minato down, patting the blond father's shoulder.

"He shouldn't have come here in the first place!" Minato snaps. "What was he thinking?! There are plenty of jobs that he can do without coming here!"

"You do remember that he is of legal age, eh?" Kakashi points out and Minato glances at his assistant. "That you can't just drag him out just because you don't want him to spend ten years as an 'environmentalist' for the science division."

Minato sends his assistant a glare. "On the other hand, you are the head of city military and somebody could hold a transformed Naruto as a hostage to blackmail you." Kakashi manages to add hastily and Minato nods.

"That is exactly what I'm trying to prevent." Minato agrees and finally, the woman manning the information desk finally finishes on the phone. The woman walks up to the glass.

"Yes, how can I help you today?" The woman asks them. "My son, I want to know where he is." Minato demands, slamming the palm of his hand upon the counter on his side of the glass.

"Your son's name?" The woman asks in a tone that clearly states that she's experienced this before. Minato snaps, "Naruto Namikaze!"

The woman types it into the computer and replies, "Congratulations, Mr Namikaze, you son is now listed as one of our newest members of our environmental research sector."

"Wha?!" He exclaims and the woman presses a few keys before replying, "He's been in the tank for three hours already. By morning the process shall be complete and he will be escorted to the out going gate."

"Well halt it and reverse it!" Minato orders and the woman just sighs. "I'm sorry sir but your son is a legal adult and thus, you have no authority to cancel your son's current contract. Now, if you try to force the issue, I will be calling security." The woman states forcefully.

Minato takes out his badge and holds it to the glass. "I'm General Minato Namikaze! I am ordering you to release my son from his contract!" The blond says and the woman just shakes her head before buzzing for the security detail that's assigned to this work place.

Within twenty minutes, Minato finds himself outside of the bio station, trying to piece together how he arrived outside.

Naruto

_"Welcome to Wilder training camp, pup!"_ Naruto turns to look at the welcoming community, which consists of a canine/feline body plan while sporting a spiky mane of white. _"Name's Genma Shiranui."_

_"Did I just hear him say something?"_ Naruto wonders and then he heard hearty laughter with underlying feelings of bemusement. _"How weird..."_

_"Yes you did hear me say something. It's called telepathy and it's my job to help you get a grip on it along with giving you the basics so you can. So try and watch what your thoughts."_ Genma explains to Naruto.

_"Watch your thoughts? How do you do that?"_ Naruto wonders with head cocked with ears done up in a questioning way while following the larger and more experienced Wilder. The young Wilder's build is lighter then Genma and sports orange/red basic fur with chocolate colored spots and lighter hued belly fur that lack markings.

_"Hn, know how you mean. It's only been five years since I was in your 'paws' as it were. Don't worry, when evening arrives, your mind be stable enough that your broadcasting will die down. Until then, just try and stay as calm as you can since at this point, you can even broadcast memories if you get too emotional."_ Genma explains while they continue to walk away from the gate, Naruto had no choice but to trust that Genma knew where he's going.

_"This isn't what I thought it would be..."_ Naruto thinks while glancing towards the tree tops at the sound of bird chirping. Their antics within the tree tops is so much loader then the spotted Wilder had expected. New smells also assault his nose while his short whiskers pick up wind currents.

_"It's like I'm really, really sensitive..."_ Naruto thinks and then flushes as Genma chuckles, reminding the in-experience Wilder that he's still broadcasting his thoughts. _"This is going to be a very long day..."_

**Week Before Contract Ends**

Wind bushes through Naruto's orange/red fur, paws making soft thuds upon the grass. The rest of the pack trying to encircle the stag, Hokuto's strides increase and the cheetah/gray hound built Wilder over takes Naruto and Ittetsu.

_"Be careful of his hooves, Hokuto!"_ Naruto reminds newest addition to the pack.

_"You're build is too delicate to wrestle him to the ground!"_ Idata adds as the dun colored Wilder begins to charge in from the left.

The stag gets too close to Mifune and the more powerful built Wilder leaps and manages to get his paws about the stag's neck. Naruto and the rest suddenly increase their pace to rush to help fall the stag before the antler backed beast slips through Mifune's grip. Hokuto manages to reach the pair and after a few second haste, Hokuto bites down on the stag's underbelly.

Idata arrives and goes for the throat while Ittetsu, Natori, and Naruto slow down to allow the other three time to kill the stag. Naruto stops about a foot from the stag, he studies the scene before him, trying to file this hunt away within his mind as in less then six days, he'll be returning to the city, leaving this life behind. _This is an ok life, but I can't see myself giving up my family and friends for it. Not that I wouldn't mind getting hired again..._

Then, with a flick of his, Naruto charges in with a snarl to claim a portion of the organs. After all, he's the co-leader of the pack with Mifune and it seems that Mifune is already chasing the others away from the belly. Ittetsu looks like he wants to try and challenge either Mifune or Naruto but doesn't.

Mifune snarls a bit as Naruto moves to helps himself to the open cavity. Mifune's broadcasting irritation but doesn't try to drive him away. _"So, when will you be heading to the gate?"_ Mifune asks Naruto on a private 'channel'.

_"I think the day after tomorrow."_ Naruto replies on the same 'channel'. _"Not sure how well Hokuto will take my leaving..."_

_"What about Idata? Not concerned about how he'll react when you're gone?"_ Mifune asks, the 'old timer' moves to allow Naruto at the liver while Mifune consumes the kidneys.

_"Idata shouldn't have any problem with it. He's cuffing at being under my shadow. Not unlike Ittetsu with yours."_ Naruto points down and the feral Wilder chuckles. _"How about you? You going to miss me, gramps?"_ Naruto asks as he pulls away with the liver in his mouth.

_"Like a thorn in my side."_ Mifune replies. Naruto turns an ear towards Mifune but that's all since the others were impatient to eat.

_"Can we eat now?"_ Natori asks before Ittetsu pushes Natori to the right with a growl. _"Wait your turn!"_ Ittetsu snaps at Idata's student.

_"Leave off, Ittetsu! They've been out here less then four months!"_ Idata snaps.

_"No fighting, you two!"_ Mifune growls at the two Wilders. _"This will be the last time we will dine with Naruto. Be respectful!"_ Minfune informs the rest of the pack and that causes them to stare at Naruto, their surprise reaches his nose after their emotions reach his mind.

_"I thought there was more time before you had to go!"_ Hokuto says on a private channel while Idata says on another private channel, _"When are you leaving?"_

_I'm so going to have a headache later..._ Naruto thinks before engaging in two private conversations at once.

Minato

"Naruto!" Minato says as his son comes out of the tank room. His son's movements are halted and it's clear that Naruto's still trying to get his balance back.

"Dad? What are you going here?" Naruto asks in a crackly voice as Naruto glances up at him. Minato surges forward to hug Naruto, it takes a few seconds before Naruto's arms wrap around him in return.

It always surprises Minato that those that return from the Wilder program seemingly don't appear to age even though a decade had passed. "I've been so worried about you." Minato says.

"I missed you, too." Naruto admits softly. "Can we separate now? I have this overwhelming urge to snap at you for being in my personal space a little too long." Minato laughs but does so and Naruto shakes himself, sending him a sheepish smile.

"This isn't the first time I've had to deal with someone returning from out there." Minato assures his son while privately adding that when he does, it's usually when they're involved in displaying violence out in public domains. _How is it I manage to keep Kakashi from becoming one and yet not my own flesh and blood?_

Before they left, Naruto retrieved his stuff and also a memory stick showing his transformation into his Wilder state and out of it. Minato knew he's to have a rough time concerning his son's adjusting to city life once more. He hopes that he won't have to see his son imprisoned within a cell while experiencing an 'episode'.

Naruto

Naruto walks through the green house of the security building. It has been a whole month since he had returned from the wild and Naruto found it hard to feel complete living with his father. It wasn't that he missed the fur or killing for a meal, it's that he missed out the mental abilities, the ability to feel another mental presence, to share emotions without trying to put it into words.

_Then there's the fact that the science division hasn't arranged for therapy to help with the arrangement._ Naruto thinks and then the blond spotted a familiar person. Naruto squints at the person, trying to recall who the guy was.

"Hn, long time no see, dobe." The black haired man says and Naruto bristles at the nickname. _Sasuke Uchiha._ Naruto thinks.

"What do you want, Uchiha." Naruto asks calmly, the two have never been friends. Sasuke's always snubbing people, which really rubbed Naruto the wrong way. After the fifth rebuff of Naruto trying to befriend the Uchiha, Naruto gave up since there were plenty of others in their age group that seem to enjoy his companionship but by then, Sasuke had come to view Naruto as somebody to insult and never quit, which is why they share a rather lengthy fight record.

"I heard you entered the Wilder program not long after graduation. I wasn't surprised, really, you were always basic." The older looking Uchiha muses and Naruto felt like pouncing upon the bastard and pinning him to the floor.

Naruto stares into the Uchiha's face before smiling coldly at Sasuke as he recalls something that he learnt about the Uchiha family during his time as a Wilder. "At least I know my father never planned a coup, causing civil war that lasted thirty years. I'm stunned that they even allowed you to join the military, Uchiha, since it's only been twenty-five years since the end of that war. I guess you whored your way in." Naruto remarks with a sneer, arms crossed over his chest.

Naruto truly relished the red, furious look that erupted upon the bastard's face. "So why don't you be a good whore and go please your latest sponsor? I'm sure he can use you to help relieve some pint up urges with how much stress he's going through concerning keeping people from booting you off the force." The blond adds after a minute of not getting a reply from the frigid bastard.

Sasuke punches Naruto in the cheek since the blond managed to see it coming and turn his head to save his nose. Naruto's breathe hisses as he releases it and before Naruto could do anything, the Uchiha punches his stomach and then moves to punch him in the face. Naruto's vision is blurred as Sasuke suddenly jerks and falls to the left.

"Naruto! Are you alright?" Naruto hears Anko asks him.

"Not really... I feel like I shouldn't have been so stunned that he throw the first punch that I didn't retaliate quick enough." Naruto admits as Anko bends down and picks him up.

Naruto can't find it in him to voice a protest since he really, really wants to sleep but Anko's pace keeps causing his injuries to jar. "What happened?" Naruto hears Kakashi ask.

"Uchiha picked a fight with the head honcho's son. Funny thing is, considering he's fresh from being a Wilder, he didn't throw the first punch." Anko explains and Naruto bets that Kakashi is more then a little relieved about that.

Minato

Minato didn't know whether to be proud of his son or disappointed at how his son defended himself from an old classmate as he replays the recordings form the green house and the vocal recordings from the Uchiha's com-unit. _I wonder where he learnt about that... He never seemed interested in history before._

Jiraiya asks, "So what is it, per say, are you worried about? This proves that Naruto wasn't the aggressor so he won't be needing to be sent to a prison."

"I'm more concerned about why the Uchiha was in the green house in the first place, Jiraiya. It's not the kind of place he prefers to take a break in." Minato explains. "Somebody wanted to provoke Naruto and it was common knowledge that put the Uchiha and Naruto in the same room alone and they'll get into a fight. I want to know who and why."

"Huh..." Jiraiya muses and Minato could only guess at what's going through his old teacher's mind. _I wonder how long it'll be before somebody leaks this to the media... It'll be a change from all previous news castings concerning Wilders._

Naruto

"Dad? Can I speak with you? I, ah, I think it could be relevant concerning... Well, everything." Naruto says to his dad.

Minato glances up from the virtual data pad to look up at him as he comes to sit in the living room. It's been two weeks since Naruto's encounter of that bastard in the green house. Naruto rubs the side of his face gently as he tries to think of how to put this.

"Has any of those previous Wilders mention anything? About their experiences out in the wild?" Naruto asks and Minato studies him for a few seconds.

"Nothing that made sense. They complained about the smells, about how they felt crowd, how nobody understands them. We've tried to get them councilling but..." Minato shakes his head.

Naruto sighs, he's felt like that too but mostly he dwells upon how he can't really connect to those around him. "Did you know that Wilders are telepathic when we're out in the wild?" Naruto asks.

"No... no I did not." Minato admits. "You do know what telepathic is, right?" Minato asks and he smiles slightly.

"Yea, it's when you have conversations with other people with your mind alone. Exchanging, sensing another's emotions. Sensing where your fellow pack members are on the hunt." Naruto says, he wraps those experiences around him for comfort.

"It's hard to adjust... I felt so alone..." Naruto adds after a few seconds as he glances down at the table. "I miss it..."

"So it's not the fur you miss..." Minato muses and Naruto nods. "Why don't you tell me about this pack that you joined?" The elder blond asks and Naruto swallows as he glances up into his father's face, the tension at the thought of Minato dismissing what he's saying kind of vanishes, allowing tears to fall as Naruto realizes that his father was open to the idea.

It wasn't long before his father comes to put a comforting arm around him as Naruto cries in relief that his father was willing to hear him out. Naruto forces himself to relax in his father's arms. _I thought he'd still be mad about me taking off for ten years in the Wilder program..._

It took a while but he found his voice and began to fill his dad in on the adventures he had over a cup of hot chocolate.

Spooky, eh? So... Cliff hangy!

**To Readers:**

I believe this is the first time I've written something where Minato is a on screen character. Not sure if I portrait him right... I hope I captured the father-son relationship too.


	82. 1 Year, Cold and Kanga Go To Hogwarts

**I don't own Harry Potter nor do I own Dimars! Dimars are (c) to Dee Dreslough!**

- o 0 o -

It was such a little thing really. It appeared to have been made out of obsidian. The statue of a muggle idea of what a dragon is and it stands about as tall as his thumb. The serpentine neck in bowed along with the horned head. The wings were folded upon the statue's back and the tail is curled twice about the legs of the statue.

"Are you sure you don't want it?" He asks his elder twin and Colin just rolls his eyes while continuing to read one of the gifted books they got early this morning for their birthday. _I wouldn't be surprise to see him in Ravenclaw._

For once, his family decided to stick around the UK for their birthday, not that he ever really attended it once he grew fascinated with the forests that is surrounding their primary property and tended to vanish within its greenery during the summer.

_But then, this is our eleventh birthday..._ He thinks, not the least discourage that most of the presents have Colin's name upon them as he picks up the statue with his left hand. The leather enchanted bracelets move backwards while doing so.

He turns the statue this way and that before walking over to his shelf and set the statue upon it. His shelf is fairly barren compared to Colin's but then, the bulk of his stuff is out in the yurt he enjoys living in. He'll have to remember to take the little statue out there after the party.

With that done, he wanders over to his bed and lies down upon it. "Shouldn't you change into something more appropriate?" Colin asks him and out of the corner of his eye he watches Colin push his glasses up.

He just grins, more then a little thankful that his rune scheme continues to function as well as it had when he created the bracelet at age five as it keeps him from needing glasses like his twin. Another one of his leather bracelets consists of a rune scheme designed to keep the temperature about an inch above his skin at a constant comfortable temperature.

In other words, he's never too hot or too cold, although if he were to be outside in a snow storm as he is dressed, the drain upon his magic would be very great as the rune schismatic draws upon his magical reserves. Otherwise the drain upon his reserves wasn't that much if he wore the appropriate cloths in said fictional snow storm.

"I don't see why I have to get fancied up, it's not as though they're here to see me." He points out. "Still can't believe our parents caved under the pressure Dumblies pressed upon them to invite those Corpse Eaters and their families."

"It's Professor Dumbledore, Harry, not Dumblies." Colin snaps and he grins at getting a rise out of his elder brother.

"And it's Kanga, not Harry. Besides, I don't see why you are defending the man, Cold, he's done nothing but butt in on how our parents raise you." He points out.

"Raise us, you mean." Colin corrects and he snorts. _They got tired of tracking me down by the time I was six._ He mentally counters, he relishes his semi-independence after all.

"What ever you say Cold, what ever you say." He retorts out loud. Colin cuffs at being called Cold once again but that's all of a reaction he gets.

After some minutes he gets up off his bed and looks out of the window. He sits down upon the chest that's under the window and watches as a few miles from the house, a tent has been erected and tables floating into it. His mom convinced his dad to hire a caterer for the party, it kind of goes without saying that the caterers were muggles as wizards don't supply said service as they rely upon their house elf servants to do such things.

_Wish electronic things work in the manor, watching a bit of TV right now would be great. Glad my yurt and the outer rim of the property isn't warded enough to interfere with TV signals._ He thinks, he had become really interested in TV during a trip to Japan. He even managed to purchased a TV set and stereo built by Japanese wizards, it wasn't the most advance piece of equipment they had but it was better then nothing.

_I know Flare enjoys watching it, especially those late night horrors. Just glad Flare does something to keep the light and sound from reaching my bed when he pops in to watch those movies._ He thinks, grinning as he recalls the young house elf's reaction to him giving Flare permission to watch late night TV as long as Flare doesn't have it so it would keep him up at night.

_Wonder what Flare is doing now? I mean, with the caterer, Flare doesn't really have much to do today..._ He thinks, Flare was hired a week after Colin and himself survive that Halloween night. Their parents had left behind very convincing duplicates, a pair of rabbits transfigured to appear as their parents as well as under the Imperio curse(it wasn't illegal to use against animals, only against humans) to protect them after uncle Wormtail had left a note suggesting they take a night off.

Uncle Wormtail hasn't contacted them since the Dork Lord attacked them that Halloween night. His parents were torn between wanting to hunt for uncle Wormtail to find out why the man betrayed them to wanting to thank the man for alerting them to the incoming attack. _Nobody ever explained why Hagrid showed up within minutes after the house started on fire... Why didn't reinforcements arrive when the Dork Lord showed up?_

"Don't you have homework to do?" Colin asks him. He glances lazily over to his elder brother to give him a look before returning to watching what's going on below.

His parents were transfiguring piles of leaves and twigs into chairs. Uncle Padfoot and Moony would then summon them into the tent. _Why don't they let us help? It would be good practice._ He muses to himself as he takes a few items out of his pockets.

Through concentration, he manages to cause the wooden hoops to float. The little pebbles he had been practicing transfiguration on stubbornly refused to take to the air and even when they did, they didn't go as high up as the wooden hoops. After a while, he repockets the pebbles to focus upon the wooden hoops.

After a few seconds, hovering the wooden hoops proved fair easier without also trying to float the pebbles. In time he causes the wooden hoops to form patterns and to even cause them to play follow the leader. He always found manipulating smaller items to be far harder then larger ones since the smaller items can easily be crushed with ease.

His practice with these wooden hoops is to help with his control. _I don't see why wandless magic is so hard to practice. Magic doesn't just suddenly exist when you get your wand. Accidental magic happens and can be channeled without a wand._ He thinks as he causes the thirty hoops to snake around his outstretched arm.

"Masters James and Lilly wish for young masters to journey down before guests arrive." Flare says as the house elf pops. The hoops gently fall into his open palm as he glances over to the house elf wearing a pair of old patchy, leather pants that use to belong to him.

"It's that time already?" Colin asks and he snorts softly as he pockets the hoops. He gets up off the chest and heads for the door after Flare pops out of the room.

"Mom and dad aren't going to be pleased to see that you haven't changed into something more appropriate." Colin calls after him as he walks out of the room. He just waves his hand at his brother as he passes through the doorway.

He chuckles softly as he hears his brother curse. _The joys of having twenty-five times hearing._ He muses to himself, more then a little proud at piecing his elder brother's defenses.

_Funny how we're suppose to be identical twins. Guess we are a prime example of different life styles even under the same roof._ He muses, he already had an idea of what to expect from the other 'light' families' kids and a somewhat educated guess of what to expect from the 'dark' families' kids. His parents did associate more with 'light' families then with those who had supported the Dork Lord, the so called 'dark' families.

_Wonder if Neville is going to be in attendance?_ Neville Longbottom was pretty the closest person he had to a human friend. He counted Flare to be a friend even though Flare is only a house elf.

**- [ T ] -**

"Colin Potter!" Dumblies' deputy calls out and a hush falls all over the hall. He watches as his elder brother walks up to the stool and puts the hat on.

Within seconds later, the sorting hat declares, "Gryffindor!" The whole of the student population cheers as his elder brother walks away from the stool to sit with the lions.

"Harry Potter!" The katty deputy says after the cheers die down. He snorts softly to himself as people have whispered conversations concerning his current attire and the usual rumors that circulate about him.

He wasn't wearing the assigned uniform because he had been in the process of winning a bet with the Weasley twins and a few other upperclassmen. _Easy money._ He thinks as he walks up to the stool to put the likely centuries old hat that hadn't been washed in centuries as well.

_"Well, well, well, who'd have thought there would be such a bright mind within a 'class clown' such as yourself? You'd fit well in three of the four houses here at Hogwarts. You are too much of a handful for Hufflepuff. Too sly for Slytherin and more of a doer then a thinker for Ravenclaw."_ The sorting hat tells him privately before declaring, "Gryffindor!"

Polite clapping follows this for a few seconds but dies down as he walks towards his assigned table. He makes a beeline for Neville who smiles a bit too slyly for his liking. "Kanga."

"Leander." He says in greeting and Neville just sighs. He pats Neville upon the shoulder. "Always knew you were one." He adds and his friend flushes while finding the table very interesting.

"Leander? I thought your name was Neville." A boy he never met asks in a puzzled tone.

"It's his nickname for me. He did also give himself his own nicknamed, Kanga." Neville replies and he just nods.

"What do those even mean?" Another new face wonders and a bushy haired girl responds before he could answer, "Leander is Greek for Lion Man and Kanga means Raven."

Most of the others at the table fidget while a few mutter know it all under their breaths. The sorting continues while he studies the girl who had introduced herself to Colin ask Hermione Granger. He's not that offended that she hadn't introduced herself to him, after all, he likely had trouble written all over him considering his current attire.

_She's going to have a really unpleasant time here._ He decides as he glances towards the stool where students sit to be sorted. _Wonder how long it'll take for people to realize I'm not sleeping in the dorms... I like my privacy after all. Although I guess I could make an ofter for Neville to join me in the yurt._ He muses, he's really touched that Flare had gotten him a yurt as a birthday gift, one that is not just spacier then his previous one but also sports all kind of enchantments, ones he didn't even know house elves could do let alone set up.

His old yurt was still set up at home and he had left his old TV set there for Flare. He plans to buy a new one set come Feburary as he had a good idea of how to earn the money for such an advance piece of technology. _Acromantula supposedly live in the forest. Their venom is worth a minor fortune and silken threads they create should fetch a pretty bit of gold too. Be a good way to practice my archery too._ He muses as he mentally reviews what kind of runes he'll be placing upon the arrows to make them very lethal to Acromantula.

"Here's your money, Kanga." Fred Weasley says and a small pouch sails over to him as Dumblies begins talking. "Can't believe you actually did it." George pipes in as he begins to count his winnings.

"What did you do?" Hermione demands in a demanding tone. "Just make a bet with a few upperclassmen concerning the temperature upon the top of one of the express cars." He replies in a smug tone as he finds all of his winnings within the pouch.

The twins all nod in agreement with his answer, although they're smiling a bit too wide. Hermione frowns when she realizes she had missed out upon hearing the rest of Dumblies' speech. He ties the pouch to his belt as the food appears.

He waits until everyone around him has filled their plates before filling his own. He's a bit disappointed at the piss poor selection of greens and fruits. _No wonder mom gave us those expanded boxes with that anti-withering charm on them that contain a good five months supply of fruit and veggies. All they serve is grease!_ He thinks and he can tell that Colin looks a bit ill at ease with the selection as well.

They might not like eating a lot of fruit and veggies during meals, as they usually are forced to consume them as snacks in-between meals cause that's all Flare's allowed to give them for snacks. It was a rule their mother laid down and their father helps enforce.

Both Colin and him pick what they wanted from the serving plates. They likely appeared picky but they just wasn't use to the selection nor to the amount of meat and meat filled pies. _No pickled anything either. I hope this isn't want they serve every single dinner, it'd grow boring quickly. I wonder how it would go over if I talk a house elf into making personal meals for Colin and me?_ He muses, he's certain his mother would be willing to send him cook books to give to said house elf.

Hermione seems to be a bit surprised to see Colin and him seem to be picky eaters. It also likely highlighted the fact they were twin, identical twins at that despite their manner of dress and behavior. "You think they'll be serving all of this every meal?" Ron wonders after swallowing but before re-stuffing his mouth with food.

**- [ T ] -**

"That was surprisingly easy to set up." He muses as he studies the set up yurt, the one his good friend Flare had given him. "Must be the magic hanging about this place." He decides as he walks into it.

Hanging Fae lights come to life, softly illuminating the yurt. With a yawn, he shakes himself and begins to dig through his pockets for his shrunken luggage and furniture. It takes about an hour to set everything up, which includes a bathroom cabinet that fits easily five feet to the right of the door.

He enters into the cabinet to have a quick shower before hitting the hay. _Who ever invented this cabinet was a bloody genius. You would think it was a recent innovation considering that it is still on the 'testing' list of items that the European countries have._ He thinks while in the shower.

_Not that it stopped mom from purchasing one for each of us for when we go camping. Heck, she not only purchased one of each of the items upon that stupid list and things that haven't been shared with the European countries since the majority of the world has given up on modernizing European communities._ He muses, his mom and dad have books that would likely be found on European black lists. It's those modern types of books that he had used as references for his various runes, after all, runes didn't require much in the way of magic if done right and like potion making, wasn't monitored around muggles.

"Runes for Dummies, the greatest help book that a wizard can own. Kanji for Dummies is a second best too, very helpful when married with Runes." He muses before banishing such thoughts as he puts on a fresh pair of boxers and his PJs.

Once he's lying in his bed, he waves his hand while willing for darkness. The Fae lights go out and he sighs softly, waiting for sleep to claim him.

**- [ T ] -**

"Your not living in the dorms, are you?" His brother asks him while they were in the library. He glances up from his pros and cons list concerning him starting a business concerning his enchanted leather bracelets featuring rune schematics since he's still waiting for his order of unbreakable glass vials to show up so he can start collecting Acromantula venom.

"You're just noticing this now?" He asks his elder brother and Colin frowns as his brother sits down at his table. He doesn't hear Ron nor the usually circle of people that cling to Colin, so he concludes that his brother managed to shake them.

"This isn't like home! You're safer in the castle." Colin says and he snorts before chuckling softly.

"Cold, Cold, Cold. We have a supposed ex-Corpse Eater for a professor." He points out before adding in harsher tones, "If you don't care about that then look into the Chamber of Secrets. They never found that beast, Cold and they stopped looking decades ago since the Basilisk hasn't been seen since about fifty years."

Colin frowns and asks, "If they never found the beast, how do you know it's a Basilisk?" He sighs and sums it up, "What was language did a certain member of the founder four speak that is considered dark?"

Colin's eyes flash and he glares when it looks like Colin is about to comment upon that. Colin sighs before saying, "Dumbledore could have taken care of it, he does have a phoenix. He could have taken care of the beast on the sly."

"I doubt that. And if you want to continue this conversation, can we take it outside where we won't be overheard?" He asks.

"It's mid-October!" Colin snaps. "Why go outside when its warm in here?" His brother asks.

"Ever heard of a little spell called a heating charm? No? I'm sure it'll be worth learning for our future potion classes." He remarks scratchingly and Colin gives him a dirty look.

"You'd think you were the one who got the extra lessons." Colin remarks and he chuckles. "I'm just imaginative, Cold. I was allowed to learn at my own pace while our parents and uncles kept your nose in a book."

"Has dad been..." Colin trails off after a few minutes of silence between them. He raises an eyebrow at his brother, he's a bit puzzled about what their dad would be bugging them about.

"Panks?" Colin states, looking a bit smug at his confusion. "Ah... No, nor our uncles." He answers with a shrug.

"Really? I mean... You're the rebel!" Colin exclaims with a hint of disbelief and he laughs as he reaches over and ruffles his brother's hair in an affectionate manner.

"Never bothered to read up on the subject, Cold. I figured you'd be eager to follow in that set of hoof prints. I mean, when was the last time you cut loose?" He asks Colin and his brother flushes slightly while stuttering denials concerning being a true heir to that group.

"Hey Kanga. Colin." Neville says as their fellow Gryffindor wanders over to their table. He grins a greeting while Colin says a short hey.

"Did I interrupt a family meeting or something?" Neville asks after studying Colin and him. He shakes his head and motions for Neville to join them.

"Nothing really, just some chit chat." He tells his friend and Colin just nods, he could tell that his brother is a bit alarmed as Colin glances around the library, half expecting his hangers on to arrive behind Neville.

"I saw Ron and them down in the courtyard. They seem to be trying to get a game of catch going on." Neville informs Colin and his elder brother seems to sigh in relief while Neville gives Colin a pitying look.

"Reading up on potions?" Colin asks Neville as his brother reads the top book of Neville's pile. "Don't see why you just don't ask for grandmother to send you a tutor, Leander. Or you can get her to send you a ton of potion ingredients and we can set up our own potion lab in one of the old classrooms for practice." He muses.

"Wouldn't the last one be more dangerous?" Neville asks. "No more dangerous then Ex breathing down your neck." He pipes in and Colin nods in agreement.

"He's not a good teacher. I don't see why you gave him such a cool nickname though." Colin says and Neville answers, "Ex is short for Ex-Death Eater or, as Kanga calls them, Ex-Corpse Eater."

"More of a title then anything." He admits. "If I go into specifics he is Ex-Corpse Eater Number One." He adds and Colin rolls his eyes. "I've number coded all of the ex-Corpse Eaters." He states smugly while his table-mates roll their eyes.

"You're so loopy." Colin mutters and he just smirks in reply, after all, he found it funny since he, in his mind at least, uses common sense married to logic with a hint of magic to work through his problems.

"Better loopy then bitter." He remarks and Colin sighs. "Any who, I think I'm going to head off now. I want to have a shower before supper." He says after a few minutes.

"Weren't you working on your homework?" Neville asks as he takes his list, rolls it, and tucks it into his wide sleeve of his robe.

"Finished it last month." He pauses before explaining, "Funny thing, if you're willing to pay a bit of silver, you can get old homework plans from upperclassmen in Ravenclaw. The far-sighted members take careful notes of what assignments, what's on exams, and class lesson they got during their previous years of schooling to sell to younger students. Get enough of a range of them and you can have all your homework done for the whole year."

"Really? That's fairly cunning of them." Colin muses, empathizing the word cunning. "I don't suppose...?" Colin asks and Neville, too, looks interested in this.

"Depends if my shipment of vials shows up before Friday night. If it doesn't show... I'll let you know my price for the whole first year package this Saturday." He says and the two sigh, but likely figure its better then nothing.

**- [ T ] -**

The arrow nicks the dog size Acromantula on one of its legs. The spider jerks before collapsing like the first seventeen he's encountered within two hours of walking through the forest. Not that he has much time to do anything as he quickly focuses in on another charging Acromantula coming after him.

This arrow enters into the underbelly when the horse size Acromantula leaps at him. Another five arrows and he's got a total of seven dead Acromantula varying from cat size to horse size spiders. He glances around the forest before putting the arrow back into the quiver hanging from his belt and then shouldering his bow.

Walking up to the largest spider, he takes out a few glass vials. He takes the stopper from the vial and kneels down to place the vial under a fang. He moves a index finger to the back of the fang and with a bit of magic, the venom flows out of the gland, through the fang, and into the vial.

Upon filling that one, the magic stops pumping the venom out and he puts the stopper back in before taking an empty one and resumes the milking from that fang. And once that gland was empty, he milks the next gland in the other fang.

Once the venom has been milked and he walks out to the butt of the spider while holding a simple polished rune covered stick that shall be covered in spider silk soon. He finds the spinnerets and holds the stick to them while placing his hand upon the slightly hairy back quarters of the dead Acromantula. A bit of magic and the glands begin to ooze towards the spinnerets and then through them out onto the waiting stick.

Slowly he rotates the stick around, drawing more of the silk out of the spinnerets. Magic keeps pushing the silk out of the gland until nothing more came out. With a sigh, he takes out a paper bag and covers the stick and its bundle of silk before putting it into the knapsack with an expansion charm upon it.

He repeated the process another six time before he decides to leave, he's pretty much filled his quota of venom gathering since he doesn't have more then nine empty vials left and since it seems that Acromantula like to swarm their target with others of its kind, he would likely end up killing a number that he couldn't harvest from since he would be lacking empty vials to hold the venom. He had plenty of sticks to gather spider silk though, but then, they were easier to get then the unbreakable glass vials.

He didn't need to collect the arrows used to kill these Acromantula as they became ashes within seconds of coming into contact with their targeted species they were meant to kill.

He frowns as he feels an old scar hidden by his hair throb even though he is wearing his mental protection ring, something uncle Padfoot had gotten Colin and him when they turned nine. He hadn't thought to wear it until he started to get these odd aches coming from this hidden scar during defense class.

The ache subsides and he continues on to his yurt. _Maybe I should look into getting something stronger..._ He muses as he glances at the jade stone ring of white gold. _More make something more superior._ He adds after a few seconds of thought.

"Wonder what he's doing out in the forest?" He wonders after arriving at his yurt. The six ward staffs that he set up wash over him before the yurt came into view.

"Whatever it is, it's going to be troublesome." He answers his own question as he reaches the door with a frown. He could only imagine what would drive that stuttering mess of a man out into the woods filled with Centaurs and Acromantula.

**- [ T ] -**

"Troll! Troll in the dungeon!" The supposed defense teacher shouts before adding, "Thought you should know."

And then the man collapses forward, onto his face. His eyes narrow at the fallen man. It hadn't been more then a week ago that he felt this man enter the forest and he seems to recall something about him being good with trolls.

"We should go!" He hears Neville say at his elbow as the mass of students are sent out of the Great Hall. He glances over at Neville and asks, "You trust me, don't you?"

Neville blinks before slowly nodding. "Good because I believe tonight, we'll be hunting a fraud." He informs Neville as he casts an illusion charm around them without using a wand and just whispering the spells since there were two of them.

As the students and other teachers leave, he slips a prototype upon Neville's hand. After a few minutes, the collapsed professor gets up with a smirk. "Better then I could hope for." The defense teacher muses without stuttering at all.

They wait until the man has left the Great Hall before following after. He takes his wand and casts a silencing charm upon their feet before they left the Great Hall altogether. They silently walked after the turban wearing man with about twenty feet between them.

They arrive at the third floor and witness the confrontation between Ex and the stuttering man. The three headed dog lunges towards the two men and without thinking, he silently stuns the defense professor and watches with a bit of horror as one of the heads bites the stunned man's head off.

His horror deepens as some kind of wraith exits out of the body and begins to drift towards Ex. His old scar throbs like nothing before but he grinds his teeth together as he takes out another prototype, only this one was meant to do something to ghosts, stun them he had hoped not that he had a chance to test it as he tosses it at the wraith and as it sails through it to land upon the floor, the little box suddenly explodes.

Ex and the wraith cry out in pain when the light touches them. The three headed dog doesn't pause and bites Ex upon the shoulder. The light dies and the wraith glares about before fading through the floor while Ex is shaken about until the arm comes right off of Ex.

He uses his wand and casts a powerful sleeping charm upon the canine. Neville charges forth to attend to Ex. He takes out the alarm coin and activates it before tossing it upon the ground. Seconds later, his dad and Padfoot arrive.

"Harry! You ok?" His dad asks, it seems that the illusion charm vanished when Neville broke from him.

"I'm kind of ok... I think I caused somebody to die tonight and another to be crippled for life." He says numbly and his father pulls him in and strokes his back while uncle Padfoot moves to stabilize Ex.

What happened when his other uncle and mother arrived became a blur as he somehow ended up tearing up. He dimly recalls his mother screeching at the arriving headmaster about something while comforting Neville, who sports blood upon his robes. He kind of recalls both Neville and him answering questions, particularly about what came out of the dead teacher's body and how it was driven off, although he doesn't know if he ever mentioned that he created that little box or that he stunned the defense professor...

All he became aware of was finding himself in the medical wing with Hermione to his left and Neville to his right. It also seems to be morning. He sits up and glances around in confusion before he recalls what happened and manages to vomit upon the floor instead upon the bed.

"Harry?" He hears Moony asks and he glances up to find his uncle sitting upon a chair at the end of his bed. He flushes while Moony smiles a sad knowing smile. It didn't take long before his uncle vanishes the vomit.

"Have some chocolate, Harry." Moony says, taking out what appears to be a box of M&Ms. "Thank you." He says in a raspy voice and he can still taste the vomit. Wordlessly, his uncle also motions to the water pitcher resting next to his bed.

He pours himself a glass of water and drinks it, it helps wash away the foul taste. "How is Ex... Professor Snape." He asks after eating three handfuls of the chocolate pieces.

"Going as well as to be expected. We managed to recover his arms and they're working to reconnect it. He won't be able to teach for a real long time but I'm sure that the student body will be happy to have a different teacher pick up the class." Uncle Moony says and then asks, "Ex?"

"Short for Ex-Corpse Eater." He admits shyly and his uncle chuckles softly, not wanting to wake the other two. "Why is Hermione here?" He asks after finishing the M&Ms. "She wasn't with us when we..." His jaw clutches down as the urge to vomit returns.

"The troll wasn't in the dungeon." His uncle sums up and he decides not to push it. "Why didn't Dumblies follow regulations? We weren't meant to leave the Great Hall. We were safer staying put behind its doors then not." He asks and his uncle's eyes flash.

"Really? Where did you learn that?" Moony asks and he answers, "It's in Hogwarts Emergency Protocols manual. You can find it on the same shelf as the book listing point earning of the current and previous years, the detention book, and on the thin book that contains the charter and the primary rules that the school was founded on. There's another book there detailing the state of Hogwarts wards but it's charmed locked so you can't read it."

"Are you sure you were sorted correctly? It sounds as though Ravenclaw would have suited you more." Uncle Moony muses with a smile and he snorts, before frowning as he realized that he didn't get a suitable answer concerning Hermione.

"I wanted to know what to expect during an emergency. I pointed Cold to said books too." He explains. "And what do you mean the troll wasn't in the dungeon? If it weren't, then why aren't there more students injured from the troll?" He asks.

"Hermione didn't attend the feast. It seems that some of your house-mates drove her to lock herself in the girls bathroom." Moony explains and he just ohs.

"I didn't know. I thought she was late because she was in the library. She does spends a lot of time in there and following Cold." He tells his uncle before adding, "She's a tab of a stickler for the rules and doesn't seem to know how to 'play' with others."

He hears Hermione roll over, confirming that she has been awake likely from the very beginning. He glances over to stare at her back for a few seconds. "At least you didn't see..." He couldn't finish it as what happened last night suddenly gets replayed within his mind. He swallows hard as he glances down at his hands, he knew logically that it was a good thing that the defense professor wasn't alive to be possessed by that wraith but it doesn't change the fact that he is the reason the man was dead and another maimed.

"What is hidden on that floor? Why is it there, Moony, in this school?" He finally asks after he hears Neville begin to wake.

"We don't know. The headmaster is being very tight lip about it." His uncle admits.

"Then involve the ICW! Whatever it is, it cause that stupid wraith to possess that teacher, thus endangering us, the students!" He exclaims, his self-pity turning into out rage at the idea that Dumblies was playing some game. One that had caused Neville and him to witness what they did last night.

"Dumblies is suppose to put our safety before all else! He didn't and because of that, somebody was killed, another crippled, and students traumatized!" He says and Moony nods in agreement.

"Sadly, Dumblies, as you call him, has a lot of political clot. He will likely receive a slap upon the wrists and only coming out a tiny bit tarnished." Moony explains and he knew his uncle was right.

"But the board of directors!" Hermione butts in and Neville softly snorts. "Shouldn't they be able to do something?" The muggle raised witch asks.

"I really don't want to think of who they would replace. There are ex-Corpse Eaters upon the board after all. Better the devil you know then the devil you don't." He informs Hermione firmly and the girl gives Moony a pleading look, begging for his uncle to say that wasn't so.

"For somebody who skips out on our political studies, you're very well informed." His uncle muses and he replies, "Cold doesn't put locking charms on his drawers. So it's not that hard to read through his notes and homework."

He glances over to find Hermione very pale and clearly ill looking. "But... this is Hogwarts! It's suppose to be..." Hermione trails off, it looks as though she's about to cry.

"Authority figures in the Wizarding world aren't like those in the muggle one, Ms Granger. They have no incentive to fix the corruption that rewarded them with their high ranking positions." His uncle explains in an apologetic tone. "The Wizengamot seats are typically inherit and has a lot to do concerning the selection of the Minster of Magic."

"This body is made up of pure-bloods I take it?" Hermione asks and he nods while Moony says, "Yes it is."

"But... but... but!" Hermione stutter out and he sighs. He really hated to break it to her but she really needs to hear it, if only to begin looking into researching this herself if only to provide him wrong.

"Whatever picture the professor painted for you and your family... It won't happen, Hermione. The pure-bloods are in decline so Hogwarts has become dependent upon muggle raised wizards and witches getting enrolled here. It's to the point where all promising muggled raised graduates automatically leave the UK, leave Europe all together, to get promising jobs. Only those marrying into old families can expect to raise up from the typical jobs the muggle raised are forced into." He tells her.

"Like your mother." Hermione states as an example and he nods. "But that's discrimination!"

"Our world is filled with it." Neville replies. "And it'll remain like that until it breaks under it."

"You make it sound as if the Wizarding world is dying!" Hermione exclaims and he grins. "Here in the UK? Most definitely." Neville says with a sigh.

"Then why isn't anyone doing anything?" Hermione asks and Moony replies, "Because most wizards and witches prefer to do what's easy instead of what's right."

Silence hangs in the room until the doors open and the rest of his family, with the exception of Colin, comes to visit him and Neville. Hermione returns to laying down upon the bed, more then likely brooding over what she has heard.

**- [ T ] -**

"How did I get involve in this again?" Hermione wonders as they walk on top of the snow. He managed to convince his two uncles to part, temporarily, with their ice skimmers so that Neville and Hermione can join him on finding the cave in which the Acromantula spend the winter in.

"Cause you followed Neville, who was following my brother." Colin explains. He really didn't know how Colin discovered his plans but it seems that for once, Colin wasn't going to ruin them by telling an adult.

"And we're..." "Here to..." "Supervise!" The Weasley twins say while riding upon brooms.

"I thought it was because of the money you can get from helping to harvest Acromantula venom." Neville pipes in, his best friend is carrying two wooden spears, each tipped with flint and covered in Acromantula killing runes. Hermione carries another while Cold has his spare bow and quiver of Acromantula killing arrows. The older twins didn't bring anything other then larger packs, their own empty vials, wands, and the brooms.

"Hey look! Unicorns!" He says as he pauses to watch as a small family unit walk through the meadow to his far right. They seemingly appearing out of nowhere and doesn't seem to mind the party of students trailing through the forest. The others pause to watch the herd, he hears Hermione sighing at the sight.

They resume trekking through the forest, he uses his wand to help locate the nest. It was around noon did they finally locate a cave entrance. He touches the block to find that the webbing is firm, very firm.

"Trap door spiders do something similar." Hermione says and he nods while studying the 'cork'. "What now?" The only witch in the party asks.

"We burn a good size hole into it. It should be made up of webbing, branches, and leaves." He muses. "Forge, Gred? You think you can handle this?" He asks the twins hovering over the snow covered ground.

"But of course!" The two say at the same time. He moves back to give the pair more room. Within seconds a good size hole is made and he takes out a few muggle flares, breaking them before tossing them into the hole.

He doesn't hear anything from within the cave in regards to the flares. He moves forward after readying his bow and an arrow. His ice skimmers clicking upon the rocky floor after he drops about four feet down from the hole.

"Don't see any." He says to the group as he rummages through his pack for one of those hovering Fae lights, a spare from when he was setting up his yurt. The fist size crystal slowly comes to life as the rest of the party enters into the cave.

Once fully lit, the Fae light takes to hovering above his head. "Fae light. Flare gave me a few extra ones when he gifted that yurt to me." He explains on seeing the others looks towards the light.

"I didn't know he could fashion them." Colin muses and he gives his twin a bemused grin. "You'd be surprise at what Flare can do."

"Who's Flare?" Hermione asks and Neville replies, "Flare is the house elf the Potters hired a few weeks after what happened that one Halloween. I think muggles call them Brownies."

He takes point and glances at the Weasley twins. "Just stay on those brooms, gentlemen. Carrying those brooms will only cause you to be clumsy." He informs them and they get back onto the brooms.

They slowly walk through the cave, Neville and Colin walk a bit behind him and to either side of him, causing a V like formation to form. They come upon a chasm that seems to feature a firm dome of webbing. It takes him a few seconds to realize that there were Acromantula upon the dome.

"We need to build a blind so that when they swarm, they don't get us from above or from the sides." He says after considering the best way to handle this. "They haven't been hibernating long so they would be easy to wake as soon as an alarm rings out." He adds.

"You act like this is an everyday occurrence for you." Hermione says dryly and he replies, "No, I've just been reading hunters journals, be they muggle or otherwise."

He takes out a box and after setting it down, taps his wand to activate the enlarging charms. Within seconds, it has become glued to one side of the wall and expands a good ten feet wide and six feet in height. There are arrow slits along the sides and the runes of shielding slowly begin to glow as he touches the blind.

It takes a few seconds before a door opens to allow them in. "Sweet!" The Weasley twins sum up as they enter. Once everyone else was in it, he enters it and the door closes behind him.

He waits as everyone gets as comfortable as they can, Neville offering his second spear to one of the twins, Fred he believes. "I didn't know you were profound with runes." Colin muses and he shrugs.

"Why else do you think I don't require glasses like you do?" He points out and Colin looks startled. He holds up his left wrist that has all of his enchanted leather bracelets upon it. "Created a scheme to correct it. I even made one to improve your night vision, although it does cause your eyes to be a little too light sensitive though."

"Wick!" "Impressive." Seems to be the general census.

"We're so going to have a long talk about what other innovations you've created, brother." Colin says as he takes a position at the front.

"Just as long as we have it outside of Hogwarts, I'll be happy to have it. I also have a few extra mind protecting bracelets that I should give you guys before we're done with this adventure." He says before adding, "And no taking them apart to discover the rune schematic either." He directs this towards the twins.

"Wouldn't..." "Dream..." "Of it!" The two red heads say with grins. He just sighs and watches as the others take up positions, although George doesn't really have anything other then his wand to use as a weapon.

He aims high and watches as the arrow soars towards the middle of the massive collection of spiders. A screech is heard and its followed by clicking and hissing. As predicted, the mass of spiders wake and begin to swarm all over the place, looking for the source of the arrow.

He fires three arrows at three massive draft horse size spiders, they died with a screech. He figured that its their size that has allowed them to make death knells. It wasn't long before the blind is covered in spiders and the others get their chance to kill the Acromantula.

They spent hours within the protective box with only spider blood being able to enter into the box through the arrow slits. The spiders do try and move the box but it's firmly planted in the ground and to the wall. Death threats also stream from the spiders and he even gets a chance to kill the likely father of all of the spiders.

During brief pauses, he would use his wand to check and see if there were still Acromantula. It wasn't until close to midnight that there wasn't a living one within the space beyond the blind. They nap a bit for a few hours before leaving the box.

"This is going to take a while." He muses as he glances around the thick lay of dead spiders. None of the others argued and thus, they started upon their gruesome task of gathering venom and gathering their silk from their spinnerets.

He doubts they killed the whole population of these magical spiders, just culled the larger, more aggressive members of the colony. _It'll take a few years before they are exterminated. Still can't believe Hagrid was allowed to let loose the first pair of Acromantula in this forest, especially so close to the only totally wizard town in the UK._

He's thankful for the general anti-poison potions they brought with them as more then a few other ended up getting nicked and having some venom entering into their systems. But then, what could he expect? They were all worn out from having so much adrenaline pumping through them for over ten hours, thus they weren't as careful as they could be since their arms would sometimes shake or their fingers cram up on them.

**- [ T ] -**

"I need to give you a nickname." He informs Hermione as they wait for the train to arrive to take them home. They were fairly much alone since his elder brother is currently in the middle of his fans, Neville is talking 'shop' with some Hufflepuffs about plants, and the twins weren't here since their parents and sister left to visit their brother Charlie, the dragon handler.

"I'm not getting a say in this, do I?" The girl asks and he snorts. "Thought so." Hermione sighs.

"Hmmm, Wei got a ring to it. Then again so does Farsiris." He says, grinning as Hermione flushes. "But you're as fiery enough to go by Kaida but then with the spiders... Kainda would be so much more descriptive."

"Kyden." He decides after a few minutes. "It follows my own nickname since both of our names start with H. It means Narrow little fire, which fits since you can be so narrow minded and very passionate too."

"Do this means for friends whom's names begin with C you'll be sticking to C nicknames and for M you'll be looking for nicknames beginning with L." Hermione sums up and he shrugs. The train whistles loudly and suddenly out of the snow storm, the train can be seen as it comes down the track.

"My lade?" He says with a wide smirk as he waves Hermione forward. Hermione huffs softly, he couldn't see her face cause of the scarf but he's certain that she's blushing slightly as she moves to step up onto the steps.

_I wonder what her reaction will be when she discovers that for her Christmas gift, I set up an Inheritance test?_ He wonders, his mother had gone through one when he was seven and it turned out have a great-grandmother who was a Squib from an half-blood family who was killed during the 70s.

Which means that his mother brought in a reasonable size vault to be added to the Potter fortune, no property since that had been liquidated by the Ministry. He's not sure why his mom even went through with the test but he's sure she had her reasons, even if she hasn't revealed them.

**- [ T ] -**

"How did you time in that room go?" Colin asks him as he walks into their shared hotel room. He sighs as he flops down upon his bed after walking to it.

"Tiring." He replies and Colin sighs. "But I won the trust of two. Managed to get my head to fully transform before I left the room. It's not your four, but I'm satisfied with them."

"Must be some two." His brother muses and he gives his brother a wide grin. "They are, oh boy, they are." He tells his brother.

"Better then a jackal or a owl or a seal or even a snow leopard?" Colin asks and he props himself up upon his elbows. He studies his brother for a few seconds.

"How does a hyena and one of the North American breeds of dimar(search DeviantArt for images) sound?" He asks his brother and Colin's eyes bug out when he mentioned the dimar then the hyena. "Not bad, eh? One normal form with the second being a magical one."

"How big a dimar? A Central? Or an East Coast?" Colin asks, listing the two of the smaller types of Northern dimar,they stand about a foot at the shoulder and is two feet from the tip of the muzzle to the butt.

"West Coast one." He says, the West Coast type dimars stood three and half foot to the shoulder and length of five foot long to the base of the butt instead of the tail tip. The dimars could be considered fuzzy dragons of the muggle type since they had six limbs, two were wings and the other four are legs.

Dimars were an odd intelligent, naturally telepathic species that can also learn to speak human languages. They also rarely interact with humans, thus they don't really know much about the race as a whole. The dimar species range all over the Americas with the Northern breeds sporting fur all year round and the Southern breeds lose their fur during certain parts of the year and growing scales for that part of the year. The mountain regions of the Americas sport dimar that stand at least six feet at the shoulder and eleven feet to the butt.

"You get all the luck." Colin summarizes and he sighs. "You have four forms that you can show off, I only got one that can be publicly shown. You have a wider selection to chose your 'official' Animagus form from, I don't. I have to go with the hyena." He points out and his brother just rolls his eyes.

"I'm going with the owl." Colin admits. "But still, a dimar? Those creatures are just so interest! Nobody knows why they have those second 'wings' so close to their butts. Or why they're color is so diverse even within their typical breed! Their horn styles, some having those branches while others sport slender twisting horns or ram ones..." His brother tries off and he sighs, recalling what that 'spirit' dimar had said.

_"We have been watching you since your birthday. We witness your ability to keep secrets, watched as you prove your ability to do what's needed instead of freezing up or begin to study the situation and see how you can benefit from it. You proved your ability to still empathize with others even when you yourself weren't emotionally well." The dimar tells him. "We have need of an ambassador in the coming times."_

He looks away from his brother, he didn't really know what to feel concerning that bit of information as it pretty much told him that all of his attempts to slip pass the detection of others has failed. He considers himself to be a very private individual, after all, and is very selective about who he lets close to him, although sometimes, those people just insert themselves there.

He trusts Neville more then he trusts Colin, but then, it's likely because people overlook his friend most of the time, not bothering to look beyond the timid demeanor and flimsy spell casting. He contributes Neville's shyness and general nervousness towards people from his family continuously outrageous attempts at bring out his friend's magic. Their actions screamed 'better dead then a Squib!'

Next, he trusted his brother a tad more then he trusted Hermione since Hermione is still new and is still struggling over her need of approval from people in authority. The girl is socially awkward, but then, her book smarts likely, at first, drove kids away and in time, her growing authoritativeness, commonly known as bossiness, drove them further away. And so the cycle developed, without friends to hang out with, Hermione spent more time reading books and the knowledge learned from those books drove a wedge between Hermione and kids her age, and repeat. In the end, Hermione wasn't a genius, just very well read.

The Weasley twins... Well, he's known them, again, longer then Hermione, but they had a tendency to use everything they know to create pranks. They have a flare for it, he admits, and he could see why they would want to go into business selling said prank items too. He just didn't want the stuff he developed to fall into hands of strangers and he's sure that will happen if he shares his research notes with the older set of twins.

So Hermione and the twins were, for now, equal concerning the trust he plans to give them.

_I wonder where I would place Flare?_ He wonders as he allows himself to rest upon his bed, upon his back, staring up at the ceiling.

**- [ T ] -**

"I don't see why anyone even tries to study for their OWLs and their NEWTs." He says to Neville while skipping flat stones across the flat surface of the lake. "Both Cold and I could take them now and pass fairly well." He muses.

"Why don't you?" Neville asks as their stones finally sink into the lake. "I know you'd ace your rune tests." Neville adds.

"Dad and mom seem to be of the opinion that we're safer being minors. For now, anyway." He explains. "No that they don't have the paperwork done up for us to become adults if anything happens to them and our uncles."

"How safely put away are these papers?" Neville asks and he replies, "Well, let's just say that Cold and I are citizens of Canada, the US, Mexico, Japan, and for some odd reason, Ireland. Although Cold is pretty much an honorary citizens of the rest of the countries in the world. It's amazing how popular he is outside of the UK. It's likely one of the reasons we've been able to purchase various items and travel so much."

"Just how many languages do you speak?" Neville asks as they set sailing another stone each. "Far too many." He answers. "I read more languages then what I speak though, Cold's the same." He adds.

Neville whistles, clearly impressed. He didn't see why, those language bundles were damn expensive and causes massive headaches. It's amazing what the rest of the world uses magic for, it's one of the reasons he kind of hopes that his parents will pull them out of school. The UK and Europe at large were like country bums compared to the magical communities of technological magics of Japan and magic empowered floating cities of New Zealand.

He wonders which of the other countries will be the first to colonize the Moon and Mars through magic. "There are extra-ordinary wonders beyond Europe, Leander. Magic is used in different ways then what they teach here at Hogwarts and at its sister schools." He says. "There are people out there more powerful then Dumblies who's minds are sharper, more brilliant in though their age is over the upper-levels you find in the UK. There are times when I wonder why we keep returning to Britain after vacationing in those countries. Seems so wasteful since most of what we bring back would likely be blacklisted simply because they haven't been 'tested' here in the UK and in Europe."

"How come vacationing families or wandering wizards don't report such things?" Neville asks and he snorts as he gets ready to throw another stone.

"They don't have any respect for European magi, Leander since they won't get pass the Victorian era and seem so happy to mucking around in their ignorance." He explains. "And it's not as though European magi are expecting anything but a similar state of what they got at home. The other countries set aside certain place for European magi to visit, shepherding them to keep them from visiting the real hot spots of their country and what they're really capable of. It was a major hassle for our parents and uncles to earn the trust of one of those countries." He continues.

"But earn the trust of one and you, get trail runs in the others." He adds. "Get minimum of four countries to vouch for you and you get a really nifty passport and the option of becoming a citizen so you have a place for political refuge if things don't work out too well back home." He says.

"Sounds like a lot of work, Kanga." Neville remarks and he smiles a bit. "You don't give trust, Leander, you earn it." He informs his friend.

"You must trust me a great deal then." Neville admits and he flashes his best friend a smile. "I do, I really do. You're a great guy, it's just that nobody is willing to look pass your timidness or your apparent clumsiness to find that out." He says.

"You're a great guy too, Kanga." Neville offers with a slightly flushed face. He hums thoughtfully.

"I wonder what our coming summer will bring..." He muses after they run out of stone and begin to transfigure tiny pebbles into appropriate skipping stones.

"Only time will tell, Kanga. Only time will tell."

End of First Year - End of the Story. . . Don't Know


	83. Captain Naruto: Bleach

I don't own Bleach or Naruto!

**- o 0 o -**

"Excuse me..." Naruto trails off as he enters a room filled with seven people. They were all wearing white jackets over black kimonos(although one of the men seems to favor pink coat), range from various ages, genders, and species, since there seems to be some kind of dog man sitting behind the long desk.

"Congratulations! Pick a number and you will be promoted to captain." The very stressed out old man with a cane says while looking up at the blond with craziness shining in his eyes. Those eye promise pain, lots and lots of pain if he doesn't do as asked.

"Seven?" He blurts out, really confused as to what's going on. Naruto had only entered into this room cause he was directed here by people wearing black kimonos.

Within seconds a white jacket is tossed his way while the elderly man saying, "Congratulation of being promoted to captain of the fifth division, boy. I'm sure you'll do a splendid job! That or you'll have a splendid execution."

The majority of the six of the seven congratulate Naruto on his promotion while the young blond ninja just stands stiffly holding the white jacket. "What just happened?" The blond genin wonders out loud to himself within an empty room.

- -{ T [- -

_Before Naruto entered . . ._

"At this rate, I'm willing to promote the next one who walks through that door and be done with it." Growls captain of the first division, Genryusai Yamamoto while rubbing his temples. This day had not gone as well as he had expected as they interviewed various candidates to fill the three empty slot of captain.

"You know, we can always execute them if they don't preform suitably." The second division captain Soifon points out.

It really shows how bad the day had gone when neither captain Hitsugaya or captain Kyoraku as the two either try and counter that using reason or cries about such a waste of beauty dying so young as the pink wearing captain continues to envision a young pretty woman getting promoted.

"Get them to pick a number to see which division they become captain of." Captain Unohana of fourth suggests dully. It seems she has yet to recover enough energy from the last fight that broke out within the room. She was a doctor after all, she saw it as her duty to heal everyone before they were none too easily shoved out of the room.

"Fine." The oldest captain states and so they waited about eight minutes before some scrawny teen enters wearing bright orange saying, "Excuse me..."

- -{ T [- -

_With Naruto . . ._

"So you don't possess a Zanpakuto? You also don't seem to be a student from the academy..." The man who introduced himself as sixth seat officier Daiki. "How in the hell did you even get pass the gate guardians?" The pony tail wearing man wonders.

"I showed up in the roof, I got down and was directed to that room after witnessing this huge group of arguing people walk out." Naruto explains. "That's the last time I asks Kakashi to demonstrate how powerful his Sharingan eye is..." The blond grumbles from behind the captain desk.

Naruto's wearing the white jacket while watching Daiki pace before the desk. It's clear that the man is really frustrated about his lack of sword, kimono, and not being dead. And so as Daiki paces, he finds himself slowly taking in his office.

_I wonder where all the paper work is... I mean, being the boss equals paper work. Does this mean I won't have to deal with that? That would be so.., COOL!_ The blond thinks with a grin.

"Do you think I can fit a couch in here?" He asks Daiki as Naruto begins to think of items he wouldn't mind adding to his office. "A bit of color wouldn't hurt in here either..." Naruto muses as he notices the lack of pictures that show previous holders of this office.

"Unless you manage to not just summon your Zanpakuto within an hour, miraculously learn its name within minutes, and then master both Shikai and Bankai by the official ceremony naming you captain, I really don't see you keeping your post!" Daiki snaps and Naruto raises a minor eyebrow at that.

"I'll have you know I mastered an S-rank jutsu within hours! How hard can all that be?" The blond Jinchuriki says and the Soul Reaper gives him a bland look while standing still.

"You are an idiot." Naruto's new subordinate remarks.

"Yea, yea, yea, I've heard that all before." The blond retorts, waving the insult away. "Now then, tell me how do I summon this sword so I can get started on that last bit."

Daiki stares at the blond teenager for a few minutes before picking a book off of a book shelf, dropping it upon the desk and walking out. "Geeze, some subordinate." Naruto mutters as he picks up the book, called Hypothetical Theories of The Zanpakuto, and opens the cover to begin reading it.

= - **[ O**

Naruto keeps shouldering the twin shoulder straps that holds the sheath of his five and a half long with two foot wide flat bladed Zanpakuto, who's name is Aozora no Kemono(Beast of the Blue Sky), the hilt guard seems to be chain links circling it. Aozora, Naruto's nickname for his Zanpakuto, would be scraping along the ground if it weren't for the blond reversing the tree climbing exercise to hold the huge sword to his back.

The blond walks off the platform now that the ceremony was over and done with. Naruto felt as though his speech went over fairly good considering it was his first and that he's never done something like that before. Aozora had helped the blond come up with it a few hours before the ceremony was to begin.

The crowd that had gathered for the ceremony seemed to have mixed reactions to the blond's appointment.

"I can't believe they picked that guy over one of us" Lieutenant Renji grumbles as the young blond new captain walks down the steps while wearing an huge Zanpakuto that could rival Ichigo's own before it became stuck in its release state. "I've never met him before! How hard would be to miss somebody that small with such a huge Zanpakuto? And how good can a captain named 'fishcake' be?"

"Was he even a Soul Reaper before becoming a captain?" Lieutenant Rangiku wonders. "They never did mention which division he belong too before his promotion either. Maybe we was an academy student?"

"Maybe he's a spy? Or an avenger like what's his name? The one who became captain of third division." Renji muses.

"He won't last the month." Izuru declares and the other two nod in agreement.

= - **[ O**

_Two Months Later . . ._

"Weren't you... I mean, if your here then who's...?" Naruto glances over to a red head who's a lieutenant to this really, really snobby guy with hair things.

Naruto pauses his hand holding chop sticks over his bowl of ramen to look over at the guy. "Huh? Oh! I usually leave a few clones back at the office whenever I leave for lunch or when I need to stretch my legs." The blond says before continuing to eat his sixth ramen.

"Is that even possible? Or legal?" Renji wonders and Naruto shrugs. "Wouldn't know, haven't been in office long." The blond Jinchuriki answers after swallowing the noodles within his mouth.

"Hey, that reminds me, where's my own lieutenant? I've met with pretty much all of my seated officers but her and all anyone is willing to tell me is that she is on sick leave. I even had a clone check through the other files and Momo has been on sick leave for over six months." Naruto says to Renji after the lieutenant of sixth division sits down.

"What does she have? Will she recover from it or should I start looking for a replacement?" The blond asks Renji.

The red head shifts a bit, this particular topic wasn't something he felt comfortable with. _What to say... What to say..._ Renji thinks while drinking his newly arrived drink, eyeing the bowls that were neatly stacked to the blond captain's left.

"Lieutenant Momo had a minor metal break down after the previous captain became a traitor." Renji finally informs the young captain. "She's still having problems accepting that he's gone." The red head adds.

"I take it nobody told her that he's been replaced?" Naruto asks with a slight frown. The young Jinchuriki hadn't lived in the Soul Society for long but he found they seem to be faintly detached from their emotions. Heck, there seems to be a small number of them that make Sasuke look almost well adjusted.

_Must be a lot of denial going on if she's still not over it._ Naruto muses while Renji simply drinks his drink. "She's not going to try and kill me when she finds out, right? I mean, if she's still a whack job now, after six months of therapy, she would give it a try, right?" The blond muses while the red head thinks it over.

Silence just hangs between them and Naruto sighs. _Ok... That's such a huge reassurance, isn't it?_ The ex-prankster muses.

"Hey! Guess what? I found this bag of goodies by this shop and I thought we'd do something with them, Naru-chan!" It wasn't long before a pink haired child is clinging to Naruto's neck. The bag is pressed up against Naruto's back.

"What's in the bag, Chi-chan?" Naruto asks as he helps Yachiru onto the free stool to his left. The blond didn't bother to ask the child lieutenant if the bag belonged to somebody by the door, which could be why Yachiru likes the Jinchuriki captain so much as Naruto doesn't seem overly upset over Yachiru's idea of 'borrowing' things from people.

"I see you've already met Lieutenant Yachiru." Renji says dryly while the pink haired lieutenant begins to dig through the bag. The blond haired captain watches as three jars of black ink are set upon the counter before what appears to be rubber gloves, rolls of tape, and paper clips.

"I think I got an idea of how best to use this stuff." Naruto says to Yachiru with his foxy grin. _After all, these guys have loads of security holes and better harmless pranks reveal them so they can be fix then something disastrous points them out._ The blond captain rationalizes, it really helps that as long as he sends out memos about beware of pranks, it pretty much seems to cover his ass as all divisions have been warned, weekly, of on going pranks.

Renji watches as the blond captain and pink lieutenant vanish after the captain absently slaps a few coins upon the counter. "I wonder who's corrupting who between them?" The red haired lieutenant wonders out loud.

Then it dawns on Renji and he spits out his drink as he exclaims out loud, "Oh, sh#t! No wonder nobody ever linked him to those pranks! But neither of them match the description of the culprits!"

And as lieutenant Renji tries to think how captain Uzumaki and lieutenant Yachiru are connected to the series of pranks going on throughout the Soul Society with a pair of adults seen doing preforming said pranks, the lieutenant finds himself drinking a lot of sake. It wasn't long before Renji found other things to ponder instead of the pair of ninja elves pranking the Soul Society.

The pair of pranksters appear to be adults, typically in their twenties and their genders were undetermined. It is known that one of the adults sports royal purple hair, red eyes, and practically dark red colored skin. The second sports spring green hair, brown eyes, and lightly tanned skin. The two sport elven ears, don't sport any weapons, and prefer to wear classic black ninja attire with a part that covers their lower part of their faces. Their calling card seems to be a picture of a circle with a wavy thick line through it, like a bandit mask.

All anyone knows is that they began pulling their pranks three days after the latest captain's ceremony and that there's a weekly memo sent out reminding people to be on their guard for the pairs' dastardly pranks.

- -{ T [- -

_Captain Naruto meets lieutenant Yachiru . . ._

"You know, that's way too visible and thus anyone but the really distracted will not fall for that simple trap." The blond captain known as Naruto Uzumaki remarks after watching a pink haired child in a Soul Reaper uniform setting up a simple door prank involving a board and a bucket filled with something unpleasant.

Lieutenant of the eleventh division blinks while looking at the young captain. Yachiru knew he was a captain cause of the jacket, although the young pink haired Soul Reaper couldn't place where she met him before. "How would you set this up, Whisker?" She asks the blond, caught flat footed by the fact that the blond wasn't reacting like most people who have caught her setting up something like this.

Naruto gives pinkie his trademark grin and as the youngest captain of the Soul Society begins to explain how he'd set it up, the beginnings of a rather odd legend begins to bloom.

- -{ T [- -

_Twenty-Eight Days Since Kakashi's Banishing - In Hidden Leaf . . ._

"I can't believe it took a week to even prepare this scroll." Tsunade, the current Hokage, mutters. "Let's get this over with."

The other participants of the summoning step up to the summoning diagram that Jiraiya had created. Kakashi wasn't present to help as the man is out on a mission guarding a very 'valuable' spring in Wind Country about a week after they discovered that the maverick blond genin wasn't anywhere in Fire Country. Nor were the rest of the members of team seven sent with the silver hair jonin, just put to work to help rebuild Hidden Leaf from the recent invasion.

Beyond Tsunade and Jiraiya, there were seven jonin aiding in summoning Naruto Uzumaki from where ever it was that Kakashi had banished him. As the final hand sign has been form and chakra from the nine pours into the summoning diagram while the scroll Tsunade had been holding is slammed down upon the ground.

With a slight wet pop, a fifteen year old Naruto wearing what appears to be a black kimono and jacket combo and sporting a rather large sword upon his back appears at the center of the summoning diagram. The blond captain glances around the chamber to find at least two very familiar faces.

"Yo!" The blond says with a grin. "It's been a while, eh? I can't believe how young you both still look fairly good considering its been close to thirty years since I last laid eyes on either of ya." The captain Jinchuriki says glancing between Tsunade and Jiraiya.

"Brat! It's barely been a month since that incident!" Tsunade snaps upon recovering a bit from the shock of the changes her favorite genin has gone through. "And where's your headband?" The elderly blond asks.

"Eh? Really? That's kind of odd cause I just celebrated my twenty-eight year as captain of the fifth division... Got a pretty nice pair of bookends as a gift during that party too." The young Fourth look a like muses, the tan that Naruto sports makes it hard to spy the whisker marks upon either cheek while holding his chin thoughtfully.

"Who in their right minds would put in in command of a group of people, let alone a division?" Tsunade asks while Jiraiya seems to be sporting a calculating look and the rest of the jonin privately agreeing with their Hokage.

"Well... To be truthful, I kind of got the position as a fluke as none of the previous candidates behaved well enough to earn it. Heck, I hadn't even been in the Soul Society for long and I was given the position as soon as I entered the room. Heck, they didn't even seem to care that I wasn't a member of their forces, they asked me something, I answered, and I got the position." Naruto admits, recalling his first day within the Soul Society.

"Although they did threaten that if I didn't do a good job, I would be splendidly executed. Must be doing something right, cause I haven't yet, eh?" Naruto adds with a grin.

About half a second later, twin wet pops occur, signaling the arrival of lieutenant Yachiru and lieutenant Nemu. "Naru-chan! Are you alright?" Yachiru asks while lieutenant Nemu studies the blond captain for a few seconds before eyeing the group of nine.

"I'm fine Chi-chan!" Naruto says as Yachiru tackles him a bit. "Nice to see you, lieutenant Nemu."

"My apologies, captain Uzumaki for our delay. One of us kept going the wrong way." Lieutenant Nemu states. "Shall I take care of them? I believe that is the saying I am looking for."

"I appreciate the sentiment but please don't. I'm pretty sure I know why they summoned me." The blond Jinchuriki explains, not that it causes the tension among the jonin to subside, especially considering the way the non-pink haired girl eyes them, those eyes were very emotionless.

"Lieutenant Nemu, lieutenant Yachiru, met the fifth Hokage Tsunade Senji and Jiraiya. Tsunade, Jiraiya met lieutenant Nemu of twelfth division and lieutenant Yachiru of eleventh division." Naruto introduces the four.

"How about them? Aren't you going to introduce them?" Yachiru asks the blond, who replies, "Well, for starters, I don't think I ever got introduced to them. I was only a genin for about six months before I ended up becoming the captain of fifth division."

"So this is your home dimension." Lieutenant Nemu states, it wasn't a question as such but Naruto nods while Yachiru says excitedly, "So you'll get to give me that tour of your old home after all!"

"I could, couldn't I?" Naruto muses as he regards his younger looking friend.

I Shall End it Here


	84. Wandering Leaf 2: Naruto

I don't own **Naruto** or **Pern**

**- o 0 o -**

_Thank you Yuuki._ He thinks to the little brown, scratching the strange beast's eyebrow. Yuuki hums softly with half closed eyes, the bell the brown had snatched for him is in his other hand.

Suddenly the alarm rings out, startling Yuuki and him. The little brown colored flier lets out a squawk while the red and yellow swirl rapidly about within Yuuki's eyes. Yuuki takes to the air, allowing him to get off of his branch. He drops to the ground and sprints towards the three logs while Yuuki follows after instead of popping to the site.

He arrives to find Kakashi waiting for him. He manages to display his bell and the silver haired man checks his belt before sighing and studying pinkie and broody. He sits on one of the logs, Yuuki comes gliding towards him and landing upon his left shoulder.

"What?" He asks the three as they continue to stare at him. "Yea, Yuuki flies, why else would he have wings? And, yea, he's a he." He adds, those labs had check to make sure for him on that one technological utopia. He didn't have a copy of their findings concerning his little friend, but he's sure that if he asked, he could review it.

He hadn't spent all that time in their libraries for nothing after all. He might not know as much as those that attend those schools upon that world but he tries to at least have a general understanding of every subject they sport. He's pretty sure that the device that he uses to travel from world to world could have been created upon that particular world if not for the fact that he couldn't find any reports of them making contact with another dimension; the most he found had to with some probes exploring the nearest star systems or experiments on terraforming experiments being carried out on a few worlds that were just starting to cradle life or whom's atmosphere was decaying.

Finally the tension is broken when Kakashi pounces upon Sasuke and ties broody to the second log, causing Yuuki chirp in surprise. He feels his little friend relax, it seems that Yuuki isn't fond of the Uchiha. He just watches as Sakura exclaims at this particular action, demanding that the jonin untie broody, which causes Yuuki to tense up once more while Yuuki makes scolding sounds and fans out his wings.

"Could you please control yourself? You're setting Yuuki off. He reacts most strongly to the emotions of others." He states at Sakura while trying to calm Yuuki down and succeeds in stopping his verbalization. He gathers the small creature in his arms, trying to get Yuuki to perch upon his shoulders as Sasuke tries to struggle out of the ropes that bind him to the log.

"Well, you all... failed!" Kakashi says and this so-called team-mate's reaction cause Yuuki to squawk, thus causing him to reinforce calm, smoothing feelings within Yuuki's mind, trying to counter whatever emotions the other two were experiencing. Kakashi seems to linger a look at him but he just rolls his eyes.

"But... but... What about Naruto? He got a bell, don't that mean he passed?" Sakura asks, clearly grasping at straws if she's involving him in her argument.

"Oh please, like I really expected to be placed upon a genin team when my entire generation has been told to have nothing to do with me. Genin teams are expected to have some teamwork skills and cause of their parents and pretty much ever adult hates me, they pick up on it and mimic their treatment of me, which is worst then dirt." He says, noticing how Kakashi winces slightly. "Which is why I already had the Third sing this!" He adds and takes out a slightly worn scroll.

"The old man and me made a deal when I failed my first time. This document here allows me to by pass as it places me in the list of reserves automatically upon graduation. Not sure if the old man recalls our deal or not..." He muses, not that it matters as he's got plenty of copies of this scroll.

"May I?" Kakashi asks and he tosses it to the man. Broody seems to recover from his shock, within seconds, Sasuke scowls and glares in his direction.

"How did a Dobe like get the Hokage to sign something like that?" Broody asks and he sends a bemused look towards the other boy, one that says, 'like I'd tell you.' This causes the Uchiha to narrow his eyes at him before glancing away.

"This seems to be in order." Kakashi admits and the jonin begins to re-roll the scroll. "You know this means you could have just by passed this exercise." The man adds.

"I could but, well, to be truthful, I was hoping to end up with some other kids, like Hinata or Shikamaru since they seem rather open minded to getting to know me as a person then just follow along with other people's views concerning me. Just ill luck that I got paired with these two narrow minded brats who can't seem to see beyond their noses." He explains as he catches the scroll.

Sakura seems to chose that time to remind everyone that she's there by shouting, "Naruto you... you baka!" Yuuki let's out a surprised cry while Sakura charges at him but as she tries to leap to punch him, falls forward and bangs her head upon the log, falling onto her back in a daze.

"She was never good at the practical." He says to Kakashi. "She likely skipped out on dinner last night too for that 'diet' of her's." He scoffs, he didn't see why any of their female counter parts would diet when just training beyond the academy would help keep themselves in good shape.

Kakashi seems to sigh and shake his head. "Well, congratulations upon being on the reserve list then, Naruto. The bentos are over by the monument stone there. Just cut Sasuke loose after you've eaten one." The jonin says and then poofs away, leaving Yuuki and him alone with broody and Pinkie.

"So... you want the second one, Yuuki?" He asks the little brown as he stands up. Yuuki's eyes begin to whirl a bit and he feels Yuuki grow a bit hungry, he just chuckles before leap frogging upon the other two logs to get to the bentos.

After all, if pinkie doesn't care about her own well being, why the heck should he?

- ] ] )

"How come you are still a genin when Saskue-kun isn't?" Ino demands as he gets ready to throw a kunai at this falling leaf. He glances at his fellow genin and is very glad that Yuuki is resting back at his apartment since he just knew the sensitive brown flier would be reacting to Ino's annoyance and likely 'righteous' anger.

"Haven't you spoken with Sakrua about this? I mean, she was right there when I explained it all." He says, pocketing the kunai he is holding. "I get why you wouldn't ask Sasuke, it's a very sore subject for him after all. It wasn't as though fighting me would have allowed him to keep the rank, but I'm sure it would have help smooth his battered ego." He adds as he turns towards the fuming blond girl.

He spots a few of the others who graduated walking out onto the meadow where he's killing time by practicing his aim. He was just trying to decide on how to celebrate him pulling a fast one on the whole village by finding a way around their block on him becoming a genin. _I wonder what kind of rumors they heard concerning my pass._

"You haven't answered the question!" The mind walker snaps at him. He glances over at the other blond, noting the placement of her hands upon her hips. He gives the fan girl a bemused look.

"I really don't see how this is any of your business, Ino. It's something the old man and I set up back when I first failed to pass the genin exam." He informs Ino after returning his attention to her. "So, please, don't bug me endlessly about it."

With that said, he turns to greet the incoming group. He did wonder if Ino will let it die, but figures that it doesn't matter since come evening, Yuuki and him will be spending time in another dimension. He still had a lot of jutsus to learn and to prefect, he hadn't spent any real time reading his newly acquired ninja library.

It wasn't as though he had any real need to read all of it before the secret, second genin exam. Not with that deal the old man and him made. After all, those pranks he pulled after failing that one time still seem to linger about the villages. The hot springs are finally open during the evening now that they found that hidden tunnel that had been loaded with a hundred and seven-one unused stink bombs connected to a timer.

_Still not sure if giving up on pulling pranks was worth getting automatically onto the reserve list upon become a genin... Ah well, time will tell._ He thinks as the other five return his greeting. _Might be a good idea to spend more then five or six days in Hidden Leaf between spending a few decades in another dimension..._ He adds, it always feels surreal being back in Hidden Leaf after spending so much time else where.

- ] ] )

With Yuuki perched upon his shoulder, he begins to walk through the jungle with the sun slowly breaking the horizon. He feels Yuuki's tail tighten around his neck and feels how alert the little brown as the little guy's emotions insert themselves within his mind, causing him to feel on edge as well. They haven't visited this world before so they didn't know what to expect.

There are five worlds that he had listed as too dangerous to visit, seven worlds they visit regularly, and eleven worlds that were safe enough but just don't sport the same appeal as those they typically visit; the world where he befriended Yuuki falls into that group.

He jumps as he steps upon something that moves. He manages to watch as something sporting feathers darts into a fern. Yuuki coos into his ear, he feels the little brown's head rubbing against his cheek as he takes a series of deep, calming breaths.

He carefully crouches down and examines the ground a bit, particularly the trail of fresh tracks that remind him slightly of a bird's. He found a few older set of tracks that might belong to something the size of a medium size dog. He assumes that whatever made those walked upon four legs as well.

He straightens and decides to have Yuuki scout around. He feels Yuuki grow excited at this and with a happy chirp, Yuuki takes to the air. The little brown circles overhead before shooting off to his left.

With a shrug, he continues forward after unbuttoning his weapon pouch strapped to his right hip. He didn't want to be struggling with it while under attack. His clones were busy setting up camp upon that hill they arrived upon. He plans to spend the minimum of a week here, upon this world. He had samples to gather and species to document, he plans to use a camera for the latter and maybe even use a recorder to capture feeding habits, be they grazing or hunting.

He glances up just in time to watch a squirrel like creature sail through the space between tree trunks. A large thick green stripe seems to be upon the four armed creature's back and tail. The beast gets its claws into the bark and begins to climb up the trunk. A few more appear in the wake of the first and soon, up in the branches of that tree, the troop of small alien creatures begin to eat the seed pads that were hanging there.

He walks pass the tree, there were likely more impressive beasts to encounter upon the ground. _Although, it's good to know that it's not like any of the previous worlds Yuuki and I have visited._ He admits as he pauses a few feet from that tree to take a sample of a flowering bush sporting royal purple flowers and dark red spine leaves.

Once that's collected, he continues on his way. He continues to take samples of local vegetation and fungi. Yuuki comes chirping towards him while carrying something in his claws. The little brown radiates satisfaction and self importance while flying towards him.

When Yuuki comes into view, he finds that Yuuki is carrying what appears to be an amphibian, like a salamander only with six extra limbs, he uses the term limbs since the front pair seem to be really thin and sporting webbing between the four fingers. The wiggling, slimy amphibian is about two inches long from snout to tail tip.

He takes out a small carrying tank and drops the brightly colored amphibian into it. Yuuki had already vanished upon dropping off the small critter. "Let's see if I can't find you some native water..." He muses softly at the neon pink amphibian with bright green spots.

He carries the container using the handle, he rather not put the tank away since out of sight is out of mind. Not that it stops him from stopping every so often to continue to gather samples. He finally finds a pond under a rather large, flat rock. He spots a few other amphibians within the pond, three at least seems to share the pink one's body shape and front arms.

He tilts the small tank a bit after opening the vent. He closes the vent after an inch of water is within the tank. He pulls the small tank and watches as the critter swims a bit in the water, the little beastie doesn't seem to be in any discomfort and he then wipes the tank down before putting it back into his bag.

After making it to a open field of ferns, he changes his direction so that he won't have far to go to return to camp. Although before leaving the edge of the field, he stops for a snack. After becoming still, the native wildlife finally come out of their hiding spots to feed about the field. He had noticed the lack of flowering plants during his wanderings and thought about it while eating a bland ration bar since he didn't want to attract anything by eating smoked fish or meat jerky.

- ] ] )

He scratches the side of his head as he stares down at a file concerning creating a large research base and ranch as it were, to do in depth studies of the various life forms that were native to this island. From what little Yuuki, his clones, and himself have found, this island use to sport a gene lab, the building is now an over grown ruin, and that there is an energy shield surrounding this island and a few kilomiles of water.

All of the creatures and plant life had most likely been genetic experiments that got loose in someway. He could only assume that whatever drove the scientists off have either died off or went underground as he found few large land predators and loads of underground tunnels, likely been a sewer system and private escape tunnels at one point.

He sighs, he didn't feel up to requesting or stealing the needed tech to create such a research base. He'll take his samples and drop them off at his favorite technological world so they can enjoy studying the altered genes and speculate what those long gone researchers had been trying to create.

_And maybe, before heading back to Leaf, we'll visit Yuuki's homeworld._ He thinks as he puts the sheets into a file as he swirls a glass of soda before drinking from it. _Either that or spend a few decades on vacation..._

To Be Continued... Maybe...


	85. The Escape: Naruto

I don't own Naruto!

**- o 0 o -**

He hurried back to the apartment, dawn still just an hour away. His crimson bangs fall over his emerald eyes when he stops by the fence. He pushes his long bangs from his face, he's tenses, expecting to be catch any minute now.

But yet again, his new moon walk about goes undiscovered. He pushes a fence board and enters upon the grounds of the apartment building. He can feel his current body wish to release itself and re-entered into the well crafted mask, a shell constructed to hide the fact that he was up and about the town.

He sighs, he wants to enjoy these nights of freedom. He loves the fact that nobody bothers him, nobody knows him, most importantly nobody is judging him by what they've heard, only by his actions. He glances mournfully off into the distance, almost wishing that this night wouldn't end, that the sun won't raise, bringing a new day along with it.

_Well, until next month._ He thinks as he touches a faded symbol and suddenly, he's rushing upwards and then into the chakra shell. As his body reforms, the shell breaks apart and falls away, his appearance once more that of his birth form.

He sighs as he sits up and without thinking, creates a clone to pick up those discarded cloths that he had worn during his night wanders. He heads for his bathroom to have a shower. _Nice to have a clone pick up those discarded cloths instead of doing it myself._ He muses.

"I wonder what missions we're going to do today?" He wonders out loud as steps into the show.

**Wave**

As he walks down the silent streets, passing over or by the occasional drunk, he finally finds the bar from where these mercenaries wandered away from. He isn't concerned about being questioned about his age since tonight, he looks more then a decade older then he actually is. Nobody looks over to the door upon him entering the bar, likely cause these guys already had such a head start in getting themselves plastered.

_Kind of surprising that there aren't more bars in town considering how crowded this place seems to be._ He thinks as he moves to the counter looking for a free seat. _I wonder what kind of deal the owner has with Gato considering how much liquor this place must go through at night._

He finds a nice enough spot in a corner, the problem is that it seems as though there is a patch of dry something upon the ground. His nose wrinkles at the smell upon his approach. Taking a few seconds to study the site, he decides he's better off trying to enter into one of the on going games then sitting upon that stool or in that area.

As he finds a table that has a few free seats, he becomes aware of somebody moving to that previously mentioned spot and... well, enough said.

"You got cash?" Burn-face asks him and he takes out a few bills, more then a little glad that he managed to get a few bills from other countries. The 'banker' takes the small wad of bills and after counting it, gives him his chips.

As the game begins, a glass seemingly appears out of no-where by his right hand. He takes a small sip from the glass, he resists the urge to make a face, so instead, he pushes strains of his currently black hair behind his slightly notched ear. He studies the cards as he sips from the glass once more before lowering it; his eyes remain blue, just a different shade.

None of the current players at this table seem to be a talkative bunch, much to his relief since it means he won't have to worry overly about keeping track of his lies. Not that he expects anyone to try pumping him for information, after all, these were mercenaries and each have something that they're hiding. _Just a step up from bandits really._

Over the course of about three hours, he drank three glasses of questionable liquor and won small pots, making sure to lose the majority of the major ones. He rather not be accused of cheating.

"Alright, it's closing time! Get out or I'll alert your boss." A rather threatening one arm man, the owner more then likely, snaps.

Minutes later he's out on the streets with a bit fuller wallet. He follows the swarm of mercenaries, curious as to where they're all bunking. He listens to what little snips of conversation the wind carries to him, which isn't much as most of them were tired and more then willing to fall asleep walking through the streets.

Strangely, nobody seems to check to see if he's even employed by Gato as he enters the barrack. Most guards seem to be busy napping, drinking or gambling with dice.

"You'd think somebody would be watching the warehouses. After all, didn't that bridge builder hire ninja?" He muses after joining one of those dice games.

This was met with snorts and dismissals. "Who'd be stupid enough to steal from the boss? He's got connections and can always hire ninja to kill the thieves. You should have been here when Spider got found out. Nasty business, that." One of the players states and he couldn't help but wonder what kind of connections this Gato had.

He mills around the barrack, slowly probing for more information. By the time he's heading back to his shell, he's got a roughly good idea of why he should clean out those warehouses. _The problem is what to do with the stuff after I steal it._ He decides, although he loathes that he used his free night in such away, it seems as though there wasn't much of a night life here in Wave.

_Makes sense though. Hidden Leaf is a ninja village so we get all kinds of people living it up at odd hours of the day and night. Guess I'll have to remember that for other missions to other cities._ He muses before finding a spot close enough to the client's place.

Two Days Later . . .

"Gato's warehouses have vanished!" Sakura exclaims upon recovering from her dash from the village to where Sasuke and him were training. "So have all the ships still anchored by the harbor." The pink haired genin adds.

"Really?" He asks in alarm. He hadn't expected his clones to go that far...

"Hn." Is all Sasuke says before the typically brooding heir of the Uchiha clan continues on with the tree exercise. He notices how Sakura becomes disappointed by the Uchiha's reaction.

"I wonder what Kakashi-sensei has to say about this disappearance..." He wonders in a thinking pose. "Hey! Maybe we can go investigate!" He says has he gently punches his left hand using his right.

"Naruto! You haven't even finished this training! How can yo even think you're capable of investigating this?" Sakura bellows loudly as he's sent flying through the air upon pinkie punching him in the face.

_Well, I offered. Who knew that duplicating that storage seal on one of Sasuke's scrolls would be powerful enough to capture whole ship or warehouse... Must be the strings the clones attached between the target and the seal._ He thinks as he hits a tree trunk.

"God, Naruto! You're so useless!" Sakura snaps as she stomps away as he sits up. He watches as the weakest member of the team vanishes from his sight.

_Is it so surprising that Sasuke prefers to remain single? Girls are so violent outside of combat._ He thinks as he rubs the spot where Sakura had punched him.

_Wonder how long she'll cling to that delusion..._ He muses as he gets up off the ground. He knows why he's having so much trouble with this training and why Sakura had mastered it within seconds.

_She's got so little chakra, is it any wonder that she has such control over it? She'd be better off as a medic or behind a desk then out in the field. She's just doesn't do any training without having to be asked to do it._ He thinks as his healing factor kicks in, causing the aches of his body to vanish so he can get up off the ground.

"She wouldn't last a second in a fight with me." He mutters softly as he glances over towards Sasuke. "Him on the other hand..." He muses, grinning as he imagines how stunned the heir of the Uchiha's would be if he ever took their spars seriously.

With a soft snort, he walks over and picks up his kunai from the ground before continuing with his training. It really surprises him that so many people are dumb enough to think he's physically weak, its not like he has anything to do in his spare time to do much else other then pranking or training. _And now that I'm a genin..._

He smirks, he knows that everyone thinks he's stopped pulling pranks but he's still pulling a major one once a night each month. _I wonder if I can successfully fake my death? It shouldn't be too hard considering that one jutsu I preform monthly._

**Tanzaku Town**

_I wonder if Jiraiya has noticed anything odd with my shell..._ He thinks as he walks through the crowded casino. He's not sure if he'll encounter Tsunade in this place but he's confident that if he does, the old hag wouldn't recognize his current appearance.

His appearance is about seventeen maybe nineteen years of age. Long crimson hair and silvery blue eyes. More then a few eyes seem to linger upon him, likely due to how nice looking he appears.

_And yet I never try to appear good looking when I preform this jutsu, it's just how it happens. I wonder if its a side affect of that jutsu? Only way to find out would be to teach it to somebody else._ He thinks as he moves his bangs from his forehead. He scowls at the very idea of sharing that jutsu with anyone.

He finally just stops at a machine and begins to insert a few coins before pulling the arm. He blinks as the machine pays out. He just stares down at the pay out for a few seconds before clearing out the pay out and inserting more coins into the machine.

Minutes later, it seems as though he hit the mega jackpot upon the machine. "Move it along. We are here to check the machine for tampering." A pair of security guards inform him upon him taking the jackpot.

He just shrugs and walks away from the machine. He comes to a more colorful machine and inserts a few coins into it. About his third time playing the machine, he hits the mega jackpot. "This is pretty easy." He muses as he collects his winnings before moving away from the machine.

By the fifth machine, a group of security guards advised him to try one of the poker tables or dice games. He just shrugs and wanders towards one of the blackjack tables upon switching to chips. He hadn't even spend an hour before he was approached and asked to vacate the building.

He walks out of that first casino with all of his winnings in cash. "Are they allowed to do that?" He wonders as he walks away from the building with a slight frown.

"Excuse me, but my friend wants to know if you wouldn't mind joining us for a drink or two." A sandy haired blond says to him after making a slight throat sound. He glances beyond the blond to her brunet friend who waves slightly at him.

"Why not. Just as long as I'm back by dawn nobody should notice my absence." He tells the blond, the young woman smiles in relief at his answer.

"Great! We know just the place!" The blond says and he follows after her.

Next Day

He finally just sighs and sits down, he found himself unable to concentrate on mastering the Rasengan. _I can't believe those two and I... Damn it!_ He feels his face heat up as memories of last night's activities mentally play out.

"This just isn't going to go away, is it?" He groans as he sighs. He really wanted to master this attack if simply because it'll help him out in battle.

_And if Tsunade doesn't take the position, I know a certain blond who's going to die a fiery death._ He thinks to himself. He's kind of confident that he can find another line of work upon faking his death, after all, he is still young enough to learn a different trade and he does know how to create shadow clones too.

_But still, I was hoping to have some time to get things in order..._ He thinks to himself. _The sooner I disappear, the longer it will take for anyone to find me._ He adds.

_With that group after the fox, its only a matter of time before the council of Hidden Leaf betrays me thinking they're saving their own skin when they're just giving their enemy what they want, the power of a demon._ He thinks, he gets that the Third had tried to protect him but that there was only so much the old man could do when the whole village wants an scapegoat.

_If I'm going to kill myself, I might as well do it beyond the village as in, that way I have a greater chance at escaping._ He thinks, although thoughts of his friends float up to his mind's eye. He frowns as he wonders why he'll miss the other rookies, after all, they have had years to be friend him and now that he has proven himself to be strong, they seem to be friendly with him, which causes him to wonder if they were fair weather friends.

He'll regret not getting to know Lee better, after all, that teen's drive wasn't all that different then his own. _Funny, I can count on a single hand how many people I'll truly miss seeing._ He thinks to himself.

_But I won't live in a village ruled by somebody who hates my guts or wants to use me as a weapon. I have a right to live my life as I see fit, the only reason I became a ninja was to learn how to protect myself and maybe win the respect of the villagers._ He thinks. _But that won't happen, after all, the majority of the village knows how seals work but if they're willing to be idiots in that regard, then they'll always be idiots because they want to be idiots._

"Naruto, can I speak with you about something?" Tsunade's aid asks him, causing him to snap out of his thoughts. He's glad that he's long since gotten out of the habit of talking out loud concerning his thoughts.

"Sure!" He chirps happily as he stands up with a wide grin.

**Hidden Leaf**

He watches as his apartment building burns, his shell should be found bound with wire about its wrists. He can only hope that those investigating will believe that he died in that fire. _And, of course, nobody is really trying to put it out._

Just hours ago it was confirmed that Tsunade was in a coma. He didn't care to know the details or to learn who's to replace her. He just knew that the time had come to put his plan into action.

_I wonder how long it'll take for the Akatsuki to hear about this? I mean, they must still have spies in this village._ He thinks to himself as another person offers up a toast concerning the death of the fox brat.

He mingles with the crowd for a bit before leaving, heading for a bar. It wouldn't surprise him to find the bars of Hidden Leaf overflowing with people celebrating his apparent demise. He wonders if the group of traders he's leaving with will be allowed to leave tomorrow or that they'll have to wait a few days until the investigation is closed.

_Either way, I'm leaving this village far, far behind. It's time these people wake up and face the world without having a scapegoat to rag on when the world deals them with a bad hand._ He thinks to himself.

**The End**


	86. Alternate Memory Blank: Danny Phantom

**I don't own Danny Phantom!**

- o 0 o -

"Some trickster you're turning out to be." Taiyou muses as the silver furred, four tailed humanoid fox walks around the shallow pit he had first dug and filled with tar. A few feathers continue to snow down from the hidden perch.

"Well excuse me for not being a Kitsune." Young teenager who's name is Akio. Within seconds, the tar and feathers fall from Akio and the intangible child steps out of the shallow pit before returning to normal.

The child runs a hand through his black hair while the other hand adjust the simple light blue vest. Akio taps the tip of his sandals in turn before glancing at Taiyou. Blue eyes glare over at the grinning Kitsune.

"Anyway, it's time for weapon training." The four tailed Kitune informs the young teen. "Which you really need considering you're not a ghost."

"I thought Riko was off hunting for a boyfriend." Akio responds with a frown. "So she's back early and is likely in a bad mood." The human boy says with a sigh and Taiyou doesn't respond, only adds teeth to his grin.

"Great, I'm so going to be sore tomorrow..." Akio mutters as he heads for the closest concealed entrance that will lead him into the underground caverns, thus the underground city that the Kitsune have created. "I'll just have to get back to you sometime next week." The teen adds as he walks pass Taiyou.

**Sam**

She glances down the hallway pass Tucker, expecting Danny to show up any minute. "Hey Tucker, seen Danny anywhere?" She asks upon approaching the teenage boy who seems to be trying out a new look.

"Eh? Danny? Who's Danny?" Tucker asks as her friend closes his locker after putting books into a green book bag.

"Who's Danny? You know, Danny Fenton, the third member of our group." She says to the hippie looking techno geek sporting a tie dye long sleeve shirt, cargo pants, and runners.

"Fenton? As in the ghost hunters?" Tucker asks her and she nods. "Is he a visiting cousin of Jazz's?" Tucker asks.

"No, I mean as in Jazz's younger brother." She replies. "You really don't know who I'm talking about." She says after a few seconds up staring at her friend and Tucker just nods.

Suddenly something happens next a few lockers down concerning a group of nerds and jocks. Desiree appears out of the vents and suddenly, one of those nerds within the locker gets hit by a beam of energy from the wish granting ghost. The nerd becomes a wolf like ghost being and shoves the jocks into the now vacated locker, the door of the locker gets slammed shut and the nerd returns to normal.

"I see you're boyfriend isn't around. Must have been that wish you made." Desiree says after looking about for Danny and floating towards Tucker and her, although Tucker seems to have fainted standing upright.

"He's not my boyfriend." She says automatically as Tucker seems to fall upon her after a few seconds. Gravity seems to finally deals with the fainted techno-geek.

"Well, this is certainly better then what I had hoped for when I granted your wish. I'll be seeing you around." Desiree says before vanishing in a cloud of green mist.

"Wish? What wish?" She wonders as she rolls Tucker off of her. "Wait... Oh no!" She exclaims as it dawns on her what wish the ghost was talking about. She's rather pale when her remaining friend comes too.

_Oh no, what did I do? And more importantly, what has happened to Danny?_ She wonders as she moves to stand up as teachers and students slowly come out onto the hallway.

Her mind still can't grasp the idea that because of her stupid wish, a friend of her's might not exist.

At The Party

"I'm not too sure about this..." Jazz says as the newly ghostly teen hovers while Desiree continues to grant wishes from the party below. It hadn't been her intent to have Jazz go through the portal to gain ghost powers but they had needed to convince Jazz to let them into the house since without Danny around, there wasn't any reason for kids younger then Jazz to be in the house.

She watches as Jazz tries to fire off an energy beam at the giant Desiree, only it for it to erupt from her glowing teal eyes. "That works too." She muses while Tucker races by her while being chased by an advance looking motorbike, she's fairly confident that it likely came from some game.

_At least is wasn't one of those SUVs._ She thinks as she struggles a bit more upon sighting various monsters suddenly popping into existence all around them. "I wish I never fought with Danny..." She mutters softly as Jazz continues to fight Desiree with growing ease.

"She's good, but she doesn't have Danny's experience." She reflects before something occurs to her. "I really hope this works..."

She takes a deep breath and shouts as loud as she can, "I wish Danny, Jazz's brother was here, ready to combat you!" Desiree waves her hand, granting that wish, only to realize what she had wish.

Within seconds, a soft pop happens and a few feet from her stands somebody who seems the right age to be Danny but also clearly wasn't. The ponytail teen glances around in alarm, giving her a glimpse of his face.

_"What's going on? How did I get here?"_ The teen says in what appears to be gibberish, the ghostly sword about Danny's waist is drawn.

"Danny?" Jazz exclaims, momentarily distracted. This allows Desiree to swat the distracted young woman aside while the ghost laughs.

"Oh this is priceless!" Desiree says, pointing a finger at the sword welding teen who's wearing blue vest, white pants, and wooden sandals. Each bit seems to glow with ghostly power, just not as strongly as the sword.

_"I don't know where I am or who you are, but I won't run away from a fight!"_ Danny shouts, she watches as the teen that seems to be her vanished friend grips the hilt of the sword with both hands. Danny then charges forward.

"Danny! Wait! Damn it, I wish Desiree would just go back to the Ghost Zone!" She shouts and Desiree seems to pale before vanishing.

_Ah crap, why didn't I think to wish she'd reverse all of the wishes she granted before?_ She thinks as Danny seems to get into a fight with another bunch of evil plants.

**Akio**

He watches passively as more of the ghostly beings vanish into this metal gadget that is welded by a young woman with pale blue hair, teal eyes, and wearing a black suit with white bands, boots, and gloves. He glances up at the sky, he's heard of stars but haven't had the privilege of witnessing them.

His few excursions out into the human world had always been during the day and only for a few hours at a time. And always, ALWAYS in the company of a Kitsune, who's usually disguised to appear human. He also usually wore a set of human cloths instead of what he typically wears.

Considering Kitsune don't need to wear cloths, he tends to wear as little as he can get away with. It's why he's usually wearing a vest instead of a shirt and sandals instead of socks and boots or runners. The only reason he doesn't wear shorts is that he thought he looked rather like a doofus when he does.

_How did they manage to defeat that giantess? All that girl did was shout at that ghost._ He thinks to himself as he studies the black wearing girl as the girl moves to the still remaining ghost's side. Then, suddenly, the ghost develops this ring that seems to transform the ghost into a human woman.

"You'd think I'd be use to seeing something like that." He muses out loud. He tries his hardest to pick up the subtle clues that show the young woman's true nature.

_"Danny? Are you ok?"_ The girl in black asks him. He frowns, it seems that where ever he was, he wasn't in the part of the world that speaks the language he was raised to understand.

Thus why he gave the other teen a blank look. _"So this is the famous Danny you've been talking about? No wonder you'd want him back."_ The colorfully dressed boy says.

_"I wasn't expecting him to be like this!"_ The black wearing teen says while the red head seems to be tearing up just by looking at him while the two that appear his age seem to bicker between themselves.

The red head approaches him carefully and he rubs the back of his neck, not sure what the young woman want's of him. All he could think about as the red head stands about a foot from him was, _Why does it feel like I'm missing something here? Got to be really important concerning the look in her eyes._

Week Later

He silently curses how none of the Kitsune have yet to show up to collect him. He knows how possessive they were and it shouldn't take them this long to collect him. So not only has he spent close to six days in a land that does a really good job at butchering his language, but then, he's likely butchering their language in turn as the three of them try and teach him their Engish.

He watches as his blood sister, Jazz, reads from a book that seems to be an Engish to Japanese dictionary. He's kind of curious as to what she wants to talk about if she's brought that book out while he's watching anime DVDs that Tucker lent so he wouldn't be bored.

"Eat... fishcake... noontide?" He thinks Jazz asks. He frowns as he considers this.

"Lunch?" He asks and sounds it out a few times as Jazz flips through the book while repeating lunch under her breath.

Jazz nods enthusiastically. "_Yes!_ Lunch!" Jazz says.

_"Take-out?"_ He asks, he thinks that's what food delivery is called here. Jazz seems to consider this before nodding.

Then as Jazz is about to get up, blue mist escapes out of Jazz's mouth, signaling that there is a ghost around. "Akio!" He snaps his head toward the front door just in time to watch as a very hyperactive Uta suddenly appears and tackles him.

"Uta!" He cries out in surprise, happy to see the young Kitsune. "Where did you come from?" He asks the young child Kitsune who's tail is still just a small stub.

"Uta? _You know her?_" Jazz asks, although his blood sister is talking a bit too quickly, he can guess what she said.

_"Of course he does! He's my_ elder brother!_"_ Uta says and he perks upon hearing Uta speak Engish.

"You know Engish?" He asks the young kit and Uta nods. "Of course! And it's English." His adopted sister says.

"I'm more your younger brother then elder." He reminds the fifty year old Kitsune. "I'm only fifteen."

"But you're a human teen! I'm still a kit, a child." Uta points out and he just sighs, it doesn't help to make his point when he is physically taller and closer to human adult hood then Uta is to Kitsune teenage years, which are usually come about at a hundred years.

"Elder brother?" Jazz asks and Uta nods. _"He's my adopted brother. I'm Kitsune Uta by the way. Or should that be Uta Spirit Fox?"_ Uta says as the young kit remains upon his lap while speaking with Jazz.

_"Ghosts adopted Danny?"_ Jazz states. Jazz seems more then a little stunned by Uta or by the fact that Kitsune raised him.

_"Danny? Oh, I take it that's his name before he was adopted. I think I prefer Akio better."_ Uta says. _"And if you don't mind, what's your name? I did introduce myself, it's only fair you do the same."_

_"Jazmine Fenton. Most people call me Jazz."_ Jazz says and he decides that Jazz just introduced herself since he heard the name Jazz and Fenton in that statement.

_At least now there's somebody to act as translator for us._ He thinks brightly as he returns to watching the DVD while his two sister chat in English.

**Jazz**

It had taken a full two months to track down Desiree, the wish granting ghost, so they can at least try to return things to normal, although she wouldn't mind staying half-ghost. As much as it annoys her, she has grown into the role of protector of Amity Park.

And so upon finding Desiree the following wish is made by, surprisingly enough, Uta. "I wish that Sam's wish concerning Danny will be reverse and that we five and the Kitsune race will be the only ones to keep our memories and any new skills learnt because of the wish!"

"And so you have wished it, so it shall be." Desiree says and the world around them seem to be engulfed in light.

When her sight returns, she finds herself in the living room with Danny, Sam, and Tucker. Uta didn't seem to be around, which was kind of nice since the young Kitsune did enjoy pranking a little too much but also found she missed Uta since the little brat had grown on her.

"It's like I was hit over the head with a shovel." Danny complains in perfect English. She does sympathize with that statement as she also feels like she was hit, hit hard, with something.

Before any of them know it, they were engaging in a group hug. "It's good to have you back, little brother." She says.

"It's nice to be back. Although I am going to miss having an excuse to not go to school." Danny replies.

"So, who's up for Nasty Burger?" Tucker asks. "Although before we go, I really need to change my cloths. I can't believe I was dressing as a hippie from the seventies... Talk about uncool."

**The End**


	87. Animorphs with Anime Characters

**I don't own Animorphs or assorted anime character that appear!**

- o 0 o -

**Cassie**

Daze finally lets up and with surprising familiarity, she glances up at the sky just in time to spot Elfangor's ship comes down to earth. "And so it begins!" She hears Rachel say before her best friend takes off running towards the crash site.

Within seconds, she's following Rachel at a slow run. _Nothing ever changes..._ She thinks they enter into the construction site.

**Ranma**

He glances around the group to find two very familiar faces, Ichigo and Naruto. Naruto looks bewildered while Ichigo seems to be curious about where they are. Before either of three of them could say anything to each other, one of the girls they are with says before running off into what looks to be an old construction site, "And so it begins!"

The second one soon follows after the first and with a grin, Naruto takes off after the two. Ichigo sighs and together they follow the hyperactive blond who's following the two girls. He's a bit surprised to see an alien space ship landing within the site and feels a sense of dread mounting up within him.

"Wow, a real live space ship. How cool is that, Cassie?" The first girl declares loudly and he can tell that the girl is faking it, but it seems that it works well enough cause this causes somebody within the ship to respond.

The space ship comes to rest not that far from them within seconds of them entering into this site. "Look at that, it looks like a tail." Ichigo says very softly, it seems that neither of the two strange girls.

"Hello?" The seemingly bolder girl exclaims at the ship. They continue towards the ship, although when the two girls stop, Ichigo and Naruto stop as well, although he moves to stand a bit before those two.

Don't be afraid. I will not harm you. Is said within his head after a few seconds of landing.

"Wow." Naruto mutters and seems to startle the two girls as they glance their way. "Yo!" The bright haired blond says with a wide grin.

"What... But... Huh?" The yet to be named girl stutters out, clearly not knowing what to say concerning their appearance in the group instead of their usually member.

"How about we discuss this later, ok? I think we got something more important to do now." He says smoothly.

"Agreed." Cassie says quickly and sends a look to the not so brightly colored blond girl. The first blinks before finally nodding.

"Hey in there! Is this encounter going to be broadcasted or what?" The loud blond calls out and he resists the urge to palm his face at how blunt Naruto is.

I'm afraid that this meeting will not be broadcast. It would cause you and your friends to become captured before the night is out I'm afraid. The alien explains and then a door appears to reveal a blue furred centaur alien.

"You're worst then Marco." The still unnamed girl hisses as they approach the ship. _I seriously doubt that._ He thinks before the alien collapses by the end of the ramp.

"You ok?" Naruto asks in alarm, it seems as though the blond hadn't realize just how injured the alien was. "You're not dying on us, are you?"

I'm afraid that I can't deny that statement. The alien admits, the voice was rather softly and filled with sorrow. He tries to access his Ki and found that, for now, his usual abilities seem to be unavailable.

He sends a questioning look over to Ichigo and the vizard shakes his head. Naruto's already kneeling by the alien's side, he can only imagine the look upon the blond's face. _We've been here for barely an half hour and he's already emotionally attached to the new arrival._ He reflects.

**Rachel**

She couldn't help but glance between the three strangers with Cassie and herself. The bright blond has to be a bottle blond since she's has yet to met somebody with such bright colored hair, to the orange haired guy who might be another dye job, and finally upon the slightly cute one sporting a pigtail.

_I wonder what the Crayak has something to do with their appearance?_ She thinks. _I should have guessed something was wrong when Tobais didn't do his usually line when the ship landed..._

While she's thinking death threats concerning the Crayak, especially if the three guys were being tormented. _It's bad enough dealing with time loops, now we get to deal with a bunch of strangers trying to take over their roles? Brings to mind those few loops where we weren't the Animorphs... Those always crashed rather spectacularly._ She thinks while Elfangor explains about the invasion.

Cassie then heads into the ship to get the blue cube, sure they know the other names of it but they've grown use to their name for it. "What does this thing do?" The orange hair guy asks, speaking for the first time when Cassie gives the cube to Ax's brother.

This will allow you to become any species that you touch, to morph into them. You will acquire their DNA pattern, enabling you to become that beast for only two hours at a time. Elfangor explains. We much hurry, they are coming.

As they place their hands upon the cube, she notices a frown upon the bottle blond's face. "Can you morph?" The blond asks suddenly as Elfangor gets them to leave.

I have that ability... Elfangor says and she glances over at Cassie with wide eyes, as if this was the first they heard of this.

"Does morphing heal damage?" The pigtail asks and Elfangor admit that it does. "Then what's stopping you from morphing and coming with us?" The black haired guy asks.

_Huh... You know, why didn't we wonder about it before? I mean, we know morphing heals even fatal injuries, regrowing limbs, sometimes even whole bodies._ She thinks, she then flushes as she recalls that they usually had other things to worry about.

I might be able to. Elfangor admits hastily.

"Think about it this way, if we're to deal with these Yeerks, would we be more successful with an expert leading us? Or for us to stumble along with a very vague clue as to what's what?" The blond remarks.

_We did a fairly good job stumbling along._ She thinks with a growl, kind of offended by the blond's remarks. _Although, I'm sure Tobias would have enjoyed spending more time with his father..._

Then I shall try. Elfangor says while Ranma quotes Yoda, "Do or do not, there is no try."

Elfangor smiles and slowly, the Andalite begins to shrink while limbs later. In time, the famous war-prince becomes some kind of multi-winged bird like creature. We must hurry! Elfangor says and before Elfangor could take to the air, the blond quickly tucks the alien bird under arm and just takes off.

She doesn't have time to wonder as she follows after the three guys. Cassie follows a half a second after-wards. Nobody says anything, they just run and run. Finally the guys slow down to a quick walk.

"There we go. Sorry about that, but thought it better if you didn't fly off since they might be able to detect that." The bottle blond says while moving Elfangor from under his arm.

You have a good point but a little warning would have been nice. Elfangor says perched upon the bottle blond's arm.

"I'll remember that for next time." The blond says sincerely. "By the way, we didn't get around to doing introductions. I'm Naruto."

I am Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul. Elfangor says while she's a bit puzzled about the name since it didn't seem like something you usually name a kid. At least not in America.

"I'm Ranma and this is Ichigo." The pigtail guy says and Cassie's eyes seem to light up, it seems that her best friend knows at least one of those names.

"I'm Rachel and this is Cassie." She says when the morphed Elfangor glances towards her. She found this whole thing to be rather surreal.

"We should split up and head home before whoever they are begins to search the streets." Ichigo suggests.

"Agreed." She says before asking Elfangor, "Will you be leaving us now or will you be going home with one of us?"

I think it would be better if I left you. I'm sure we'll met again, once I've acquired a human morph. The war-prince says and with that, Elfangor takes to the air, leaving them very much alone.

"I wonder if he wants this back?" Ranma muses and she finds the guy holding the blue cube. "Likely later." Ichigo muses, although it seems as thought the loud Naruto was already heading off.

As Cassie and her head off in the same direction, she asks, "What do you know of one of them? I saw your eyes light up when Ranma introduced himself and Ichigo."

"Ranma's name is the one I recognized. He looks so much like the Ranma from Ranma 1/2." Cassie explains and adds, "In the show, Ranma's cursed to become a young girl when splashed with cold water and returns to being a guy with warm to hot water. He's also an expert martial artist and engaged to at least three girls. The show is an action comedy."

"So we're dealing with a cartoon character?" She asks and Cassie replies, "It seems that way."

**Naruto**

"You weren't kidding about your dad being a vet, huh?" He says as he moves to study a fox in one of the lower cages. _You know, this is likely the closest I've never gotten to an actual fox without it being dead._

"You know, that might be a good starter for you guys' first morph." Cassie muses and he glances over at Ichigo and Ranma. He grins a bit before standing up and leaning on one of the poles.

"Have any of us done a fox before?" Rachel wonders while Cassie seems to be studying the various animals within the cages with a critical eye. "You guys got any particular animal you want to try?"

"You got anything with wings?" He couldn't help but ask, his chakra was wind elementa so he wouldn't mind something that reminded him of it. For some odd reason, both Cassie and Rachel gave him a hard look.

"Is it something I said?" He asks and the two girls just glance at each other.

"Well, you see... The member you are filling in for, Tobias, he typically ends up trapped in a morph whenever he picks up a bird morph. It's like one of those fated things." Cassie explains and he rubs the back of his neck.

"I see." Ranma muses before the pigtailed anchor moves towards a cage containing something that might be a weasel or a stoat, he can never tell the difference, although a stoat is the one that changes their coat color. "You mind if I give this one a try?" Ranma asks, according to the two natives, Ranma is filling in for Jake, their usual leader which leaves Ichigo as Marco.

How do they know this? The pair called their houses since it seems to become a rather typical routine for the Animorphs when they begin a new loop. They had talked a bit about various rumors over the phone and other nonsense before they were asked to help out at Cassie's farm concerning some minor act of labor.

They gave him directions to Cassie farm cause he's never visited it before. Ichigo and Ranma had came with Rachel since Ranma and Rachel were cousins and Ichigo was Ranma's best friend. The police officer had shown up while they were doing some work and once the guy was gone, but not before recognizing Ranma as Tom's younger brother and suggesting they come to a Sharing meeting.

"Short-tailed weasel, commonly known as a stoat or ermine." Cassie says. "A little high strung though."

"I'm sure I can handle it." Ranma says and he couldn't help but laugh while Ichigo mutters, "Famous last words."

Ranma sends them a minor glare before steeling himself as he opens the cage and snatches the stoat before it backed away. He watches as the stoat bites down upon Ranma's hand and stays there before it finally relaxes.

Ranma withdraws his hand and lets go of the stoat after the little beastie shakes off the effects of acquiring the critter's DNA. Ranma moves into a stall with Cassie repeating the instructions upon drawing out the DNA, not that Cassie likely need to, they all have had plenty of experience becoming Animagi while attending Hogwarts.

The first thing that happens to Ranma is fur growing and body shrinking while it begins to alter the limbs, causing the arms and legs to shorten. Within seconds, Ranma is about the size of a house cat before Ranma's skull begins to alter, lengthening.

Then, upon reaching the right size, Ranma the stoat squeaks and moves out from under the shirt as Ranma managed to get the bottom part of his cloths which includes socks and runners. He had heard Rachel exclaim softly when that had occurred, but nothing came from Cassie.

The stoat scowls and natters as it begins to move about the stall, avoiding the door since that's where they're standing. Surround! Ranma howls, the mental voice sounding bother enraged and fearful.

Then the stoat tenses up and charges at the closest person. You won't take me without a fight! Ranma shouts and begins to climb up Ichigo's leg.

He couldn't help but laugh as Ichigo tries unsuccessfully to get Ranma the stoat off of him. Finally, upon Ichigo's shoulder, Ranma seems to control himself. He he he, sorry Ichigo. Ranma says before launching himself off of Ichigo's shoulder and managing to perch upon the wooden door swung inwards.

What a rush! Ranma says as they watch the anchor climb up a post and before crawling down again. Then Ranma leaps into the stall by his shirt and rapidly becomes human.

"So, who's up next?" Ranma asks while picking up his shirt off the floor and Ichigo glances at him. "Rock, paper, scissors?" Ichigo asks, "Loser goes next."

"Fine." He says and he picks paper while Ichigo picks rock. He grins as Ichigo curses softly while moving to inspect the various animals. He wondered if Ichigo's inner Hollow was acting up but dismisses it since that's unlikely until they can access their powers once more.

"I'll try coyote." Ichigo says upon crouching next to the coyote cage. The blond canine seems to wake and its ear's perk up at Ichigo.

"Try touching the fur, you don't need to make contact with the whole body." Cassie suggests and Ichigo's left hand moves to where the tail seems to be poking out. The coyote seems to blink and moves its tail up and down but Ichigo manages to pinch a few strands.

The coyote seems to doze a bit before shaking itself and raising its head. Ichigo withdraws his left hand and moves over to the stall Ranma had vacated a few minutes ago. Ichigo does some stretches and what not, nobody is looking his way as he moves to acquire the poisoned bobcat who seems very much asleep.

He returns to the group in time to watch Ichigo grow a tail and fall onto all fours. Ichigo manages to keep his shirt but his pants and whatnot were coming off. He notes that Ichigo's taking a bit longer then Ranma to morph but still, after a total of four minutes, within the stall stands a growling coyote who's tail is tucked firmly under him.

"Guess we'll have to wait sixty minutes for him to take control of himself." He muses and that causes the coyote to glance his way. The growling becomes a whine of confusion before Ichigo finally begins to shake his head but till Ichigo says, Damn it! Stop bringing that up! I'd like to see how long it would take you to tame your Hollow, if you ever generate one that is...

"What's a Hollow?" Rachel asks as she glances over at him. He glances over to Ranma but its Ichigo who answers, Think of a Hollow as an empty spirit that eats other spirits to try to fill the space where its heart was.

"Spirits? As in dead spirits? Ghosts?" Rachel asks in alarm.

"You haven't been in many fusion loops before, have ya?" He muses with a grin. "So, who was the first among you to be awake?" He asks while Ichigo moves around the stall, sniffing the ground while doing so.

"First? Nobody, we were all aware from the beginning of the loop begun." Cassie says.

"That's odd... Usually it's only one person that's aware at first when the loops being, not the whole group." Ranma muses and the girls turn away as Ichigo begins to grow larger.

"Must have driven them crazy to be the only one aware." Cassie admits and he glances down at his hands, he really didn't like recalling the things he had gone through during those first loops. Living in a ninja village meant that there were a lot of people who knew of various ways to kill you when they believe you become a threat.

"I'm still trying to sort through those early memories, most of which I had suppressed." Ranma admits. "I would leave them be but they could be used against me if I don't face them."

"I died very frequently until I learnt to keep my mouth shut." He admits. "Not something I liked but it was a learning experience." He adds and from the looks upon the two native's faces, it seems as though they're more then a little alarmed by his confession.

"How about you, Ichigo? Were you..." Rachel asks and glances over to find Ichigo putting on his socks.

"Yea, I was the first out of my world to become aware. But I didn't have it as rough as the originals, among which Ranma and Naruto are said to be among." Ichigo says and walks out of the stall with runners in his hands.

"So, what will be your choice?" Cassie asks and he just grins.

He walks into the stall after Ichigo was out, admitting, "I already picked one while you guys were watching Ichigo." He's already got a picture of the bobcat in his mind.

"Crap..." Ichigo says but he's already willing the changes to take place, particularly his head first before his back. He imagines a bubble covering his cloths, causing them to vanish while fur sprouts and his limbs shift into the limbs of a cat.

"He did the bobcat? He did the bobcat!" He hears Rachel cry out, it seems the changes to his face were complete enough for them to ID his species of his morph.

The world shrinks and suddenly he becomes away of something just beyond the edge of his conscious mind. He becomes away of a lot more sounds, smells, and other, minor things. He feels that something at the edge try and rush him but he mentally anchors himself to the ground.

He feels his claws extend physically and his body tense. Ears flatten against his skull as he glances around the stall. He then begins to shake his head, trying to shake off the rush of instincts not unlike those he's homed as a ninja.

He growls softly and sits down in the stall. Those really hit hard, don't they? Geeze, I'm just glad they were so unfocused. He sends to the really tense group who seems to be arranged to deal with him if he became out of control.

"Geeze, make us seems like amateurs why don't ya." Ichigo says. "Not only did you get all of your cloths but you didn't freak out like we did."

Oh please, it's not as if those instincts were new, just energized. I mean, you relied upon your gut when you first became a Soul Reaper. He sends to the group.

Just so you know, try imagining your cloths inside of a bubble and vanishing when fur or something begins to sprout. He sends to Cassie and Rachel, he wanted to see if he can exclude people from the conversation.

His nose registers their surprise but he's not that interested as he gets up to move around the stall. He can smell both Ichigo and Ranma's human scents and then pick up their animal ones, he also picked up on their animal genders as well, he did wonder if he should tease Ichigo about crossdressing but decides to stay quiet about it.

He moves about a bit more before leaping into the air, straight up cause he wanted to see how high he can go. Landing upon all fours, he twitches his tail and, while feeling those instincts, begins to picture himself as a human, naked at first and when the changes begin, he imagines his cloths appearing when he reaches a certain size.

Once fully human, he picks himself up and stretches a bit, the instincts had retreated and weren't pressing themselves upon him as they had when he had been fully morphed as a bobcat. "So... What's up next?" He asks as he moves to lean upon the inward swung door.

"Well, I believe we'll all acquire a few more animals before trying for the Garden tonight." Cassie says. "We use to use seagulls as aerial spies, though recently we've switched to crows and sparrows. Owls are a must for night missions and then, usually, we pick out a unique day time Bird of Prey."

"We save insects for next month." Rachel says with a grin, clearly hoping to gross them out at the idea of morphing bugs. It kind of did, but he's been around Shino a good long while, so he does know they care be useful.

"What animals are generally used as battle morphs?" Ranma asks curiously.

"Well, Jake classically to go with a tiger, Marco goes with a gorilla, Cassie a wolf, and I go with an elephant or a grizzly bear." Rachel explains.

"Huh, I guess I get to pick out something new for mine." He says with a grin and the other two guys just rolled their eyes at him.

"Might as well finish up here and then we'll have the afternoon to do whatever before hooking up around midnight at the Gardens." Ranma says and he glances over at the fox, he just knows it'll bite him in the ass but he'll acquire the black furred beastie if only cause it reminds him of his renter.

**Ichigo**

He lands upon a post belonging to another fence that encircles another habitat while facing the grizzly bears. Rachel lands first upon the fence before flying up to the bear's enclosure. He watches as the blond girl becomes human and then slowly walks over to the sleeping bears.

Upon finishing, Rachel morphs into a barn owl and flies away from the bears. Picked anything out yet? Rachel asks him.

Yea, I'm going for a jaguar. He tells her before taking to the air. Mind showing me where they are? He asks.

Follow me then. Rachel says and darts off towards the habitat. He follows a few feet behind her, slowly catching up on her since he's kind of diving.

It didn't take him long to acquire the jaguar and leave. I do believe that's everything then. He says to Rachel and his fellow barn owl nods in agreement.

We got dolphin, cheetah, rhino, snake, bat, and now our battle morphs. I do believe that's everything. Rachel muses.

With that, they raise into the air and begin to travel back into the city. Hey you guys! Guess who we found! Naruto calls out and they turn in flight to find the others coming towards them while accompanied by a tiny owl.

Elfangor? Rachel asks, a bit stunned.

Greetings once more. The alien says warmly. I take it you visited this place to acquire a few of its residences?

Yea, we did. Ah, was there anything at the Gardens that you needed? Ranma says.

If you won't mind, I am rather unfamiliar with these beasts. Elfangor admits. Do you have any suggestions of what I should acquire?

And so, they returned to the Gardens, this time, playing guard to allow Elfangor time to acquire the previously mentioned beasties. More then a few had Elfangor using his tail blade to be the part touching the animals.

Although, before leaving, Elfangor did acquire a Northern Goshawk and a better owl morph, a Great Grey Owl. They traveled in a very loose group as Elfangor inquire if they have had any troubles concerning what had happened the previous night. Naruto chats endlessly about their previous experiments and about the visiting cop.

Is he always like this? Rachel asks him, mentally startling him.

As much as he acts the fool, he is good at what he does. He admits, making sure to focus his thoughts to Rachel and only to Rachel.

What does he do? Rachel asks.

Pretty much anything. He's a ninja, one of the most surprising ones you'll met. He tells Rachel.

Ninja, right... Rachel says sceptically and he mentally shakes his head.

He's as much a ninja as I am a Soul Reaper or Ranma a practice of martial arts. He says.

Isn't Ranma suppose to be a cartoon character? The blond asks him, he's not that surprise about the question as Ranma's world does get written and animated about rather regularly.

Ranma 1/2, right? Yea, that's kind of a documentary of Ranma's cannon's life, either the manga and the anime. Both Naruto and I do get written about but not always animated across the vast array of worlds. He explains.

What anime are you from? Rachel asks and he replies, Bleach and Naruto is from Naruto, as in Naruto Uzumaki.

You're saying Naruto's the title character? But... why? I mean, he's not what you expect in a title character, he's more like a side-kick. Rachel says.

Naruto does have depth, as surprising as it sounds. He's capable of great empathy, he works hard, and has the knack at pulling a win out of his ass in hopeless situations. He explains. If I were to chose who out of his team I would want at my back, I'd pick him. _If it was out of his group... It's never really come up before._

I still don't see it. He just seems to be the class clown. Rachel admits and he doesn't pursue it as he knows that Rachel will change her mind in time, so in the meantime, he plans to enjoy the thrill of flight before they split up to head home. They'll be hooking up with Elfangor tomorrow night.

Next Day

He watches as Naruto in fox morph sniffs by a tree's trunk. Naruto's ears scan around while Naruto's head raises up to look up into the tree he's perched in. He ruffle his feathers and stares down at the black fur canine that is Naruto.

Ichigo! See any of the others yet? The blond boy asks him.

He's currently morphed as a Swallow-tailed Kite. Nobody but you as of yet. He tells Naruto while scratching his head with a taloned foot.

I wonder what's keeping Ranma... He's usually the first to be anywhere. Naruto muses, the blond had arrived in the morph of a crow before transforming into a fox.

He watches as the black fox swishes his tail and begins to sniff around the clearing as a whole. He preens his feathers with his beak. He would stop whenever he heard the sound of flapping wings.

I think I see Rachel coming in. He sends to Naruto as he watches as a Bald Eagle comes dropping out of the sky. He's sure that it's Rachel since she's the only one with an eagle morph.

Hey Rachel! Naruto says as the Bald Eagle lands upon the ground. Seen Cassie or Ranma on your way here? The ninja asks as the fox trots to stand about six to eight feet from Rachel.

No, I haven't seen anyone. Rachel says before transforming back into a human. I take it Ichigo or Elfangor is here?

I'm here. Haven't seen Elfangor yet. He says. I'll come down after you're done. He adds, moving from his previous perch, showing himself while in his kite morph.

Just how long have you been here, Ichigo? Naruto asks, glancing up at him. He suppresses the urge to fluff up and screech at the predator below.

Rachel is rather quick but not as quick as Cassie or Naruto. And yet, the girl is faster then him when it comes to morphing, he's likely the slowest out of the group but he's sure that once he's use to it, he won't be that slow ever again.

When Rachel is done, Naruto backs away as he flies down towards the ground. He feels his pulse quicken and he focuses on returning to his true form. As the world begins to shrink, that instinctive mind seems to fade into the background of his mind.

He sighs softly before glancing towards Naruto and finds the black furred fox sitting not far from him. Suddenly, Naruto barks in excitement, heck Naruto's tail wags back and forth while turning to face a northeastern direction. He watches as Elfangor comes trotting towards them.

"It's good to see you, sir." Rachel says in a very polite tone. He's pretty sure that she's rarely been this polite before.

Elfangor inclines his head, he notices that the blue furred alien seems to have brought a bag with him.

**Elfangor**

Well met. He says warmly to Rachel. He catches sight of a black fox, he already had an idea of who it was.

_I never thought I'd spend more then a few minutes in his company... If only Loren... I just know the Ellimist foresaw that she would lose her memory._ He thinks to himself, he can only assume how difficult his son's life has been.

You know, I don't get how you can eat without a mouth. Naruto muses as the fox boldly weaves about his legs and circles him. I seriously don't see any mouths upon your legs either.

As my hooves hit the grass, my hooves absorb the juices from the crushed plants under hoof. He explains. How long have you been in that morph? He asks curiously, he rather not have his son trapped in a morph like Arbron.

Just transformed in little over forty minutes ago. Naruto answers after pausing in circling around him. Guess I can transform back. His estranged son admits and after moving a few feet away, he watches as the fox morphs back into the shape of a young human boy.

_He sure is quick._ He thinks in surprise while Ichigo asks, "What is it that you brought along?"

It is a com device that I'll need parts for. I am hoping some of you could purchase them. He explains to the orange haired boy.

"What do you plan to do with it?" Rachel asks and he answers, I have hope to discover if any of my fellows remain. I don't plan to send any messages, just listen for them.

"Ah, I guess that makes sense." The girl says while Ichigo seems to glance around expectantly. "Do you expect a lot of your people to have survive crashing to Earth?" Rachel asks.

Even if they did survive the crash, I doubt they knew enough to blend into their surroundings. I had seen the dome of the ship fall into the ocean. I hope that there were some of my people within its protective shield. He answers, he could only recall seeing the life thread of his younger brother coming to weave itself with five life threads belonging to these young humans.

He hopes that the vision proves true as he regrets truly getting to know his younger brother. He couldn't help but feel free to live his life once again. He hadn't felt like this since he had left Earth with the Ellimist, leaving his human life behind him.

**Rachel**

She mentally sighs, she really wishes Cassie were here. She felt oddly a strange from the events going on around her, after all, she's never had to deal with another Andalite outside of Ax and that undercover group that arrives to release that virus. _What a time, it should be Tobias here, receiving Elfangor's awkward fatherly affection and worry._

Naruto didn't seem to mind the extra attention Elfangor pays him. "This is so unfair... Here Elfangor is, alive and well and Tobias isn't here to spend any real time with his father." She mutters.

"So Elfangor thinks Naruto is his son? Huh, I guess that makes sense, more sense then..." Ichigo muses softly while Naruto asks Elfangor questions concerning the kind of ship the Andalites had arrived in.

"Do I even want to know what you thought Elfangor wanted with him?" She asks before frowning. "Is Naruto missing his own family? Is that why he's hounding Elfangor like that?" She asks.

Before Ichigo answers, the other two members of the group arrives. Ranma in the morph of a Northern Harrier and Cassie in the morph of an Osprey. She's just glad that Cassie has shown up as she feels more grounded.

The Mall

_What did I do to get stuck with him?_ She wonders as Naruto hums while looking between to different wire adapters. They were in an electronic shop looking for some cheap electronic toys, which causes her to wonder why it was that Naruto's looking at cables and surge bars.

"Why are we even looking at these things?" She asks the supposed ninja. "These aren't what we're suppose to be looking at."

"We're being followed." Naruto says softly. "They're hiding over by the TVs and radios." The blond adds and she glances over just in time to see somebody duck out of sight.

She casually glances away before turning his back to that part of the store. "You know anyone who'd stalk you?" Naruto asks her and she shakes her head.

"Which means it might be somebody for me." Naruto muses. "Stay here, I'll head over to the games. See if you can't catch sight of a hair color or something." The blond states before walking away with one of the wire adapters.

She frowns at the boy's back as Naruto does begin to look at the computer games that are shelved along the back wall. She turns her head and out of the corner of her eye, she spots a red head exiting out from behind the TVs. The red head's eyes were trained upon Naruto with what appears to be a frown upon the semi-emotionless face.

She jerks her eyes away from the boy when the red head glances in her direction. _Never seen him before..._ She muses and she feels the kid move pass her.

She reaches out and puts a hand upon the guy's shoulder, only to find herself pinned to the floor. "Gaara! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in a sandbox some where?" Naruto asks and she feels Gaara stiffen.

"Shouldn't you be sitting somewhere, eating twenty bowls of ramen?" The red head responds in a blank tone that sent shivers down her spine. "I see you're already found somebody new to date."

"Ah, let her up, man. She's cool, kind of new but rock solid if you get what I'm saying." Naruto says and to her surprise, the red head called Gaara does let her up.

"Seen a metal slug about?" Naruto asks and Gaara snorts.

"Got it out. Didn't like raccon-dogs." Gaara replies as the two shake hands before going in for a guy hug.

She's kind of rubbing her wrist while watches the two, she's certain they're talking in code, one that doesn't seem that hard to follow, although that one about raccon-dogs doesn't seem to make much sense.

"Gaara, met Rachel, Rachel met Gaara." Naruto introduces them to each other. Gaara nods a tiny bit in her direction while she smiles slightly, not sure what it was about Gaara that sets her teeth on edge.

"Let Rachel and I finish up here in the store before we head out to discuss business." Naruto says and since Gaara doesn't respond, Naruto seems to gather up at least three electronic toys and that cable adapter. She's a bit surprise when Naruto takes out a credit card.

"My uncle said I could borrow it. I hope there wouldn't be any trouble." Naruto explains in an apologetic note to his tone but the cashier just seems to wave it off, allowing Naruto to pay using said card.

They left the store without any more incidents and other then a stop to pick up some cola, they left the mall, walking down the street. "How do you know he's not a Controller?" She finally asks Naruto after a block.

"Gaara, you feel up for taking a nap?" Naruto asks the red head and the other boy just starts.

"That doesn't prove anything!" She snaps and Naruto waves it off.

"It became insane and I believe it had a heart attack." Gaara states and she blinks, trying to imagine a Yeerk having a heart attack.

"Guess the one-tail is nattering about in your head then? Huh, can you use chakra? I can't seem to access mine nor can Ichigo or Ranma access their usual set of powers." Naruto says.

In answer, she watches as the small gourd that had been hanging from Gaara's belt loop begin to shift a little, taking the form of a flute before returning to the shape of a gourd. "Hmmm, got some access but not as much as you normally do, huh? Better then me then." Naruto muses.

"Hang on, what could scare a Yeerk enough to die of a... heart attack?" She demands.

"I'm possessed." Gaara states calmly.

"Demonically possessed." Naruto adds and she just blinks at the blond. "Ok, it's like this, Gaara hosts an insane one-tail raccond-dog demon who grants Gaara control over sand. Majority of the time, the sand automatically moves to protect Gaara from receiving injuries but because the demon is so close to the surface, it natters at Gaara to kill people, to feast on their blood, and when Gaara falls asleep, the demon gets full control over Gaara's body. Also, demons produce a type of energy that is rather poisonous, it's one of the reasons adults are never used to seal out of control demons into, only babes are immature enough that their bodies adapt to housing a demon and its energies within their bodies."

"So the Yeerk couldn't deal with Gaara's demon then?" She asks and Naruto replies, "Seems so. Unless the Yeerk couldn't wrap its mind around seeing everything Gaara's done since Gaara became awake to the existence of time loops..."

"It never got the chance to review those memories." Gaara states and she just shakes her head, she really didn't know what to think of Gaara and guesses that, in time, she'll grow use to him.

Hopefully.

To Be Continued . . . Maybe . . .


	88. Portal Maddness 2: Naruto

**I don't own Naruto, Werewolf the Forsaken, Ranma 1/2, and Pokemon!**

**- o 0 o -**

"Well... Crap." Sasuke says while staring up at a seven foot tall wolf monster that's glaring down at him. The Uchiha felt as though his legs were weighed down and his heart beats rapidly.

_Move... move... move... move... move... **MOVE**, damn it!_ Sasuke mentally screams but still, his body doesn't obey as he stiffly takes a few steps backwards. The feeling of something running down his inner thigh.

Suddenly, a howl sounds to Sasuke's left that causes the monster to glance over in that direction. The wolf's ears perk up and the monster glances at the Uchiha, giving the young thirteen year old ninja a look of disgust before racing off the edge of the roof.

Sasuke falls onto his knees, the genin didn't know where he was but Sasuke took some comfort in the idea that Naruto had to be in a worst situation then confronting that wolfman monster within minutes upon arriving in this world.

0 o - o 0

"You ok?" A young teen's voice wonders and as Sakura's vision returns, the girl found a very cute looking teen staring down at her with worry shining out of his blue eyes. Sakura flushes while shyly looking away, Sakura couldn't find her voice so she just nods.

The teen helps the pink haired girl to sit up. "Thanks." Sakura responds in a tiny voice, very much aware of how close the cute boy is to her.

"Well, you don't look as though you suffered much from that fall..." The teen muses as the boy checks the back of Sakura's head. "Just a few cuts and bruises but otherwise you seem fine."

Then the teen says, "Anyway, name's Ranma, Ranma Saotome."

"Sakura, Sakura Haruno." Sakura tells Ranma, her face still feeling a tad heated. "Where am I?" The young kunoichi asks as she move to get up.

"Eh? China. Pops and me are headed to this legendary training grounds." Ranma explains.

"Mind if I tag along? I think I'm kind of lose..." Sakura admits to Ranma. _China, huh?_ Then Sakura wonders, _I wonder if Sasuke-kun is around here somewhere..._

"Gonna have ta talk with Pops about that." Ranma says while shrugging. "He's the one with all the money after all."

Sakura smiles slightly before nodding in acceptance. "Thanks for looking after me while I was out." The pink haired kunoichi says before Ranma begins to lead her away from where she landed.

"Feh, wasn't a problem, Sakura! It's a martial artist's duty to look after those weaker then them." Ranma says with a shrug while Sakura watches Ranma's behind while following the teen.

Sakura hums softly, not really paying Ranma a lot of attention while imagining activities they could do together.

0 o - o 0

"Huh... Shouldn't you be gone? I mean, I beat ya up pretty good before I sent ya flying." Naruto says to this black furred dog sporting a off white skull, bone bracelets about each paw, and two curved bones upon the dog's back.

The dog had spat fire at Naruto, bite him twice, and then, between growls, rammed its body at him, trying to get Naruto to fall down. Naruto might not have gotten along very well with animals but the Hokage-wanna-be never seen a beast do such things before and the blond didn't know if the dog had been using chakra or not.

The dog lies down and then rolls onto her back, Naruto saw that the dog was a girl, while looking up at him with puppy dog eyes. The belly, like the muzzle sports orangish red fur.

Naruto stares down at the dog from his position by the fire, wondering what to do. With a sigh, Naruto took a cooking fish and tosses it towards the dog. "Fine, apology accepted."

The blond glances away from the strange dog, at least the dog had been relatively normal compared to the few onion beasts Naruto had pulled from the ground, encountering various types of large fish and tadpoles who also attacked the boy.

As Naruto stares into the fire, the young genin wonders about what new creature's he'll encounter before hooking up with Sakura and Sasuke. _Just how many of these forest beasts can use chakra? Are they edible?_

Naruto jerks slightly as the dog nudges his elbow. Glancing at the dog, the blond boy hums a bit before moving to rub the dog's neck. The canine growls softly while moving to lean upon Naruto, the dog's eyes were closed and her ears pointed backwards.

"Just where am I? I mean, I've never met a dog that spat fire before." Naruto muses after a few minutes of scratching behind the dog's ears. "No offense but not even Akamaru could do that and that pup is as pure-blooded nin-inu as a dog can be."

The black furred dog growls at that before turning to look into the fire. "You're hungry, aren't ya?" Naruto asks and to his surprise, the dog nods with a bit of a whine.

With a sigh, the blond picks up another fish on a stick and gives it to her. The dog's tail wags happily while eating it. Naruto snorts softly but begins to take renewed interest in the fish in his own hand.

Naruto had caught six non-attacking fish and since his chakra is a bit out of whack, the blond couldn't use clones to forage around while he was fishing. Naruto wonders if the rest of his team are having the same problems with their chakra.

_Maybe I just need to do more of those tree walking exercises... Maybe I can camp here while I wait for my chakra to return to normal..._ The blond thinks while eating his fish.


	89. Guardian Summoned: Buffy

I don't own anything!

**- o 0 o -**

"So... You summoned me to hold onto these book just in case somebody betrays you?" Naruto asks this be-horned guy who seems bald on top. The magical necklace that allows him to understand the guy is wrapped around his left wrist.

"Yea, the sums it up. Keep them until I show up with their new owner and I'll let you keep that necklace as your bonus." The twitchy guy says, not that the blond blames the guy, he had attacked the guy within seconds of waking, slamming the guy down upon the floor while speaking in a language the guy only understood cause of the magical necklace.

With a shrug, Naruto takes the bag containing the thick tomes. It wasn't long before the guy leaves, leaving Naruto alone in this underground tunnel. With nothing better to do, the blond begins to do some target practice as he waits for the guy to return with the buyers.

Day Later

Naruto watches as Faith enters into the tunnel. The blond ninja keeps himself from frowning at her approach. _Guess I get to tie her up and continue waiting._ Naruto thinks as Faith studies Naruto.

Faith had cursed when that demon had stated that he didn't have the books on him, that he left them with a summoned guardian and that unless she pays him the money, she won't be getting the books. When pressed concerning what the guardian was, the guy had simply answered, "I wanted somebody with a lot of fire power but wouldn't draw attention to itself. Capable of using forces beyond our knowing but doesn't have any interest in the books or in staying in this world for longer then it has too."

_This kid doesn't look like he fulfills any of those points. Kind of cute, in a clueless way too._ Faith muses as she stops not far from where the blond is sitting.

"I'm here for the books." Faith tells Naruto. "Your friend got his money and left."

"Lair. Guess he never told you that he has to be with you to get them from me. Killed him, didn't you?" Naruto states, he watches for a minor flinch upon him accusing her of killing the client, it seems he guessed right and that means he'll have to find somebody else to send him home.

Faith doesn't respond, going straight at the blond but within a few steps, she finds herself laying down upon the tunnel's floor with the supposed sitting blond resting upon her back. "What just happened?" Faith wonders out loud as she feels something begin to loop around her captive arms.

"I'm tying you up, that's what happened." The blond states and Faith wiggles about, trying to get her arms free. But it seems as though this summoned guy is more then strong enough to hold her.

Naruto raises a slight eyebrow at how much more stronger the girl is then what he expects. Naruto isn't worried, the wire he's using is plenty strong enough to hold under the forces that Faith is exerting upon it. The ninja gets up off the slayer and moves to sit back down.

While Naruto muses about what to do now, Faith tries to break the bonds holding her arms only to discover that they were holding up pretty good against her slayer strength. Finally, after a while, Faith stops trying to break her bonds to get into a sitting position. "Gee, I didn't know that kids your age are into bondage."

Naruto snorts as he glances over to the siting slayer. "Personally, I'm more interested in seeing two girls wrestle about in mud then whips and chains. But then, I did train under a super-pervert who's into writing porn. Best selling porn, sure, but still porn." Naruto says to Faith before forming a hand sign.

To Faith's surprise, she watches as another ten blonds appear and then take off out of the tunnel. "How did you do that?" Faith asks and Naruto just smirks.

"That's a secret." Naruto answers before glances out of the tunnel. Naruto's curious about this town, he had only seen small parts of it while following that horned twitchy guy.

"You know, he's dead and that means you're sure ticket home is gone." Faith says, deciding to try a different tactic. "The mayor likely has the resources to send you home."

Naruto snorts and glances over to Faith. "Hence why I'm sure as in hell won't be giving them to the mayor. I might be a mercenary but even I have some standards. If your mayor was so great, he would have given you the money and you would have the books instead of getting your arms tied. Twitchy would have left and I would be back home enjoying my ramen." Naruto informs Faith, he notices the look of surprise concerning what he's revealed.

"Just what are you?" Faith asks and the blond replies, "I'm the number one most surprising maverick ninja of the Hidden Leaf village. Uzumaki Naruto, believe it!"

"You're suppose to be a ninja?" Faith asks in disbelief and Naruto nods. "But your wearing orange."

"Yea, yea, yea, so what? It's a great color!" Naruto growls, crossing his arms while studying Faith with slightly narrow eyes.

Faith just frowns while she continues to work upon whatever it was that's holding her arms together while scowling at the seemingly younger teen. Naruto just ignores Faith as he waits for a clone to dispel so he can inherit its knowledge.

"Damn it!" Faith curses after a few minutes, she felt whatever it was that the blond use cut into a finger of her's. The slayer tries to press her fingers over said finger to try and stop the bleeding.

Naruto just shakes his head. Then suddenly, the blood perks up as memories come flowing into his mind. Naruto frowns at the memory of how the clone 'died'. _Stupid cat..._

Naruto waits some more to receive another clone's memories as the previous one had gotten distracted by investigating a noise and found a dead body being devoured by a feral cat. Just thinking about made the blond's stomach quinsy. _Still, who leaves a dead body laying about so carelessly?_

"Well, I'm bore." Faith states after she's done counting the number of pipes hanging above their head. "So..."

"It's not my job to entertain ya, you know." Naruto remarks to Faith. "How goes your attempts to get out of that wire coming along?"

"You used wire to tie me up?" Faith asks, surprised at the fact she's having so much trouble find a thin string of metal. "What is it, enchanted or something?"

"Enchanted? Nay, just a minor bit of chakra used to strength it for a few hours." Naruto explains dismissively. _Most ninja empower their limbs with chakra to disrupt the chakra in the wire though. Guess this shows that she doesn't know how to use it._

"Chakra, huh? Sounds like your an aura mage." Faith muses, she had read Gold Digger a few times.

"Huh? What's an aura mage?" Naruto asks.

"You know, chakras as in the energies of the body that make up your aura." Faith says, she had done some reading and the slayer is fairly confident she knew what the blond means.

"Chakra is what ya get from mixing your spiritual energy with your physical energy. Hand signs help mix the two in certain ways to craft a jutsu." Naruto explains. "Sometimes your body gets so use to crafting a certain jutsu that you don't even need to form all of the hand signs or any at all."

Faith frowns as she tries to wrap her head around this particular idea. _Sounds useful, but how do you get the two to mix though... I doubt I'll be capable of mimicking it, might be something unique to do with him coming from a different world. A trick his brand of humans created or evolved to handle._

Faith wasn't much into book smarts but that doesn't mean she didn't have an education. The young slayer also picked things up more quickly when it fancied her. She just doesn't like to discuss or show off what she knows.

Naruto's head goes to the main tunnel as he gets another clone's set of memories. "What the hell? Don't these guys have better things to do then to patrol for kids skipping school?" The blond ninja wonders out loud but decided he knew enough to head out on his own.

"See ya." Naruto says to Faith as he picks up the leather bag holding the five volumes. "Do watch for those water beetles, they grow rather big down here." Naruto adds in a cheerful tone, he uses the substitution jutsu with a rather large stone, vanishing from Faith's sight.

Faith curses as the guardian leaves with the books, not paying any heed to the rock that appeared when Naruto vanished. _And now he's got a running start. This was suppose to be easy, damn it!_

As he gets to the exit, the blond uses Henge jutsu to look a few years older as well as alter his hair, eye, and get rid of his whisker marks upon his cheeks. With a slight smile, he leaves the underground tunnel and emerge out onto the surface.

Few Hours Later

It had taken a lot of time before he finally got the information he needed concerning the local good guys. Naruto just scowls at that sigh, welcoming him to the local high school. The blond continues on his way while wondering what to do with the information concerning Faith betraying this group.

Regardless, Naruto's pretty sure that they would be the safest bet to take these books off his hands. Sure, they might not be able to send him home, but they can at least give him some of the local currency to pay somebody to send him home.

Naruto finds a pair of men in the library. The two suddenly straighten and turn to face him. "You got the money or not? One of your slayers killed my client and I'll be needing that money to find somebody to send me home." The blond tells the two flatly.

"Buffy did what?" The elderly looking man says and Naruto just shakes his head. "Nay, the other one, the girl in black leather. I believe she mentioned bondage during our little run in along with wanting the books for the mayor. Even tried to claimed the books but I'm only suppose to hand them over if the guy was with her."

"You have the books?" The tight ass vibe guy asks and he takes the strap off his shoulder and tosses the leather bag onto the table. The tight ass one moves to take inventory of the books.

"Twitchy wouldn't have summoned me just to have me watch fake books." Naruto points out as he moves to take a seat upon one of the various chairs. "Now answer the question! Do you or don't you have the money?"

Tight ass tries to snub him while explaining why they should have to pay him while the older one is already reading one of the books after putting their glasses on. "The price is rather high..."

"And yet there are people willing to kill for them. Whatever price twitchy had asked for seems rather reasonable concerning they got him killed." Naruto cuts in, he never liked those oh so tightly whined hard asses. "It's either pay me the money or send me home."

Tight ass clearly didn't enjoy Naruto's tone as the blond levels the guy a look. The ninja just crosses his arms over his chest while kicking his feet up onto the table. In the end, the tight ass looks away first and mutters something about getting on that right away.

During the minor interview Wesley, AKA tight ass, asks him for details concerning his summoning and what answers he manage to get out of twitchy, AKA Skyler, when he confronted the demon, that kind of surprised Naruto since twitchy hadn't been... well, hadn't been scary or very powerful.

"I got the donuts..." Xander enters into the library to find a blond teen sitting at the table, feet up on the table and Wesley seemingly attending the kid. Xander glances over at Giles and finds that the ex-watcher reading a tome, he also spies another four volumes upon the table along with a leather bag.

"It's always nice to have more color in here." Xander says thoughtlessly, oddly very aware of the cloths the bright blond is wearing.

Naruto grins a bit at the newly arrived teen. "You wouldn't believe how many people seem to dis orange." The genin remarks. "'What an eyesore! You should try blues and greys.' 'Naruto you idiot! Orange isn't a ninja color!' 'Sorry but we're here on a mission. Now get out of that hideous jumpsuit so we can burn it by order of the Hokage.'"

Xander couldn't help but chuckle, already liking the new guy even though the idea that the kid was a ninja kind of seems... hard to believe but with a mental shrug, he rolled with it since he's seen and witness stranger events. "My sympathies. None of my friends have taken it that far as of yet, but in a few years... Who knows?"

The donuts are placed upon the table after Naruto moves his feet off. "I'm Xander." Xander says to the blond.

"Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto replies to Xander as the older teen takes a seat at the table.

"So... Read any good books lately?" Xander asks the younger teen. Naruto snorts softly as he reaches for the box, he hadn't had much to eat during his time in this world.

Summer

"Well, there he goes..." Buffy muses and the other Scoobies nod in agreement. The ink upon the ground seems to vanish seconds after the shimmering portal closes after the blond ninja entered it, returning home.

"I'm going to miss him. He really knew how to liven things up around here." Xander says. "I mean, those toads he could summon were something, weren't they? Talked too."

The two girls shiver slightly, neither minding said critter but when something gets to a certain size... "Toads should never grow that big."

"I wonder who would win in a fight, that boss toad or Godzilla?" Xander wonders while Oz replies, "Godzilla."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so quick to pick. I mean, that boss was welding a dagger, never seen a flesh Kaiju use one of those before." Xander says as the group wanders towards the town. "Plus, that toad had serious jumping power! He could get out of Godzilla's blast range with a single hop."

**The End**


	90. Curse of the Digital Hazard: Digimon

I don't own Digimon!

**- o 0 o -**

_Damn it!_ Fourteen year old Takato Matsuki thinks as he weaves between bystanders with surprising agility while not slowing down at all. The teen notices the upcoming walk light beginning to flash red and Takato manages to charge across before the lights change, the teen returns to his previous looping pace.

As Takato rounds the corner, within a few feet of the gate, the teen suddenly senses a familiar phenomenon and manages to stops a few inches from a water balloon flying to where the red hazel eyed teen would have been if he hadn't stopped. Takato's aware that his nostrils flared a bit as the balloon hits the wall to his right before the teen glances over to a lamp post where his usual stalker is standing with a displeased look upon their face.

With a shrug, Takato continues to the gate and just manages to enter the class building when the buzzer sounds. _Another normal day in the life of Takato Matsuki._ The fourteen year old thinks while sighing as Takato hurriedly walks through the halls of learning, hoping that the teacher is running late as usual, so that he's not marked late.

Takato feels the tension in his shoulders give as he enters into the classroom to find that the teacher has yet to arrive. The teen just manages to get his books out of his book bag when the door opens and their teacher enters. Mr Kawahira stalks over to the desk and after placing his business suit case upon the desk, begins roll call.

_You would think he would have found a place outside of Shinijuku during the summer break. Ah well, just means that my tardiness will continue not to be recorded._ Takato thinks as he gets ready for the review.

This semester is only two weeks old and yet, Takato finds that few things have changed from the previous year. His father is still dead, his mom is still struggling to come to terms with his father's death, Digimon were still crossing over into their world, causing havoc and panic in the world, centered mostly in West Shinjuku, and, of course, Takato's still cursed.

Takato mentally pushes such thoughts out of his mind, trying to focus on his teacher's lecture and following along with the on going questions. By the end of class, Takato's ears ring slightly and the teen glances out of the window for a few seconds after the ringing stops. Takato glances away to hurry to copy down the assigned reading.

Henry

"This is the eleventh one in the last two weeks... Just how do these canine Digimon manage to crossover?" Kenta wonders as the latest canine themed Digimon, a Gaogamon, is trying to turn Kazu's partner, Guadromon, into a metal chew toy.

"They also always crossover here in this tunnel." Kazu points out while Henry bites his lower lip as Terriermon moves from taunting the blue furred champion Digimon to attacking in the form of a head butt. "I mean, that dug out room has been filled in since spring break and yet, that doesn't seem to stop them at all!" Kazu complains, again, about that room they discovered just a week prior to it being filled in.

_Where's the Ice Queen when you need her?_ Henry wonders with a sigh. The teenage Tamer hates sending Terriermon out to battle Digimon who have crossover into their world. Terriermon continues to be rather out of control when he's in his champion form of Gargomon, even after everything they went through with the Devas and the D-Reaper.

Out of all the Tamers, Terriermon and Henry were the only ones who have yet to achieve ultimate. Akito, Rika, Ryo, and, surprisingly enough, Suzie can Bio Merge with their partners to become megas. Henry continues to beat himself up about Suzie getting involved with Digimon, the teen knew that he should have watched her more closely that day, when the others were preparing to enter into that portal Akito's partner, Shamanmon, had predicted to appear in the park for them to enter into the Digital world.

Henry shakes his head, trying to dismiss those useless thoughts. The partner of Terriermon's tries to focus on delay tactics while they wait for either Akito or Rika to show. Ryo has vanished into the wilds of the Digital World, looking for the reason for the ease of which canine themed Digimon can enter into the real world.

"Waking Dream!" Tapirmon, partner to Jeri, declares, signally Jeri's arrival on the scene. The blue furred Digimon bellow out in rage and surprise while Jeri waves over at them from her position.

"Bone Blast!" This attack hits Gaogamon squarely in the head. SkullSatamon muses, "Bone taking out a dog, it never gets old."

Henry rolls his eyes as Gaogamon is transformed into particles of data, vanishing into the air. SkullSatamon lands and within seconds, transforms into Shamanmon. Akito arrives and goes into a quick walk while glancing around at the damages their current fight has caused.

Henry walks over to where Terriermon had been sent flying. "He's gone, isn't he?" Terriermon asks him and Henry nods.

"SkullSatamon got Gaogamon with one attack." Henry says as he cradles Terriermon. _And once more, he's hurt because of me and my fears._ Henry thinks and then shutters as a flash from his time in the D-Reaper flares up before vanishing.

_Will I ever get over my time inside of that thing? Can I ever be forgiven for what I had caused Terriermon to become?_ Henry wonders while the other Tamers socialize not that far from Terriermon and him.

Henry turns to watch them, trying to focus on what they're doing instead of what he's feeling. But, once again, Henry feels like an outsider, that he doesn't really belong. True, Akito and him had become friends at the beginning but that friendship had become strained when Henry refused to allow Terriermon to fight, even when it's clear that Akito and Rika could have used the help.

Henry begins to head to school once more while carrying Terriermon in his arms. The partner of Terriermon leaves without saying anything to his fellows, more then a little lost in his memories.

Takato

"So, yous out for the day?" Impmon asks as the teen walks out of the gates. Water dripping from his hair and cloths.

"You set off the sprinklers." Takato states in a matter of fact tone while Impmon walks upon the wall, following the red hazel eye teen out of all of the teens leaving school early. All of them wet from the rookie setting off the sprinklers.

Since Takato didn't possess a Digivice, nobody can prove that Impmon was his partner, which means that he's doesn't receive any blame for anything Impmon does. There isn't anything he can do concerning the fact that the virus rookie seems to follow him around. "Shouldn't you be goofing off in West Shinijuku this week?"

The imp like rookie just flickers his hand in dismissal. "Pff, why should I leave when I'm having blast without anyone trying to tell me not ta?" Impmon states and Takato moves his bangs so they don't drop over his face.

"Or worry about a 'Wild One' showing up and absorbing you." Takato remarks. "Isn't it time for you to find yourself a human partner? You've been wandering about without one for about three years now."

"Hey! I'm no Digi-Pet Poodle! I'm a free spirit, ya know! I don't like being chain to anyone or anything!" Impmon snaps and Takato had to bite his tongue to keep from remarking about how the rookie seems to be 'chained' to him since that night at the tunnel.

_But then, he doesn't really see me as a human, just a Digimon wearing the skin of one. But then, he's clearly desperate for companionship and just wants me to be a Digimon since he doesn't think he can be friends with humans without gaining a Tamer._ Takato thinks as they cross the street after Impmon leaps off the wall. _But then, I'm not sure I'm exactly human either._

"So, ya going to... you know, tonight? Again?" Impmon asks Takato as they enter a strip mall that's about four blocks from Takato's school. They enter into the grocery store so Takato can pick up a few items, quick dinners for when his mom is working late shifts and doesn't have time to cook anything for supper.

"Impmon..." Takato sighs, shaking his head slightly as he considers what kind of juice that he wants to drink while the rookie has already picked up a bottle. "Once a week is more then enough for me. You do recall what I did in that room in the tunnel, don't you?"

Impmon snorts while tosses another bottle into his basket. "Don't see why your so scared, it's not like ya ever hurt anyone during those times." The rookie tells the teen. "So your emotions were raw back then, big deal, it's different now a days."

"I dug a path way into the Digital World!" Takato hisses softly, knowing full well that the Digimon can hear that. "I'm not even sure if we sealed it up right!"

"Pff, not our problem now is it? Yous don't live in West Shinijuku anymore nor do ya seem to return to visit any of your old friends either." The little virus remarks as they move away from the fridge and freezer section.

Takato sighs, knowing that Impmon is right about that. Both Kazu and Kenta had returned from the Digital World with partners of their own. Ever since Akito showed up at summer camp with Shamanmon, the two fans had hung about Akito, wanting to be part of whatever adventure their classmate would likely have.

_Jeri also came back with a partner too. I thought she was hoping to partner up with that Leomon that saved her from that rat Deva..._ Takato reflects as he picks up some instant noodles.

"It's not as though we were still close by the time my mom decided to move out of West Shinijuku. They were busy with everything that happened concerning the D-Reaper and the deaths that occurred from the rampaging BlackMegaGargomon." The teen recalls while Impmon tosses in a few cans of pickled mango.

"Yea, I remember that, who knew the little mouthy guy had it in him to be such a loose cannon?" Impmon muses as they move towards can soups. "Kind of surprised that Henry ended up being that thing's brain, though."

Takato recalls the aloof Tamer, he hadn't known Henry Wong a back then but didn't really blame the Tamer for the death of his dad or for all of those people that died because of Terriermon's corrupt evolution going amok in the city, after the D-Reaper made itself known in the Real World. Takato did blame the D-Reaper and the Sovereign Digimon known as Zhuqiaomon for forcing Calumon back into the Digital World since, the way he hears it, the D-Reaper woke because the light of Digital Evolution had returned to the Digital World once more.

"Yes, well, I think if they found that room, they'd be able to close it. I mean, they're professionals aren't they? They must run into things like that all the time." Takato says, returning to the safer topic about the room where he dug into the Digital World.

"Ya would think so, wouldn't ya?" Impmon muses as they walk over to the cashier. "Bet ya a few of these noodles that they don't know the first thing of closing that place up beyond filling it in."

Takato didn't reply as he's a bit busy emptying the basket onto the counter while the cashier is nervously glancing at Impmon. The cashier's uneasy didn't hamper him in the slightest as the young teen pays for the stuff using his debit card and leaving with Impmon trailing behind him with a tiny ball of fire hovering over one of Impmon's fingers and traveling in between the other fingers upon that hand before returning to the first one.

Takato's more then a little relieved that the rookie hadn't done anything more then play around with that little fireball. The teen has enough problems then getting booted out of another store because of the antics of said rookie Digimon. Neither of them spoke as they walk away from the strip mall.

"Yous ever wonder what would happen if ya bite somebody? Or donate blood?" Impmon asks Takato and the young teen glances down at the Digimon walking a few steps before him on his left.

"I really, really don't want to think about it. If this... condition of mine mimics then..." Takato trails off, he often loses nights worth of sleep imagining what could happen if he ever passed on his condition.

_There were two of them, that night. One was white while the other one was black..._ Takato thinks before shying away from that night's memories. The teen could almost feel where the black one had scratched him in the back, even now it's a wonder that Takato's back remains fine even though it should be broken, forcing him into a wheel chair.

"Let's not talk about it, ok? It's not something I like to think about. Besides, it's suppose to be a secret." Takato points out to Impmon as they head for home, the apartment that Takato's mother had them move into after they returned from staying with their relatives who continue to live upon an island not far from Japan.

It was one of the few times that Impmon and Takato had been separated for more then a month's time. It also marked Takato's experiment in trying to control his condition so he doesn't get found out since Impmon wasn't around to keep him entertained during those few nights in which he was transformed. Takato had been so bored during those night that they stayed upon the island.

"Feh." Impmon says with a shrug while the rookie holds his gloved hands together, summoning a fireball in the space between them. Takato smiles slightly at the sight. _Somethings never seem to change..._

Henry

"Have you seen this Digimon?" Henry looks up from the card game going on between Rika and Kazu. The Tamer finds a pair of seven year olds, one boy and one girl, holding up a drawing of a certain rookie known for being a troublemaker.

"You're looking for Impmon? Why are you looking for that troublemaker?" Kazu asks while Maro, Akito's younger sister arrives along with Henry's own sister and Suzie's partner, Lopmon.

"What about Impmon? Has he been seen causing trouble again?" Maro asks as the two glance over at Rika, after all, Renamon is the only one who seems to be able to locate the imp Digimon before the virus rookie caused trouble.

"He hasn't shown up as of yet, but he's due to show up soon." Renamon says, appearing out of the shadow of the nearest tree. Henry watches as the fox rookie vanish back into the shadow.

"When he shows up, could you tell him that Ai and Mako are looking for him? We feel really, really bad about how we treated him and we would have tried to find him sooner but our parents only recently returned to West Shinijuku." The girl, Ai, says and Henry sighs, he knows why their parents didn't want to return but likely came back to their old jobs when they offered pay raises and other perks.

"Perhaps you can leave us an address to pass along to him?" Jeri suggests. The two's eyes light up and it wasn't long before they have the address of Ai and Mako.

Henry watches as the two leave and wonders just what kind of history Impmon has with the pair. "So that imp doesn't have one Tamer, but two." Terriermon muses while perched upon his head.

"I wonder where Impmon goes when he's not hanging around the park or causing us trouble." Kenta wonders as Kazu let's out a cry of dismay, signally that once more, the Ice Queen wins the game. Henry figures that the only reason Rika ever goes up against any of them is because its the only outlet of violence Rika allows herself when dealing with her fellow Tamers.

Rika doesn't seem to consider any of them her friends, associates yes, friends no. Shamanmon seems to be the only one Rika likes to spend time with outside of Renamon's company. Henry glances over to the goblin like Digimon to find that the rookie seems to sport a far away look while looking off in the distance before Shamanmon snaps out of it to glance back at Henry before glancing over towards Rika.

Henry frowns, the partner of Terriermon couldn't help but wonder what vision the viral rookie just experienced.

Shamanmon

The viral rookie known as Shamanmon had just glimpsed the most feared symbol in the Digital World, worst then those belonging to the demon lords and Yggdrasil, almost akin to the D-Reaper. The upside down triangle inside of a circle and three triangles at each point of the upside down triangle of the Digital Hazard. It was a symbol Shamanmon is only too familiar with since he saw the image whenever the Digimon was within the tunnel and whenever Shamanmon glances at Impmon.

The virus Digimon didn't understand how it was that this rarely seen force seems to be found here in this Real World. Shamanmon knew that there were other human worlds out there, it's hard not to when Shamanmon is connected to the Digital World a bit more then most species of Digimon. _Why do I see the ghostly touches whenever I look upon Henry and Rika? What purpose does the Hazard have for them?_

As usual, no answers come to Shamanmon as the spiritually aware virus rookie watches as Henry moves to take Kazu's place, after some prompting from Akito and Suzie, across from Rika. Shamanmon knew that Henry continues to struggle with what happened with the D-Reaper and with Terriermon's seemingly uncontrolled state upon Digivolving beyond rookie level.

Rika, too, has problems, problems that concern with connecting with people beyond her own partner and family. Shamanmon is at a lost at how to break through Rika's emotional walls but knew that somebody, preferably a human, had to get through to her. There had been a time when Shamanmon thought Jeri was the one but other then Rika being more tolerant of the other girl, nothing.

_I can't help but wonder if Henry's and Rika's problems are connected. As if somebody was suppose to be addressing their problems... If that's so, then where is this missing link?_ Shamanmon wonders as the rookie watches Henry and Rika play their game. The impression of the Hazard upon the two seem to grown whenever those two interact with each other.

Takato

Takato couldn't help but feel alert when the young teen watches as this squad of five Pteramon fly over the street as he's heading to school. Takato slows down to stand still as the hazel eyed teen follows the squad, Takato can feel others around him were as well. _What are they doing this far from Shinijuku?_

Suddenly, Takato glances off to a roof top just in time to watch the infamous partner of the Digimon Queen sporting said teenager upon their back leap between buildings. Takato swallows at sight of the two, the Tamer and her partner lands upon the ground while the five armor Digimon begin to circle over head

Chaos begins to explode around Takato as people begin to realize that a battle between the squad and the pair is about to happen here, outside of Shinijuku. As the girl, Rika, climbs off of the DIgital kyuubi fox's back, Takato fights to stay where he is, heart beating faster then it usually does. Takato knew that if he moved, it wouldn't be away from the fight but towards it.

Takato's senses seem to sharpen causing everything around him to seem more in focus then it was just seconds ago. Takato closes his eyes just as he picks up the cry, "Dragon Wheel!" Takato mentally struggles to calm himself down.

_Don't change, don't change, don't change, don't change, don't change..._ Takato mentally chants to himself as a battle rages less then a mile from where he's standing. It didn't matter that Takato couldn't see it, the teen could feel the power belonging to the six Digimon before him.

The sounds of the fleeing people, including drivers, become mute against the sounds of the raging battle. Five voices ring out in unison, "Missile Storm!"

"Rika!" The fox cries out and Takato's eyes snap open, not even glancing at the flying Digimon but at the teenager, the Tamer. Takato's heart seems to thunder within his chest as Takato is moving, not away from the battle but towards the point of the incoming attack.

Takato manages to get between the attack and the red head. "Rika!" The fox bellows as the missiles impact all around Takato and the girl Tamer, the famous Digimon Queen, recently dubbed the Ice Queen of Shinijuku.

Takato blacks out as something tears into his back.

Rika

Rika dimly hears and feels Renamon as the missiles impact around her. Before Rika is a boy sporting real red hazel eyes, the same color the fictional character Kari sports in the two seasons, not that Rika will ever admit to having watched both seasons from beginning to end, she has a reputation after all...

The eyes focus into Rika's own and she watches as the light in them goes dull as blood explodes from her protector's back. Rika soon finds herself holding the other teen's full weight as the boy collapses down upon her, the force from behind him causing the boy to hit Rika and pin her to the sidewalk. Rika pulls herself out from under the teen's weight and gets her first glimpse of the other teen's back.

Rika notices blood oozing out of this seemingly freshly carved symbol upon the teen's back. The jacket and shirt didn't survive the missiles impacting them but for some odd reason, that seems to be the only evidence of the squad of Digimon attacks touching her protector. _Focus, this isn't the time for hysterics! Deal with those Pteramon first and then with him._

Rika gently as she could, move the rest of the teen off of her before standing up. Rika draws a card from her card holder and by the time it came within the red head's vision range, it had been transformed into a blue card. Within seconds, Taomon makes her appearance while Rika takes out her cell phone and reports that there's an injured teen, it took Rika a few seconds to find the street numbers.

As Rika grabs the boy's book bag to press down upon the guy's back, help in the form of Jeri, Kenta, and their partners arrive. Surprisingly, MarineAngemon comes right to where Rika and the bleeding teen are. As the tiny pink mega moves to land upon the teen's back, Taomon finishes off the currently solo member of the squad.

"What happened?" Jeri asks and Rika numbly answers, "He saved my life."

Neither of the other two Tamers pressed for details while Rika just keeps applying pressure upon the boy's back. The tag upon the book bag displays the fallen teen's school ID and Rika studies the face of her rescuer, one Takato Matsuki, age fourteen.

Takato

Slowly, Takato comes to his senses. The fourteen year old feels that his back aches and that its hard for him to focus his mind. Takato dimly realizes that he's not home in bed but either is he at school in the nurse's office, there had been a few times where Impmon's attempts at catching him off guard has resulted in some type of bodily injury, not that it affects Takato for long, just a few days at the most and about eight hours in the least.

"Takato, honey? You should try and get some more sleep. You lost a lot of blood." Takato's mom says as she arrives within his line of sight.

"Huh?" Takato wonders, it's unusually for Impmon to use anything that would cause him serious harm. The rookie prefers water guns over fireballs, water balloons over water guns, and buckets filled with stuff upon carefully arranged doorway traps over water balloons.

"You got in the way of an incoming missile attack that was heading for a Tamer. Her partner couldn't move in time to block her but you did." Takato's mom explains while moving his bangs from his forehead and then stroking his head.

"You're very lucky that those missiles hadn't done more then cause cuts upon your back. I don't know what I would do if I lost you." Takato hears his mom say and could see tears welling up in her eyes.

Takato flushes and mentally curses at himself for causing his mom to cry. They had moved out of West Shinijuku not just because of what happened to Takato's father, but because his mother didn't want to lose him to a Digimon as well. Takato moves to gently squeeze his mom's hand before giving into his exhaustion and falling back to sleep.

Takato wakes to find something weighing down upon his chest. Takato takes a deep breath before yawning. As Takato waits for his eyes to focus, the fourteen year old could very well guess who it was upon him.

"Impmon." Takato makes to croak and the viral rookie snorts. "You're standing on my chest, aren't you?" The red hazel eyed teen asks.

"Feh, like that's really hurting ya." Impmon answers before the rookie leaps over onto the nearest chair. "Yous such an idiot, yea know? Charging in between a Tamer and an incoming attack, an attack from five Digimon no less!"

Takato smiles slightly at the glare the rookie sends his way. "No even stoppin' to change! Just showin' up in ya human skin to protect some icy broad of a red head! Yous be thanking ya lucky stars that nothing got seriously hurt! Heck, they're passing off the lack of damage as some kind of force field springing up out of Rika's gadget to minimize the damage!" Impmon informs the bed ridden teen.

"Really?" Takato asks and Impmon nods, the teen is kind of fuzzy about what happened but Takato kind of recalls getting pretty close to the famous Digimon Queen, more like within a mile then within a few feet. "It's all so blurry."

Silence hangs between them as Takato slowly begins to drift back to sleep. Takato's back still aches but the teen found it to be a manageable ache. "What time is it?" Takato asks after a while.

"Clock says it's three in the afternoon." Impmon tells Takato. "Ya mom had to leave for work. Seems they want to keep ya overnight. Just to make sure there's no side affect."

Takato just hums thoughtfully. After a while, Impmon fetches a familiar book, one that he carries with him since Impmon wants to know how it ends. It wasn't all that odd for Takato to read to the rookie, it was something familiar and Takato's honestly pretty bored and didn't feel like trying to sleep.

Henry

Henry pauses at the sound of somebody reading. Almost as a reflect, the partner of Terriermon puts a hand over his partner's mouth while slowly approaching the curtain drawn spot where the teen, Takato Matsuki, is suppose to be staying at. Henry gets slow and peers through a small slit in the curtains to find Impmon sitting on a chair while a brunet teenager reads out loud from a paperback book entitled RedWall.

Henry feels Terriermon silently snicker at the scene before them while Henry couldn't help but wonder about what Impmon is doing here. Last Henry had heard, the imp didn't particularly like humans and continues to refer to their partners as Digi-Pets. _They didn't find a D-Arc on Takato either so he's not a Tamer... So why is Impmon visiting this teen?_

Terriermon finally wiggles out from under his hand to say, "Gee, Impmon, I never knew you could be so civil with a human."

Takato stops reading to glance up at them while Impmon leaps to his feet with a growl. "It's none of ya business whos I hang out with. It just so happens Takato's a very tolerable human." The other rookie snaps defensively at Terriermon.

Henry sighs while glancing between Impmon and Terriermon, the canine type rookie had already launched himself from Henry's shoulder and lands on the chair next to the wall, opposite of Impmon. "Terriermon." Henry says in a warning tone, he rather not have Impmon tossing around fireballs.

"Impmon..." Takato says while glancing over at the viral rookie. When Terriermon snickers, Takato gives the green colored rookie a disapproving look and surprisingly, Terriermon seems embarrassed and slightly guilty under the other teen's look.

Henry's a bit surprise by his partner's reaction. It's then that Henry notices the color of Takato's eyes. _How odd..._ Henry thinks while staring into those red hazel eyes. It brings to mind a certain cartoon character who was also a Digidestine, Kari Kamiya, partner to a Gatomon.

Henry looks away from the other's eyes, slightly unnerved by the comparison since during the first season, Kari was the missing Digidestine, the one they were looking for. "You're Henry Wong, aren't you?" Takato asks and Henry nods.

"I am." Henry feels the stirrings of guilt and self-loathing. Henry could only imagine what the teen had to say to him.

"I thought you'd be taller." Takato admits and Impmon snickers softly. Henry couldn't help but start stare Takato, pretty confused by Takato's comment since it wasn't something he's use to hearing.

Henry shakes his head slightly while Takato looks faintly embarrassed. "Sorry, it's just, you do have a reputation after..." Takato glances over at Terriermon before glancing back at Henry.

"Not one I'm proud of." Henry admits and Takato nods. "You seems kind of familiar..." Henry finally says while studying Takato a bit more.

"Use to hang out with Kazu and Kenta before my mom sold the bakery and moved us out here." Takato explains and Henry nods, it's been a while and the memory kind of hazy but yea, Henry did seem to recall a third kid hanging around with those two before the pair started to follow after Akito. "I haven't stayed in touch with either of them."

"Well, I got better things to do and foods to eat. Be seeing ya later, Takato." Impmon says suddenly and Henry watches as the rookie leaves.

"See you later, Impmon." Takato says and Impmon just waves a hand. Henry shakes his head, kind of stunned by the change in Impmon's attitude then what he's experienced in the past.

"You know, we really should have given him that address." Terriermon pipes in and Henry stiffens before groaning slightly. He had forgotten all about that as Henry found himself a bit perplex about the idea that Impmon was visiting a human without trying to prank or taunt them.

"Address?" Takato asks curiously and Terriermon answers, "Momentai! Just a pair of kids looking to reconcile with the guy."

"Really? Maybe you should leave it with me and I'll give it to him. I'll likely see him tomorrow, after I get out." Takato admits.

"You seem to be pretty good friends." Henry observes and Takato replies, "We got to know each other back when we were still living in West Shinijuku. See him around the park, use to take him some of our day pastries."

"Huh?" Terriermon asks and Takato explains, "My parents use to own and operate a bakery there. Mom sold the business after the D-Reaper incident was concluded."

"It's just you and your mom then?" Henry asks and Takato nods. "I'm sorry." Henry adds and Takato waves is off.

"I blame the D-Reaper and that fire-bird of a Sovereign then you or Terriermon for what happened to my dad." Takato states. "You two didn't create that program nor did you force that little guy, Calumon, back into the Digital World. You just got caught up in the middle of something larger then you expected. Like the rest of the world."

Oddly enough, Henry felt like something lighten a bit by what Takato, a stranger to him, had said. The others all said something along those lines but hearing it from somebody who Henry barely knew... "So I've been told." Henry admits and Terriermon just says, "Momentai! See, not everyone thinks it's your fault for what happened!"

Takato seems to glance between Terriermon and Henry for a few seconds while Henry just sighs. "You still feel guilty for what happened? It's been little over two years since it happened. That's a pretty long time to be stewing about it, isn't it?" Takato wonders and Henry just looks away.

"You know, I'm really beginning to like you, Takato! If you can't listen to any of us, why don't you listen to him? I mean, he just got attacked by a bunch of Digimon and he's not bitter about it!" Terriermon points out and Henry sighs, he just didn't know what to think.

As Terriermon and Takato converse, Henry just watches the pair for a few minutes until Takato asks, "How about you, Henry? What's your favorite character in Bleach?"

Henry kind of blinks at Takato while Terriermon snorts. "Earth calling Henry. You really shouldn't space out on us, ya know."

"Sorry." Henry says before asking, "Could you repeat the question?"

It's been a while since Henry found himself just hanging out with anybody beyond Terriermon or the other Tamers, although with the Tamers, Henry mostly just listens and observes more then participate in their activities beyond playing Digimon the card game.

**Going to end it here**


	91. Digital Split: MegaMan NT

I don't own Digimon or Mega Man Battle Network!

**- o 0 o -**

Lan Hikari  
Age: **8**

He loves his dad but there were times where he would like to be hold his father's attention for more then five or fifteen minutes. As the vehicle leaves with his father within it, he feels oddly numb; not feeling angry or sad. His mom squeezes his shoulders gently before stirring him back into the house and to the breakfast table.

He bites his lower lip as he seats himself at the table while mom seems to be gathering up dad's dishes. It occurs to him, suddenly, that his mom didn't like the fact that dad left for an emergency at the company instead of insisting that his underlings or fellow co-workers deal with it without him. It takes him a few seconds to think of how to distract his mom, cause he didn't want his mom to be sad.

"Are we going grocery shopping?" He asks before putting something in his mouth and chewing it. His mom pauses and thinks about it for a few seconds while staring at him before nodding. He smiles a bit; although he admits that it's not fair that his birthday falls on a no school day since if it were a school day, he'd be too busy to think about the fact that his dad is at work instead of being around.

As they leave the house, he glances towards a picture of his dad and suddenly, he found himself wishing, _I wish I had a dad who was around more and can be a dad._

Then he feels guilty about wishing that and is more then glad to hurry out of the house as the alarm is counting down.

**Later**

_Stupid beeping..._ He thinks as he rubs his eyes while walking towards his dad's home office. _If this keeps up, it'll wake mom up._

He turns the door knob and enters into the small room that contains like two book cases filled with books. The desk is kind of old looking, it supposedly belonged to his twice great granddad or something, so it's pretty massive. He gets onto the chair, it's newer then the desk, and turns on the monitor.

As it comes online, the screen if filled with ones and zeros. They over lap each other as lines move from either right to left or left to right to up to down or down to up. The background is black with the various sequences of code being either white or a dull yellow. He couldn't make heads nor tales of the binary codes going about the screen, but then, that could be cause of how overlapping it all is.

Scratching the side of his head, he just gets dizzy of the lot, so he tries to turn off the monitor... only to find that the little light turned off but the ones and zeros remain. Frowning, he continues to press the button and the little light turns on but that's it. He presses it a few more times but nothing happened to the numbers so he tries to turn off the computer.

He presses it and as he glances up at the screen, the numbers begins to glow before a bright light flares up from the screen, blinding him for a few minutes. Even when his vision is regained, he finds it hard to believe what he's seeing upon the screen. He pinches himself and just causes himself to ache in that spot while the image upon the screen remains unchanged.

He turns his head this way and that but the image seems to remain the same no matter how he views it. With a hum, he decides to try something on the keyboard and jumps a bit as moving the mouse seems to cause the planet spin. A point also appears upon the screen and he points it at some spot on the planet.

He clicks and watches as the image of the planet seems to rush at him, giving him a better view of that part of the virtual planet. Bafflement and curiosity causes him to experiment a bit with this, he even finds a way to zoom in more. _I knew the net is slowly taking the appearance of landscapes and stuff but this isn't what I envisioned._

Then he catches sight of some kind of herd of zebras sporting helmets with a single metal horn upon them and seem to sport a few other odd features not seen in pictures of said animal. The virtual animals become alert and suddenly something wearing black armor comes charging from the left with a pair of devil men trailing it.

The herd of zebra don't flee but fire off blasts at the flying devil men. He flushes as he hears one of the black leather wearing devil men curse up a storm, using words he knows his mom and dad would frown at hearing from him. The other devil man fires off attacks of their own at the still fleeing black armor covered blue creature.

He quickly causes the screen to withdraw from that and sits back in the chair as he considers what he just witnessed just seconds ago. He stares at the screen, wondering what kind of program is running on his dad's computer. _Still... What kind of program runs when the computer is suppose to be off?_

The sight of the strange digital continent beckons him and while he knew the smart thing to do would be to return to his room, but that course of action wouldn't be him. So, he reaches for the mouse and continues to view this virtual world. The areas of water, too, sport these monstrous virtual beings with some of them appearing as dolphins and fish.

He pulls out of the latest area and stares at the virtual world upon the screen of his dad's computer. He suddenly yawns and begins to rub his eyes. Sleep once more driving its hooks into him, he tries to fight it but it's just so late...

_I wish I could explore more of that... that... virtual world. Those beings seem to have interesting abilities... I wonder what they're called..._ He thinks sleepily as he finds himself leaning deeply into the back of the chair.

He suddenly feels as though he's floating in a black void with that world hanging before him. A soft murmur surrounds him, he's unable to make out what's being said, only individual tones and voices. He holds out his right hand, palm facing the world and he feels himself floating towards the planet, this seems to cause that murmur to become clearer and a bit louder.

He jerks his head back as he catches bits and pieces of what's being said. A chill seems to engulf him and he pulls his arms around his upper body, shivering in the void while dimly listing to the murmur of voices, some of the voices seem to be arguing with each other while others spoke of their dreams and nightmares. As he floats there, he finds himself torn between continuing forward and wanting to wake up in his dad's home office.

The dim of voices seem to stop and he hears his own voice say, "I wish I had a dad who was around more and can be a dad." He blinks, more then a little stunned upon hearing that; he had forgotten that he thought that during breakfast this morning.

"But my mom... She'll worry if just vanish." He says, he might want a new dad but he wasn't looking for a new mom. "I don't want her to worry about me."

**"So be it."** A chorus of voice, male and female, young and old, say as one.

Light suddenly engulfs him and then... blackness.

Morning  
Real World

"Lan... What are you doing in your father's office?" His mom asks him as he struggles to wake, the lights being turned on had startled him out of the deeper reaches of sleep.

As he blinks to rapidly as the overhead lights continue to beam down, no mercy being shown to his sensitive eyes. He glances around and finds that, yes, he is in his father's study. He glances over at the computer screen to find it blank and off.

"I heard something and it was coming from dad's computer." He says as he leans forward, away from the back of the chair. "Ouch... my back..." He whimpers and he hears his mom sigh softly.

"Come on, I'll help you to the couch and get you something for your aches." His mom says as she moves to help him down from the chair. He's too occupied with his aches to feel embarrassed.

"You do have school today too." His mom reminds him and he groans upon hearing that; already last night's events were being pushed out of his mind, particularly that dream concerning him floating in that void with that world hanging before him.

Morning  
Digital World

He slowly came to without his alarm waking him or his mom calling him down for breakfast. He takes a deep breath and the scent of flowers suddenly causes him to sneeze. With a sigh, he opens his eyes and rolls onto his back before sitting up.

Sleep vanishes at the sight of a meadow spread out before him. He glances up to find that he's resting under a tree with broad branches that are covered in leaves. He spends a bit looking up at the tree before glancing towards the meadow.

He moves to stands his legs and then wiggles his tail. He blinks and focuses on that last limb. He turns his body, arcing his body to the right while moving his head and tail to the left. He yelps at the sight of his brown tail with orange pebbly scale pattern upon the top of the tail.

"Where are my arms?" He wonders in a higher pitched voice then normal after he tries to get a look at his chest and discovers the lack of a chest. He does find short powerful lefts that are doubled bent with two thick toes making up the foot.

He discovers he a heck of a lot shorter then he remembers being. He glances around, looking for something to use as a mirror. After a few steps, he finds that by moving his head forward helps balance him when he runs.

Upon running across the meadow, he discovers the beginning of a forest viva sparse bushes and trees. He slows his pace as he walks through this forest. He finally finds a river and glancing down into the shimmering surface of the river, he finds a stranger looking up at him with hazel brown eyes. He turns his body and notices how he seems to be mostly a small head, two inch neck, and a rather round body sporting a tail and short powerful legs.

_I kind of look like a dino._ He admits to himself, the orange pebbly scale pattern does go on to cover the top part of his body and his head, though stopping short of the very tiny muzzle. He opens his mouth and notices the tiny row of sharp looking teeth, he also pokes his dull red colored tongue out for a few seconds before bringing it back into his mouth.

As he's occupied with his reflection, a small school of fish come swimming pass. At the sight of those fish, he becomes aware of how hungry he is. He tenses and leaps into the center of the school as he tries to snap at the swimming fish.

The fish scatter, leaving him with nothing to show for his effort but him being wet. He stalks out of the river and after shaking his body, he heads off to find something easier to have for breakfast. _This so sucks..._

* * *

**Species Name:** Chibidramon  
**Level:** In-Training  
**Attribute:** Data  
**Type:** Baby Dragon  
**Attacks:** Pebble Shield (not really an offensive move, causes the ground to raise up to engulf the in-training Digimon to protect the baby type from incoming attacks)

* * *

Month Later  
Digital World

"Tag! Your it!" He cries as his tail tip touches one of the Koromon. He giggles as he races off while the fellow in-training Digimon squeals before hopping after him.

It's times like these that he's glad he has legs instead of stumpy limbs less then an inch in length like he has seen on four legged in-training Digimon. He manages to get clean away from the tagged Koromon. He turns and watches as the Koromon goes after a Viximon and manages to kind of land of the bushy tail of that yellow Digimon.

"Tag! Your it!" The Koromon says while hopping away, the Viximon seems a bit stunned before racing after that Koromon to re-tag them.

"Ready to go, Lan?" He jerks a bit and glances behind him, towards the gate to find his adopted father, a Shadramon named Sasuke. He nods at Sasuke and before making it within a foot of the fence, turns and calls out good-byes to his fellow in-training Digimon.

With that, his new dad glides down to the ground to pick him up and a short flight over the metal and wooden fence, he walks after his floating dad who's easy to spot since Sasuke sports armor and wings that are red trimmed with yellow. He begins to tell Sasuke about his day, in particular the lessons a few of the other parents showed up to teach and his new dad asks question about the lessons which he gladly answers.

As they leave the neutral area and a comfortable silence falls between his new dad and himself, he begins to think about the time before he was a Chibidramon and wonders if he's missed. When he feels like he's about to cry, he blinks and focuses on Sasuke's back and focuses upon the fact that he's got a new life to live now with its own problems and rewards.

He tries to let go of the feeling of missing his favorite toys, his music, TV, his friends, and his... parents. He takes a deep breath and smiles at the various earthy scents that float upon the wind. He so enjoys the fresh air and the fact that there wasn't any roads or side walk for him to watch out for. The noise of a busy city doesn't commonly exist here and he's glad since there isn't any danger of him getting hit by a drunk driver or being dragged into an alley to be kidnapped to use against his d... old dad.

With the sight of his new home, a place resting in the branches of an old tree, he pushes thoughts of his old world, the human world, out of his mind.

The end


	92. Takato's Journey: Digimon

**Legendary Horses**

I don't own Digimon!

**Takato's Journey**

The young stallion gallops along the rocky ridges of the mountain range, heading for a high ledge as black clouds continue to gather overhead. A really big storm is going to happen and Takato needs to find a protective place to wait out the storm. His hooves cause some small pebbles to dislodge and fall, but nothing of any real size to cause a landslide.

Other mountain runners were on the moving as well. At times the stallion can hears the cries of their young, they had likely stopped because they were hungry or tired. Takato doesn't let such things keep him from continuing upon his search for a protective shelter. _'At times like these I really wish I was born with wings...'_

The bachelor herd of pegasi had long since migrated out of the area when spring arrived, leaving him very much alone among this patch of mountain. Takato would have followed but, well, it just was too long a journey and by the time he arrived at their spring range, it likely would be in the fall. The young stallion shakes himself out of his thoughts, the feelings such thoughts were another matter though.

Thunder pearls out over head, startling Takato a bit, which leads the stallion to slow down. He raises his head and sniffs the air, managing to catch sight of lightning streaking through the black clouds overhead. With a shake of his head, the reddish brown mane whipping about before being catch once more by the wind and begins to dance to its tune.

As the wingless pegasus makes it to a narrow ridge, the clouds suddenly release their contains. Heavy droplets rain down at a slant. Takato couldn't help but think curse his luck as he is forced to navigate his way at a much slower rate since the water will make it difficult for him to get footing upon the stone ridge.

Thunder pearls out after a flash of lightning lights up in the free space to Takato's left. "The gods hate me." The young four year old stallion murmurs while continuing forward, wincing whenever one of his front hooves slips as he's trying to find a safe spot for them so he can continue forward.

_'Why did I have to grow so large? Why couldn't I just stop growing when I reached my parent's sizes?'_ Takato wonders privately to himself as the rain continues to beat down upon everything under the clouds.

The stallion sighs and then turns his head to look backwards, wondering if he shouldn't just try to go back. Takato snorts at the thought before returning to look at where he's going while his tail whips about in irritation. The wingless pegasus stallion proceeds forward a bit more.

Close to the end of the ridge, the stallion decides to try leaping to by pass the rest of the few feet between him and the broad ledge that the ridge leads to. Takato's confident that he could make the leap as he sports the tough hollow bones of his heritage and stronger leg muscles then other pegasi as he lacks wings so he has to travel every where upon his own four hooves.

Hunching up a bit, Takato shifts his weight to his hindquarters. The young stallion leaps forward and as Takato lands, he let's out a joyous bellow before surging forward to stand under a ledge that's only twenty feet from the tip that he landed upon.

Once under the ledge, Takato begins to lick himself. Although hungry from his nerves being frayed, the young stallion settles for filling his belly with water to tie himself over until the storm lets up so he can head for one of the various valleys that sports good grazing spots.

As the storm continues and Takato doesn't have anything to occupy his time with, the stallion growing tired and begins to find himself beginning to fall asleep.

- [

_"Where have you been?" Takato tries to make out the mare before him but no matter how he tries, the stallion couldn't make out any details of this mare. "Whatever, come on! The fireflies are about to begin their display."_

_The unfocused mare takes off, weaving through tree and bushes. Not knowing what else to do, Takato follows after the mare. The forest sports sounds that Takato has never heard during his life within the mountain range._

_Suddenly the trees leave off and a meadow lies before him. Takato pauses at the treeline, suddenly aware that there were others within the meadow. He could smell the scent of stallions and mares but he couldn't make out which were which nor could he tell if they were pegasi or not._

_"Are you just going to stand there or what?" That mare asks and he's startled to find her standing to his right. Takato doesn't know how but the mare seems to be glaring at him._

_"Sorry, just didn't expect..." Takato doesn't finish but the mare seems to snort softly. He walks into the meadow and it didn't take long before the mare takes point once more._

_The mare seems to find a spot she liked and lies down. Takato follows her example, the young stallion could hear murmurs of the herd. As the sun finally vanishes, quiet settles down all over the meadow and then, slowly, tiny lights begin to appear among the grasses and trees before they take to the air._

_Takato couldn't help but be awed by the sight. Every which way he glances, those tiny glowing lights seemingly float in the air. "These are fireflies?" Takato asks softly and the unidentified mare nods._

_"They're so beautiful." He says softly as Takato watches as they begin to clump together, creating a glowing mist. "Hard to believe they're just insects." The stallion adds while glancing else where to see other groupings of fireflies._

- [

Groaning softly, Takato slows wakes as the sun's light irritates his eyes. The stallion yawns and begins to smack his lips together while swallowing. With a grunt, Takato moves to stand since it seems that sometime last night, he had laid down.

Takato stretches a bit before walking out from under the ledge. There were some small dots of pooled water about the stone surface and it didn't take long for the young stallion to drink his fill. He then glances around, taking the changes the storm has wrought.

The stallion sighs and begins to climb to get on top of the ledge he had used as cover. More then a few rocks fall down as Takato walks up the steep slope. It's slow going but Takato moves expertly about the newly dubbed slippery surface of the mountain that the stallion calls home.

The hunting cries of gryphons causes him to glance above as Takato pauses while walking down the path. The young stallion feels exposed as he spots black specks up in the sky. It had a while since gryphons have been spotted around these peaks, but then, it's likely that the gryphon's breeding year is coming up and the pair is looking to set up a territory in this part of the world earlier then expected.

Takato picks up his pace, heading for a valley that sports blooming flowers and bushes. It also has a spring at the center of it, forming a shallow pool and creates a small waterfall that leads down to a rushing river about a day's flight from the valley. The plants that grow there never suffered much during any of the seasons, not with a spring feeding the pool.

As midday arrives, Takato finally reaches the valley. Other mountain dwellers glance up as Takato approaches before returning to their grazing or drinking. He heads for the pool before beginning to browse upon the various flowering bushes and plants.

Upon eating his fill, he moves up the slop and upon finding a patch of dirt, Takato drops down and rolls in it. Takato sighs softly as he lies in the patch of dirt for a while. The young stallion shakes his head and gets to his feet.

_'If only I can bend around to get at all of those itches myself...'_ Takato thinks as he moves to find some shade to rest in. Upon reaching a spot, a surprised bleep causes him to glance back to find one of the mountain goats being lifted higher into the air by a gryphon.

Takato takes the time to get a good look at the gryphon, noticing the eagle markings upon the gryphon is clearly marked upon the feathery parts of the hunter. The fur parts are a shade lighter then the golden brown of the feathers with darker fur seemingly forming bars about the feline part of the gryphon's feet.

The gryphon and Takato gaze into each others' eyes for a brief time. _'Maybe I should give migration a try...'_ Takato thinks as the gryphon continues to raise higher into the air. _'I rather not be mistaken for a simple horse and end up a meal for them.'_

- V -

Takato couldn't find the strength to raise his head or to swish his tail while the sun beats down upon him. It's been six days since Takato had left the southern most boundary of the range he had lived his whole life in. _'Six days since I had a decent meal too.'_

The wingless pegasus had to hunt down places for water and grazing spots. To cover more ground, the stallion stuck to the top parts of the mountain range and thus walks under the sun without any real cover to give him relief. Takato swallows before panting once more as he continues to move at a ground eating trot. The wind is the only relief Takato has from the heat.

Takato slows as he comes closer to a large gap. Takato stops by the edge and glances down and finds a huge waterfall below, the stream seems to be going southwest. The stallion moves around, trying to find a spot that sports the shortest distance between the two ledges.

After some time, Takato couldn't find a good spot to leap the gap so the young stallion begins to search for a way down, hoping that down some lengths there will be shorter gaps that he can jump. He finds a narrow path by the time the sun is setting and begins to travel down it.

As it grows darker, his strength continues to wane and without light to help him get a good look, Takato is traveling rather blindly down the path. Suddenly something moves just as his hoof is about to be place before him and a bird flies up, startling Takato.

As Takato falls down, he couldn't help but watch the starry sky above him grow more and more distant. _'I guess this was my fate all along. To die by falling upon the stones of the mountain.'_

The roar of the falls drown out all other thoughts and then, suddenly, the stallion finds it hard to breath. His head finally exits out of the water, allowing him a few quick breaths before the currents drag him under once more.

Then, suddenly, Takato feels weightless once more and it dawns on him that he's reached the falls. The wingless pegasus stallion screams in terror. Upon hitting the water below, he blacks out.

- V -

The squawk of birds is the first thing Takato notes as he slowly begins to wake. Next, he begins to cough and feels liquid come up. Takato blinks his eyes, waiting for his vision to stop being blurry.

With a groan, the stallion begins to fold his legs up against his belly while rolling into a much more comfortable position. Takato feels some weight vanish upon him moving about and more then a few irritated cries of protest from the scavenger birds who to feast upon him.

Slowly, Takato becomes aware of how achy his body is and realizes that he's very much alive since he doubts his body's conditions would follow him to the afterlife. Raising his head, Takato snorts at the various crows and eagles that are about him. "Get Lost." Takato states at the group of birds.

The three eagles glance between them before leaving. The crows were more stubborn but Takato wasn't too worried since birds do tend to obey pegasi and other star-touched beings of the air like gryphons, hippogriffs, even dragons.

After a while, the sight of greenery causes Takato to struggle to get up off the bank. Upon getting up, the crows finally left and walking wobbly towards the trees, Takato continues to fight the urge to lie back down. With a bush within reach, Takato begins to browse at the leaves.

After a few mouthfuls, Takato moves towards a patch of flowers and begins to eat a few bites from it before, once more moving on. He found the leaves and stems of various plants to have a different flavor then what he's use too. With so many plants around, it didn't take long for Takato to fill up.

Takato moves and lies down under a broad branch tree. Sleep claims him within seconds.

- V -

Rika pauses by a tree since she thought she saw something under a tree. Curious, the unicorn mare moves towards the spot and does find a sleeping horse sporting reddish brown mane and tail. Water seems to have erased the sleeping horse's scent, making it hard to know what gender the horse is.

"Why did you... Oh, huh. A horse." Ami says the last part in disgust. "Looks to be dead to the world. Bet you a lynx will get it or a bear." The spring green unicorn mare muses as more of the herd comes to see the sight.

After a bit, the others flick their tails and continue towards the river for a drink, leaving Rika and a young unicorn stallion named Ryo to remain. "He's pretty fine boned." Ryo remarks after walking closer to take a mighty whiff of the horse's scent.

"Might be one of the human's racers." Rika remarks. "Although, I didn't know humans had created a settlement this far east. I thought the dragons declared humans won't be expanding their territory ever again. Not with what happened with their experiments into meshing draconian blood with those dogs sixty years ago."

"There's an underling scent to him, one that kind of reminds me of birds." Ryo tells her. "Come take a sniff if you don't believe me."

With a grunt, Rika stalks over and takes a sniff of the strange stallion and finds that Ryo's right. This stallion has a tint of bird to his core scent. "How odd..." Is her only reply.

As Rika moves towards the stallion's head, Ryo moves back, allowing her room. With her nose close to the resting stallion's own, the stallion's eyes open and Rika freezes at the sight of those bright yellow eyes, the shade of yellow reminds her of birds of prey. With a start, the stranger moves to raise his head and their noses touch, much to Rika's bewilderment and then embarrassment.

Rika hurries to back away from the stranger, although she couldn't help but notice how the stranger's eyes seem to be more forward then her own or any unicorn's eyes. The stranger seems to be about Ryo's height and more compacted in build then a horse or unicorn would be. _'Powerful.'_ Rika decides as she watches as the stallion gets to his feet.

A strange kind of sound seems to come from the stranger, a sound that is pretty high pitched and bird like. The expression upon the stranger's face is questioning and those yellow eyes clearly sport the flame of intelligence in them. The sound gets repeated but it seems to be slower then the first sound, she thought she noted a few other notes to the sound this time too.

"You think he's talking to us?" Ryo asks since Rika sure wasn't going to voice that question out loud.

This just seems to cause the stranger to become alarmed and another series of sounds come from the stranger. "Kind of reminds you of bird song, only... it's not." Rika notes.

"Well, looks like life won't be dull any more." Ryo muses.

"We're only twenty, Ryo. This isn't our problem." Rika says and begins to walk towards the river, trying to ignore how handsome the exotic stallion is in his odd way.

**To be continued . . .**


	93. Heart of the Mine: Harry Potter

**- o 0 o -**

I don't own Harry Potter!

**- o 0 o -**

_Huh, so what should I do with these tunnels?_ A nineteen year old Harry Potter wonders upon reaching the center area that had housed dwarven workers of old who had been employed by the Black family. There's nothing left to mine, which kind of made the how place worthless.

_I likely won't find any buyers for it since there's nothing much one could do with a played out mine..._ The young English wizard muses. Scratching the side of his head, Harry sighs and then heads for the center building as it looks fairly preserved compared to the other wooden structures that make up workshops.

Upon touching the door handle, the door shimmers and the door seems to swing open; Harry's grip upon the handle seems to have been ignored by the magic protecting the building. Entering, Harry glances about the room beyond the doorway. The sound of the door closing did cause him to stiffen a bit but shrugs it off. Crystal lamps light up, allowing Harry to see the interior of the building.

Harry turns down the hallway just beyond the front room. Along the hallway seems to be about four doors. Opening one of them reveals that the room had been used as office space. Two other rooms prove to be similarly set up, but the third one, the third revealed a stair case.

The second floor sports two large rooms, likely bedrooms since they still sports wooden frame for a bed and dressers. The last room is a really large office with metal busts and stone statues about the room. _Not a picture or fireplace in sight._ Harry thinks as he walks over to the large stone desk.

Just walking around the building causes dust to stir. Just looking backwards, Harry could see his prints upon the floor. "How long has it been since this place was cleaned?" Harry wonders out loud.

He could feel a bit of a draft happen about the room. Likely whatever ward is responsible for causing circulation to happen. The young wizard stops before the desk, placing a hand upon the flat surface, Harry then moves his right hand to the right, kind of causing a streak in the dust to appear upon the desk.

Making a face at the grim and dirt upon his hand, Harry wipes his hand upon his jeans while using his left hand to hold his wand. It took a few spells but the dust covering the desk vanishes and polishes the surface of the desk, revealing that the rock used is black with flicks of other colors upon it. Switching hands, Harry then creates a chair to sit upon.

The desk sports drawers but nothing remains within them, likely cleaned out when the Blacks evacuated the mine. Harry hums before exploring more of the room, he found two vaults and within one of them, a number of wooden items with amber decorating them. At the sight of the wooden items, Harry just frowns and picks them out of the metal vault that's behind the desk.

With a shrug, Harry takes the thin leather book that's under the cloth. Carefully placing enchanted items upon the cloth once more, he wraps them up after shutting the door of the vault. Harry sits down upon the chair, the young adult opens the book. It takes Harry a few minutes to puzzle out the spidery writing but it seems that those wooden implements function is to cause raw mineral deposits to be drawn to the mine.

It seems that the experiment using the implements worked but they still had to abandoned the mine since the news about the mine being played out had spread far enough that the Black family had to end their operations or other families would learn of their experiments in regards to drawing deep mineral deposits to the mine. _Makes sense, wouldn't want to share the wealth or the ability with another family._

_This just might be the way to recreate my fortune. So glad that Professor Bumblebee was thoughtful to give the Ministry all of my Potter family inheritance to rebuild. At least burning his picture at Hogwarts took some of the anger off from that._ Harry thinks darkly as he reads about how to create, use, and maintain those implements.

Anger towards the old man continues to boil below the surface. _At least he couldn't touch the Black family properties and its money. Damn, how in hell did that man get my dad to sign that f#cking piece of paper? Didn't he bother to **read** it?_ Harry mentally rants as he closes the book and get up off the chair.

Walking over to the other vault that Harry had found, he studies the metal door. It takes a bit of effort for him to open this vault up. The door is pretty tiny compared to the previous one but then, within the vault, Harry finds small six metal post that contains a small glowing ball of energy. Within its misty appearance colorful lightning seems to dance between the golden metal posts of the device and the tiny black speck within the center of the white mist.

Harry couldn't help but feel goosebumps raise up. A strange aching sensation seems to happen in his eyes and the faded lightning mark upon his brow. Minutes pass as he stares at the ensnared mist until finally, Harry looks away while takes off his glasses. Using his free hand, Harry rubs his temple before rubbing his nose bridge.

Harry's vision swims for a bit but then clears. Putting on his glasses, Harry finds his vision blurs causing him to take off his glasses once more. Harry glances around the room and is stunned to find that he saw the room as if sunlight lit it up. There weren't any shadows, just places that have least amount of light illuminating it.

"What...? How?" Harry exclaims and glances over at the odd device. He swallows as he realizes that the device is the cause of fixing his eyes.

"What is this thing?" Harry wonders and already knows that whatever it was, there's a reason why the Black family kept it down in this mine. "I wonder if any of the other properties contain secrets like this one?"

After all, if it weren't for some clause about the new head of the Black family needing to tour unused properties then Harry wouldn't have given selling this mine another thought or the rest of the properties that he needs to tour. With a sigh, Harry closes the vault door and finds himself leaning upon the wall, panting softly and feeling very hungry.

Before Harry leaves the mine, he sets up the wooden implements with a Galloen as an example of what to draw to the mine. It wouldn't take long for gold to be drawn to the mine, about three days since they seem to be fully charged.

As Harry arrives to the entrance of the mine, an unusual thought unfolds within his mind. _Although... If I can conjure paper, why can't I conjure paper bills?_

Four Months Later

Harry picks up one of the freshly cold gold bars that he had smelted about twenty feet from the mine office. It had taken some doing but he had bought the equipment he needed to smelt his own bars since he didn't trust anyone no to speak of the fact that he's reopened the mine, which is why its only a small operation done by Kreacher and himself.

He smiles as he looks down at the bar in his hand before glancing at the row of other gold bars. _The goblins have finally signed that contract that I had that team of lawyers draw out. I'll finally be able to move all of this gold out of here without trying to sell in the more common global market (Muggle economic market)._ He thinks, he had given up using the term Muggle (Might be a side-effect of Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic screwing him though) to describe non-magical humans since there are over nine billion of them upon the world while the number of witches and wizards seem to number only in the millions, if that.

Harry places the gold bar back down and moves to find Kreacher to see if the house elf has tea in the make shift kitchen. Harry pauses to glance at the various crates next to the underground headquarters. Harry sighs at the sight and is reminded that he'll need to hire some dwarfs to help redesign the mine complex.

"Tea is ready, master." Kreacher says within the front room that's within sight of the door. "Ies picked up the mail." The elderly house elf adds, gesturing to the small pile of letters.

"Thank you Kreacher." Harry says and adds, "You can retire if you wish to. It has been a tiring day."

Kreacher bows before using the port-key to head back to his other remaining property to his name. Harry's emerald eyes land upon the small pile of letters after finishing his first cup. Pulling the letters close, he grins slightly at who they are from.

_Looks like those bombs finally went off. Looks like they will never discover any rare or forgotten treasures of the Black family._ Harry muses with a dark smirk upon his face as he shifts certain letters to the side.

The Ministry of Magic had decided to impose restrictions about what kind of properties half-bloods and muggleborns can own in the magical world. _I wonder what kind of reaction it'll gather if I begin to offer up bounties on UK Ministry of Magic personal or on certain pure-blood families? I have more then enough gold to do so..._ Harry muses thoughtfully, he has grown to loath the Ministry of Magic since nothing had changed in regards to how muggleborn are treated, the only thing that has altered is that half-bloods are now lumped in with muggleborns.

Taking a pencil from his shirt pocket and a note pad to begin listing names of pure-blood families that he would love to vanish off the face of the earth, which turned out to have a lot of employees of the Ministry in it too. He sighs and pushes the list away from him as he realizes how similar his thoughts must be to a certain half-blood.

He knows he's undergone changes lately, ever since he viewed that strange device, Harry found himself viewing his current situation differently. _What do I owe them? I save them from Tom and yet they seem so determined to take very thing I own and place it in a museum or sell it internationally to collectors._ Harry thinks.

_They stuffed Hedwig..._ He closes his eyes as he remembers seeing his dead owl on display while meeting with the current Minister of Magic, the one who replaced Shacklebolt five months ago. Harry could feel tears well up even with his eyes being closed.

It takes Harry a few minutes to reign in his emotions. He distracts himself by opening up one of those product endorsement offers. _What the F#CK? They can't do that!_ Harry thinks upon reading the first letter.

"I'm done being used like a f#cking thing! I don't care if it brings down the ministry and its laws, they're going to pay, pay with their f#cking lives!" Harry growls and grabs the list.

A visit to a cyber cafe to print up the list and then to a photocopy shop to make five hundred copies of each page of names and how their beheaded heads are worth in pure gold bars. The minimum number of gold bars offered is six with the max being sixteen.

Using a certain disguised potion using various hairs instead of one, Harry visited various shady places, often leaving small stacks of the list at each spot. By dawn, those lists have found their way to various hit witches and wizards more then happy to earn such easy money.

**Hit Wizard: Ethan Baker**

_Not only can I finally kill that arrogant f#cker, his friends, and his kids but I'll earn over twenty gold bars by turning their heads in? Hell yea! This is turning out to be the best month ever!_ The muggleborn named Ethan thinks upon finding a pile of papers that came in threes, the pages were stapled together and each of the sheets are full of names of pure-blooded witches and wizards.

He couldn't help but begin whistling a tune as he heads for the nearest floo port to floo to Nott's place. Upon entering into the living room, Ethan waits for somebody to come into the living room to investigate. It didn't take long for Nott junior to arrive and one cutting curse causes the young man's head to hit the ground with a wet thud.

It takes about fifteen minutes for the young man's parents to arrive and before either could demand about why he's there, they lost their heads. With a flick of his wand causes the heads to shrink before pocketing them into a certain black leather bag.

Ethan takes a handful of floo powder and heads to the next house. _Have to hurry before somebody else hits them first._

**Selwyn Faywe**

His mug thuds upon the bar and he waits for the bar tender to fill it up. "Are you Selwyn? Selwyn Faywe?" A woman's voice asks huskily.

Glancing over at the witch to his right, he grins at the sight of the woman's bust size, not even bothering to look at the witch's face. "That's me. So, what do ya want?"

"Are you sure? I mean, you don't look like you use to be a Death Eater... I mean, they were all captured within a year after their master fell." The witch says and being drunk, it never occurred to Selwyn to wonder why this witch is even asking that.

"I left England within the week of his death. Likely one of the smart ones actually. Of course if I thought I could buy my way out like Malfoy, I wouldn't have had to leave my possessions behind." He spats as once more, the silver tongued blond had purchased his and his son's pardon.

"Good, I didn't want to get the wrong one." The witch says and suddenly, everything goes black for Selwyn.

**Harry Potter**

"Harry! Somebody has placed a reward upon my head! They already got my parents!" Draco Malfoy exclaims upon arriving into Harry's country home through the door.

"Really? Why don't you go to Shacklebolt? I mean, he's still in charge of auror unless he has been replace since I last saw him last week." Harry muses, he already knew about Malfoy's parents as somebody collected that bounty just yesterday.

_What to do, what to do..._ Harry muses as Draco rants about how ineffective the aurors are. He finds it funny since just a month ago, during an interview with the Daily Prophet his old classmate mentioned how they not longer need to rely upon the skills of a certain frame seeking man who took out the last Dark Lord.

_The sales of those properties were suppose to go to fund that department if I recall._ Harry thinks as he watches the blond pure-blood wizard pace about his living room. "I really don't see how this concerns me, Draco. I seem to recall an article last month where you said that I'm unneeded now that the auror department's funds were increased from the selling various confiscated properties."

"I even believe most of those belonged to the Black family before I was forced to 'sell' them in exchange to get rid of suddenly uncovered unpaid fines. I believe it took considerable effort for me to even keep that old mine and this house... I believe your party remarked about the fact that I had Potter properties to concern myself with." Harry remarks and Draco stiffens, likely finally remembering that.

"I believe you lot forgot that Dumbledore caused the liquidation of all of my father's vaults and properties." Harry remarks and Draco squims a bit. "And then, just a few days ago, not only did the Ministry give businesses permits to use my name to sell their product but told them that they didn't have to pay me royalties from previous, current, and future sales."

"Tell me, why should I help you, Draco? You sure as hell didn't try and defend my interests in the ministry, even though you owe me a life debt." Harry says slowly. "But then, I believe every f#cking witch and wizard owes me a life debt since I did kill old Tommy boy for them. And yet, how am I treated? You strip me of my inheritances, of my property... of my right to my own name. Is it any wonder that I decided enough is enough?"

"What did you do?" Draco asks in a harsh tone.

"Why, I'm taking back my dignity, Draco. I'm getting rid of these people who think they can do whatever they please to those who don't walk in their social circles." Harry explains. "Simply put, I'm helping the extinction of an inferior culture and people along. You lot are only dragging magic down, you put restrictions upon it, you police it, you fine it. You think only you and your families are the only ones with any right to use magic and since your powers are waning, you can't stand seeing how powerful in magic the muggleborns or the half-bloods are."

"You can't match their magical growth so you try and find other ways to cut them down. And they let you because they thought your society was one of fairness, it's only until they leave Hogwarts are they force to see just how unfair your society is upon them learning just what kind of jobs they can have."

"You... You don't have the money to pay those rewards!" Draco finally finds his voice but Harry just smiles. Draco's face snarls before going for his wand, but Draco is bound up by magic.

"No attacking Kreacher's master!" The elderly house elf snaps upon walking into the living room.

"Thank you Kreacher. It seems as though you just earned his bounty though." Harry muses as he gets up from his chair.

"Ise be needing no gold, master." Kreacher says and Harry smiles over at the house elf.

"You know, you could always use that gold to purchase linen and make yourself some suitable cloths. It's not an order, merely a suggestion since I'm sure you can stand to wear something to warm those old bones of yours." Harry admits after a moment's though.

Kreacher considers this before nodding. "Ise wouldn't mind new bed sheets." The house elf admits as Harry summons Draco's wand.

Using Draco's wand, Draco's head rolls onto the floor with blood starting to ooze from Malfoy's neck. Harry stares at the lifeless head, expecting some kind of emotion to come forth but only relief seems to be within him.

_I really need to find out more about that device and what kind of effects it causes._ Harry thinks. _Because I'm sure not acting in a way I would have approved of six months ago._

**The End**


	94. Portal Maddness 3: Naruto

**I don't own Naruto, Pet Shop of Horrors, Changeling the Lost, and Dragonlance!**

**- o 0 o -**

"Damn it, Hiko! Let me finish skinning this beast before giving it to ya!" Naruto snaps at the blue dragon whelp that seems to be more then happy to follow the ex-ninja about since the blond had defeated a group of knights to keep the blue wyrmling from being killed like the rest of Hiko's siblings.

"Not fault ya slow!" Hiko snaps at Naruto, its a wonder that in the five months that they've been together that the blue whelp has become this fluent in Naruto's native tongue. The wyrmling is trying to gut the stag that Naruto had killed.

Naruto just glares at the blue whelp but continues to skin the stag while trying to keep the stag is pinned to the ground long enough for his knife strokes to cut the furry hide free from the rest of the body. Hiko seems to be enjoying moving the dead body while the blond is skinning the beast. The body stops moving when Hiko managed to pull out most of the stag's organs and guts.

_Why am I traveling with Hiko again?_ Naruto wonders to himself as he finally finishes skinning the stag. Hiko snarls as the blond cause the body to move a bit while Naruto pulls the skin from the body.

Naruto just rolls his eyes at Hiko's reaction. _Selfish bastard._ The dimensionally displaced demon container thinks while rolling the skin up so it's easier to transport to their camp.

"I'll see ya back at our camp." Naruto says to the gorging blue wyrmling, who doesn't seem to care that his protector/minion is leaving him alone. Nothing but the sounds of Hiko enjoying the dead stag follows Naruto as the blond walks away.

0 o - o 0

"Just how are you suppose to help me get home?" Sakura wonders as she stares down at this odd canine that the pet shop owner called a coyote. The pink haired teen is just glad to be out of that shop since she couldn't help but find the store to be rather creepy and dangerous.

The canine doesn't seem to glance at Sakura, just turns an ear in her direction briefly as they walk down the street. It's been about six days since Sakura had thrown that vase in Naruto's direction, though both Sasuke and the blond idiot had dodged out of the way, the soot or ashes within the vase still managed to fly all over the place.

_He should know by now to stand there and take his punishment!_ Inner Sakura growls and Sakura nods her head in agreement with that. _You'd think he know by now not to stop picking useless fights with Sasuke-kun. He should know that he'll never reach Sasuke-kun's level of coolness or skill level._

* *

_Idiot girl..._ The coyote muses upon hearing that. _She really doesn't get it, does she?_ The coyote glances towards the dimensionally displace teen. _Oh well, she'll have to learn to keep her nose out of other people's business, especially when she should be worried about herself instead of obsessing about some body she'll likely never met again in her life._

0 o - o 0

Pain, Sasuke thought he knew about pain before but now, now he's come to realize that he had known nothing about it or ever really experienced it in the truest sense. _Even when sparring with Naruto have I never been hurt before... I hurt him plenty though... I guess this is karma biting me in the ass..._

Then the giggling begins and the sing song rhythms concerning what kind of experiments they're preforming upon him. For now, the pain isn't strong enough to drive out all of his thoughts since his captors are giving him a minor rest and time to recover from the previous row of experimentation. Sasuke knows he's weeping, he's just not sure if its because he's now got time to reflect upon his short, pitiful life or if he's already missing being experimented on since now they'll be giggling and singing to him, causing him to think about what new torments they can put him through.

Sasuke couldn't see his captors, they had at the beginning taken his eyes out. He can feel something in his eye sockets but he knows that they weren't eyeballs since his vision hasn't returned. The salt in his tears sting his injuries while Sasuke moves his tongue about his mouth, trying to figure out if they have yet gotten around to replacing his teeth with something else.

At some point, Sasuke feels himself becoming numb to the giggling and the sing song of his captors. His eyelids grow heavy and he blacks out.


	95. NeoIzapa Cooperation: Harry Potter

**I don't own Harry Potter!**

- o 0 o -

**Neo-Izapa Cooperation Headquarters**  
**November 1, 1994**

_To President Seath Harrison Vargr Jampotter Lykos. The latest shipment of beer has blah blah blah._ Seath flickers a finger and the ass kissing letter moves to the tray with its brothers. As Seath moves to pick up the another paper from his In box, fire flashes upon one of the two chairs before him.

"You do know that I don't go by Harry Potter any more, don't you?" Seath asks the phoenix, his ears perked forward while the white furred wolf-man doesn't look up at the magical bird. "I know you like to humor that man, but I'm not in much of a mood to humor him. I do enjoy my independence after all."

Fawkes thrills for a few seconds before vanishing in a fireball, leaving some scroll upon the chair. With a snort, the scroll becomes ashes after the white wolf-man with sapphire eyes gives it a glance. Seath already has a good idea of what that scroll likely contained and he has long since decided when he returned as a five year old that he's had enough the the UK Wizarding world, but before the time traveler did anything, he had destroyed the device that would return him to his proper time.

_Glamor Ink, got to love it, especially when its magic is capable to lasting up to six years._ Seath muses, remembering how he managed to slip in a bunch of papers that had been signed by the right people. Seath just assumes that those that signed it thought the papers had to deal with the budget and had needed signatures to validate it.

_Whatever they thought of those papers, they got signed and I became a legal adult._ Seath muses as he remembers how relieved he had been when those papers had been filed. He had waited about a week before beginning to use his family vaults and back then, Seath, or to use his old name, Harry had a rough idea of what he wanted to do and one of the first things had to do with finding a way not to attend Hogwarts and he knew of such a way too.

With a sight, Seath leans back into his chair. The chair had been specifically to accommodate his tail, behind, and leg build. The chair and others like it had been part of a large order he had placed with dwarfs back when he started the company upon a few new therianthropes, freshly werewolf bitten people who decided to drink that potion that is the curse editing potion, accepting positions in his, then, magical miniature company.

_Paying Fenrir was differently one of the best ideas I had. Too bad I didn't possess a sample of a large feline like a tiger or lynx before I took that potion... Ah well, at least I possess an infallible lie detector out of it._ Seath thinks before wondering what ever became of that mangy werewolf for a few seconds.

With a sigh, Seath sets down the paper in his hand since its clear that he's not in the right state to continue through his paper work. _Changed my name after I recovered from the potion's effects. Kind of surprising that I came out of that with white fur and blue eyes, not that I'm complaining as now nobody will be able to say I look just like my dad save for having my mom's eyes._

Seath moves to stand before a magical barrier that acts to keep separate the hospitable environment with the inhospitable one of the moon. If he turns his head just so, he can get a glimpse of the Earth. Seath can still recall how his budding company ended up being the first to colonize the moon.

_Kind of surprised that the idea came from Skylar would actually work? I mean, you'd think a dwarf would prefer to keep their feet on the ground? It helps that unlike wizards, our magic doesn't begin to fade in under two years of living up here._ Seath admits as he stares up at the Earth.

Instead of importing food from Earth, they altered and added charms to certain enclosed miniatures to grow their own food and raise their own cattle. It had taken time but they managed to learn how to safely shrink and unshrink living things like plants, people, and animals. They even learnt how to enlarge the enclosed space of three by four foot box to seemingly become a large landmass little over the size of North America, giving them ample space to grow crops and raise cattle as they can control the climate within those miniature farms.

They began to grow a lot more grain and cattle then they needed and began to sell the surplus to non-humans as those races lack the land needed to grow their own since wizards and witches keep them from owning properties. When Seath turned twelve, they began to grow cultivate magical forests with animals and then they moved on to recreate various environments like a South American rain forest to help preserve endangered non-magical animals and plants.

_Started mining minerals just last year... I still can't believe we hadn't thought to search for such pockets before Skylar began that mining operation in the belt when I was ten._ Seath admits with a soft sigh. _Ah well, live and learn, live and learn._

Seath looks away from the Earth to look at the slowly expanding compound. The compound is slowly becoming a city with its own shops and residency, the majority are fellow therianthropes with, oddly enough, centaurs coming in second and dwarves coming in third. No humans, magical or otherwise, live up here though.

The chime of the clock declares that its noon and within seconds, Seath transforms into his human form. Therianthropes prefer to spend one third of the day in each of their three forms as it has proven that such a lifestyle helps keep them from aging. For him, he spends the morning in his hybrid form, afternoon in his human one, and evening in his animal one. If it weren't for a certain potion helping Seath to age artificially, he would likely look like a five year old still.

Seath summons his cloths and watches as the charms upon the cloths seem to shimmer and move to cover his body with only a minor application of magic. "Will you be eating lunch in your office or going out for it?" Claire, who's a cheetah therianthrope as well as his secretary asks as Seath is walking over to his desk.

"I believe out, Claire." Seath says as he takes out his latest novel and his own employee card. The card is needed to be able to get around the majority of the office space as it separates company workers from the newly arrive settlers of the compound.

"I see, sir." Claire in her hybrid form says as she moves out of the doorway to allow Seath out of the office.

"Oh, and keep an eye out for port-keys. I received a visit from a phoenix this morning." Seath explains and Claire nods with pressed lips.

Seath manages to catch the lift before it descended downwards. _I wonder how fazed the headmaster is concerning how everything is diverging from his thought out plans?_ Seath wonders while his employees sharing the lift with him continue to chatter with each other.

**November 24, 1994**

Seath looks up as a rather large fireball appears not far from his desk and when the flames vanish to reveal Fawkes resting upon Dumbledore's arm and the arm of one of the judges. Seath studies them for a few seconds before security pops into the room. "Place the cuffs on them and stun the phoenix." Seath states before returning to signing a page upon a report.

None of the three intruders manage to udder a sound before Seath's security detail deals with them. "Sure we put them in cold storage, sir?" Julius inquires.

"I believe that should suffice." Seath says after glancing up and studying the three for a few seconds. "Keep them until tomorrow morning before deporting them back to Earth. I believe they belong to the UK part of the world." The white furred wolf-man says.

The leopard therianthrope salutes before motioning for the others to pick up the three. Within seconds, the security detail and intruders vanish, leaving Seath alone once more within his office. Seath already knew why they came and didn't care to try and reason with the lot since they clearly didn't even bother to try and go through the proper channels and thus, he doesn't feel as though he needs to give them a moment of his time.

**June 24, 1995**

"One would have thought you'd learn your lesson from the last time you visited." Seath states calmly as he looks up at the phoenix. "We both know that since I didn't attend the first task, it's clear that I'm not a participant." Seath adds icily and the fire bird just sighs.

Seath studies the phoenix for a few seconds before considering a different angle. Quickly, Seath stuns the magical bird and picks up Fawkes to take the bird to the research part of the compound. Seath raises an eyebrow at the smoke that rolls out into the hallway upon his opening of an office door.

"Lork?" Seath asks the insane goblin and hears his head of testing department croaks out, "Here!"

"What do you need? Can't you see I'm very busy!" Lork demands while snatching a metal tube from desk top.

"I want you to examine this for any trace of any alien magic effecting this phoenix." Seath states as he holds up the stunned bird.

Lork and the two gnomes within the office eyes light up at the sight of Fawkes. "Really? Truly? A genuine phoenix?" Lork asks, the black skinned goblin drops the tube and it thuds upon the ground.

"Yes, this really is a phoenix." Seath says before adding, "I want you to keep careful notes upon examining this bird and I want them on my desk within an hour of you being through with your examination as well."

Lork just nods in an absentminded way, clearly too mesmerized by the sight of Fawkes to really put up an argument about sharing his notes with anyone, including he himself. "I'll leave you to begin your study then." Seath states as Lork comes to stand before him.

Seath hands the stunned bird over to Lork. A metal band to hamper teleportation magic is slipped upon Fawkes' foot before Lork takes the phoenix from him. The two gnomes move stand next to Lork and with a sigh, Seath withdraws from the office, heading back up to his office.

Seath is fairly confident that Fawkes won't winded up dead after Lork's examination, whether or not Fawkes wishes he were dead afterwards would likely be the question though.

**June 30, 1995**

"This meeting better not be a waste of my time." Seath growls as he follows a goblin towards the meeting room. _At least they went through the proper channels this time._

Seath's claws click upon the stone floor and his ears reflect his state of mind. The various beads and items have been magically woven using those elongated strands, so as he moves they softly click against each other. Typically, Seath's fur wouldn't have long strands to so but with an application of a potion, certain areas were it was applied had grown long, allowing him to weave beads, feathers, and jewelry using his long strands of fur.

Seath had also used another potion upon his fur to darken sections of his white fur, creating various designs upon his head, arms, chest, and back. He created geometric symbols about his body. The various decorations woven in his fur and the markings he had created upon his fur coat were just temperate and easy to remove since all Seath had to do is shift into his human form. The fur holding the decorations will fall off and vanish before hitting the floor, leaving only the various beads, feathers, and jewelry upon the floor.

Stopping just before the door leading into the meeting room of the bank, Seath takes a few minutes to center himself and to force his body to display a calm, confident appearance. Seath had decorated himself up to reinforce the fact that he was a civilized being. Attending this meeting in his hybrid form is just to remind them that he's not human, reminding the lot that the Boy-Who-Lived doesn't exists, only Seath Lykos remains.

_They'll be off set by my appearance, thus giving me the advantage._ Seath reminds himself before he takes the door handle and opens the door.

Sapphire eyes scan the room, noting the reactions of the various parties within the meeting room of the bank. "Good day. I am President Seath Lykos of Neo-Izapa Cooperation, although you likely know me best by my previous name of Harry Potter." Seath states and the residence within the room jerk as if he had slapped them.

Seath doesn't move to take a chair, after all, the chairs would only cause him to become discomforted. "Now then, why have you arranged this meeting with me? I happen to be a rather busy person after all." Seath states. "So, could we hurry this along? I have reports to go over and documents to sign."

Seath is very pleased to see how quickly the other occupant of the room quickly turned upon Dumbledore, demanding to know what happened to him. Seath watches this for a bit, enjoying how none of them seem to remember why they arranged this meeting as none of them turned to address him.

Seath did wonder if any of them knew anything at all about his company but dismissed that thought since he doesn't recall seeing any sale receipts concerning the UK. _As fun as this is, I have other places to be._ Seath muses.

"As fascinating as this is, we are here to conduct some business. I believe the first order of business is, I'm an emancipated minor and have been since I was five. If you don't believe me, then I suggest you requires that a goblin bring in a copy of said document. Sadly, within a few months of becoming a legal adult, I was bitten by a werewolf, although I was lucky enough to have privy to an experimental potion, I became what you see before you." Seath states. "With that in mind, I decided that the best course of action was to legally change my name and move out of the country."

"It wasn't hard to find and hire tutors once I was in Mexico." Seath states, enjoying the looks upon their faces upon hearing those explanations. "Thus, why I am not a student of Hogwarts. As such, I was not within the UK when this tournament began and even if I had signed up to participate in it, I wouldn't have used my old name since it is my belief that Harry Potter died the day he received that bite from a werewolf." Seath states, he knows that a certain reporter is in the room and this was more for her benefit then these so call important witches and wizards.

"Unless our business has to do with something other then said subject, I believe our business is done here. So, is there any business we need to touch upon or have I satisfied your curiosity?" Seath asks and after a few minutes, none of them manage to find their voice, so he says, "Well then, good day to you all."

With that, Seath takes out a port-key and within seconds, Seath arrives in his office and after glancing about, he finally lets loose a chuckle as he recalls their priceless looks upon their faces after shoving so much information down their throats. Seath could only guess what kind of article will be showing up in the Daily Prophet.

_That was fun._ Seath thinks as he moves to sit at his desk. His sapphire eyes alight with laughter.

_I wonder how things will fall now?_ Seath wonders as he begins to read through an outline concerning creating ocean habitats. _Does it matter? I'm not going to bail them out of it this time, not when they still have control over Dementors and could get them to kiss those soul containers._

**The End**

Bonus:

**What has Become of the Boy-Who-Lived?**

**Harry James Potter, or to use his new name, Seath Harrison Vargr Jampotter Lykos, President of Neo-Izapa Cooperation has finally made an public appearance yesterday at Gringotts Wizarding Bank here in the UK. A meeting of sorts had been planned by Minister Fudge and Headmaster Dumbledore with the famous Boy-Who-Lived only for it to quickly become a joke upon the arrival of young Seath as just arriving within the meeting room, the Potter heir caused a stir at his inhuman appearance.**

**Within minutes, the Boy-Who-Lived admitted to being bitten by a werewolf within a few months of becoming an emancipated minor at age five, which explains his odd appearance of being stuck in the form of a human shape wolf appearance. It seems that the Boy-Who-Lived had drunk a potion that caused the newly bitten boy to live his life in this strange form.**

**If this wasn't enough, young Harry, fearing for his life, legally changed his name, emptied his accounts, and fled our of the UK to escape becoming a second class citizen. The young boy settled in Mexico and quickly hired tutors since young Seath feared that his newly altered appearance would make it difficult to receive an education.**

**It wasn't long before the young Potter heir purchased a the copy right to Izapa and opened a successful miniature company. By the time Seath turned eight, the pitiful wolf-child moved Neo-Izapa Cooperation out of Mexico. There isn't a listings of what new country the headquarters resides in, but it is likely a secret to keep people from hunting the Potter Heir.**

**The compnay founded by the Boy-Who-Lived, Neo-Izapa Cooperation seems to be doing a lot of business with non-humans, preferably dwarves and, surprisingly enough, centaurs. During the years, they have expanded into selling food stuffs, potion ingredients, and ore. There are also rumors of this company trying to enter into the fashion scene, though they don't hint how they plan to do so.**

**It should be noted that since the young Potter heir has legally changed his name over nine years ago, this name change seems to be the reason why the Boy-Who-Suffers not only continues to do magic as he was entered under his old name, Harry Potter, but causes this reporter to wonder if the young business owner isn't justified in being concerned about his safety.**


	96. The True Path of Stealth: Naruto

I don't own Naruto!

**- o 0 o -**

**Some City in Earth Country**

They're hopes of him failing in this bet dries up as the wagon begins to slow down.

Thus he had succeeded in winning the wager between himself and his whole class. He's not only been one of the run for two months but he's yet to be caught. He even has one more place to stop at, one thing to purchase, and he can return to Hidden Leaf in victory.

_This will surely prove that I'm so much cooler then Sasuke. Boy, I can't wait to see their reaction when I stroll into the village with proof of my visitations to Wind and Earth Country!_ He thinks as he waits for the wagon to come to a stop and then drop down.

He relaxes his claws in the planks as the wagon stops at the gate. He manages to twist his current thin, muscular body to land on his four limbs. Upon shaking his head, he darts to the side as guards at the gate begin to check the wagon over. None of the guards paid his current Henge, a weasel, much mind.

It takes him a bit before he finds a deserted alley to change his Henge to that of a boy of five years of age with dirty white hair and hazel green eyes. He did add a burn mark upon his neck, he found it rather easy to create scar tissue using Henge and is kind of trying out creating tattoos upon his body using Henge jutsu. And finally, he sports cloths that appear to be at least one size larger then needed upon him as well as appearing pretty ratty as to help him pass himself off as a street urchin.

He's not sure where his actual cloths and pack vanish off into when he Henges, but he has come to realize that whatever cloths he created using Henge are pretty durable and don't cost him anything other then a bit of chakra once a day to maintain itself. Heck, he's learnt that if he were to wrap a hair around a stick, he can transform the stick into a kunai, although the Henge usually disappears about five minutes after leaving his person, he's just glad that it doesn't cancel out upon leaving his hand.

And so he wanders about the town, taking in the unusual sights while being shooed away from market stalls. After a while, he finds a nice enough spot and dismisses his current Henge so that he can access his rations that he had packed since he doesn't feel up to digging about within the trash for a quick meal or trying to steal something from one of the shops. _Now then, where would I find one of those paintings..._

He ponders this for a bit as he eats two field ration bars and kind of decides to try the better off part of town. He pockets the wrappers before Henging into the shape of a thirty-something adult with black graying hair and bread. He hopes that his Henge's cloths won't mark him as too much of an outsider as he moves to join the flow of people.

He grins softly at the sight of an art gallery, he's sure he'll be able to find a painting by this artist who's works are never allowed to leave Earth Country. He's not sure why that is, but is certain that possessing one of these paintings will prove that he had indeed visited Earth Country. He takes his sweet time studying the paintings in the gallery, trying to pick out which one he wants to steal.

He sucks in his breath at the sight of this painting featuring a family of kitsune kits, five kits in all in a forest setting. Each of the fire colored young ktisune kits possess two tails each. "That one was one of Riku Akino's earlier works. The forest is said to be inspired during Akino's travels though Fire Country."

He glances over at one of the gallery workers. "Is that so? Its a rather cute scene he imagined." He reflects upon returning to gaze at the painting. "It must fetch a pretty fine price." He adds.

"Not as much as you would think. Ever since the Yellow Flash defeated the Kyuubi, few are looking to purchase anything to do with kitsunes." The attendant adds.

"One would think that after ten years that opinions would change." He remarks. "Did Akino draw any more creature of legend or have you sold out of them?" He inquires and it wasn't long before the attendant shows him the few paintings by the same artist.

He leaves the gallery after finish looking about the inside of the building. He'll wait a week before robbing this store of one of its paintings. After all, he has other things he'd like to look for before returning to Hidden Leaf in Fire Country.

Nine Days Later

He continues to resist the urge to buck the man off his back. _Although, at least I'm not in a crap space in the Henge of a mouse or weasel._ He thinks as he shakes his head, causing his black mane to whip about a bit.

"Easy boy." His rider says upon patting his neck and then stroking the spot too. He sighs while continuing down the path that his rider is directing him to follow. His horse Henge coloration is that of a blue roan and stands about sixteen hands.

_Last time I hide in a stable. Although, it does have its benefits._ He thinks as he glances at some flowering plants or up at some sparrows flying over head.

His rider pulls upon his reins, reminding him to pay attention to where he's going. Nickering from his 'fellows' cause him to perk up. He spots a runner coming up from down the path. He makes a throaty sound which he hopes were correct in voicing his curiosity.

The party pulls to the side of the road to allow the runner to get pass them. His rider pulls and clicks softly, he notices the other horses slow down and he mimics them. The runner seems to slow as the runner jogs pass the first members of the party.

With the runner out of sight, his rider taps his heels into his side and with a snort, picks up his pace. As they once more range about the road, he once more ponders just what kind of business this group is on. He knows for a fact that they weren't samurai and very few of them possess a weapon so he doubts that they're bandits. The fact that they're renting him and the other horses means that where ever they're going, the place possess a stable likely run by relatives of the one that rented him out.

He guesses that he'll just have to wait for more clues. After all, they only left that town only one day ago. He's not sure how long they'll be on the road but he just hopes that it won't take too long to reach this distention since he really needs to get back home to collect his wins from the bet that's between him and his classmates.

Two Months Later

_Home sweet home!_ He thinks as he catches sight of the gates of Hidden Leaf. He spreads his wings wide as he launches himself off the wooden roof of one of the trader's wagons. Black feathers glisten in the sun light as he heads to fly through the gates of his home village, one that he hasn't living in for little over six months as he was busy trying to fulfill the terms of the bet.

He, in time, soars over the stalls of one of the market places of the ninja village. Upon locating his apartment building, he adjusts his wings and tail feather to land upon the roof. Within seconds, his Henge dispels and he then moves to walk down the stairs to enter into his apartment before he decides to pay Old Man Third a visit.

Upon stepping through his apartment door, he sighs and stretches. He closes the door behind him and after walking pass his couch, he takes off his knapsack and drops it down upon it. The pack is filled with not just proof of his visitations in Wind and Earth Country but also jutsu scrolls he found in pawn shops in various cities and towns, dry food stuffs, ninja equipment he purchased in Wind Country, and foreign money that he got by pick pocketing.

His gaze lifts from the village to the cliff faces. "The Yellow Flash..." He murmurs as he focuses upon the fourth face. "Just what kind of jutsu was it that you used in that war... I wonder if you got a chance to write it down somewhere. If so, I'm so going to turn this village upside down trying to find it, believe it!"

He laughs then and only stops after a few minutes had passed. He glances around, trying to find a clock to know what time it is. With a frown, he turns away from the window and begins to unpack his knapsack. The painting by Ruki Akino he stole while in Earth Country and triple bladed sword he stole in Wind Country he puts off to the side, deciding to take it with him when he goes visits Old Man Third.

Before he leaves his apartment, he takes the rolled up painting and unfurls it. He smiles at the kitsune kits playing in a forest. It's the same one that he had asked about with that attendant came up to him. With a sigh, he rerolls the painting and reties the cord, securing it to his belt before shouldering the decorative sword upon his back.

He uses a Henge to hide both from view as he doesn't want somebody to steal them from him. He leaves the apartment and once out of the building, he heads for the tower where Old Man Hokage's office is. He gets picked up just outside of the tower and is quickly taken to the Old Man.

"Hey, gramps! Long time no see!" He says cheerfully.

"Naruto... I see you are back from your trip." The Old Man states. "You do know that you caused people to worry needlessly about you."

"Heh, missed ya too, Old Man! Anyway, I only left to win a bet! I can't wait to get my earnings." He says to the Hokage. "Check it out! I got one of those triple blade swords from Wind Country and a painting from the artist Ruki Akino!" He says, releasing his Henge so said items appear.

He kind of notices the startled look upon the Old Man's eyes but decides to ignore it as he places the sword upon the desk before the rolled up painting. The Hokage puts down his pipe before picking up the rolled painting. He can't help grinning as the Old Man unrolls it and his eyes widen slightly.

He watches as the Old Man checks the stamp and signature upon the back. "Pretty cool painting, yea? It's one of his earlier works." He explains. "'Course nobody in Earth Country are looking to buy anything featuring a kitsune cause it reminds them of how the Fourth dealt with the Kyuubi."

"Its very nice, Naruto." Old Man Hokage says as the man begins to reroll the painting. "Why don't you tell us of this bet then?"

With a frown, he begins at the beginning, "Well, ya see, it all started when some of my classmates started making fun of the fact that I wear orange cloths..."

The Next Day

He whistles a tune as he walks through the gate of the academy. He heads straight for the classroom, his Henge firmly in place since it wouldn't do to tip his classmates off that he's returned. It wasn't long before he finds Iruka-sensei in the classroom.

"Hey sensei! Long time to see!" He says cheerfully as he enters the classroom upon releasing his Henge.

"Naruto? Naruto! Where have you been? Do you know how many classes you've missed?" Iruka-sensei demands and he just laughs while rubbing the back of his head.

"I don't know, about six months worth? Boy, I can't wait to collect on that bet, believe it!" He answers and watches as Iruka-sensei rubs his nose scar. "Want to see my new sword that I got in Wind Country or how about taking a gander at my painting that I got in Earth Country?"

The chuunin instructor raises an eyebrow and he watches as Iruka-sensei looks at his sword hilt. He draws the sword and brings it before him, giving Iruka-sensei a view of the three blades coming out of the hilt. He notices the surprise flashing in his teacher's eyes at the sight of the blades.

After a few seconds, he sheaths the sword, feeling pleased with himself. "Want to take a look at the painting? It's one of Ruki Akino's earlier works." He tells the chuunin.

Iruka-sensei's lips press together while the academy teacher gently shakes his head. "Maybe later." Iruka-sensei says and he just shrugs.

He heads to take a seat out of sight, he even goes so far as to reapply his previous Henge to surprise the rest of the class. A few minutes later, the first bell goes and students slowly arrive with stragglers arriving seconds after the second bell sounds. Very few students take notice of him and those that did, he could only say that they would likely be better ninja since they seem to have a grasp upon the fact that one can never to too safe unless they are aware of their surrounds instead of taking it for granted that they were safe, be it because of Iruka-sensei is in the room or because they're in their home village.

_I wonder how many of them would have gone about fulfilling that bet? Would it have taken them as long as me or would they have been caught within their first week outside of Hidden Leaf? I doubt they would know or think about picking pockets to get money... Doubt they'd be able to plan and execute it to steal either items._ He thinks as Iruka-sensei does roll call.

When his name comes up, he stands up and dispels his Henge. "Yo, I'm back and you guys better be up to fulfilling your side of the bet, believe it!" He declares with everybody turned to look at him, he poses with a grin upon his face before sitting back down so Iruka-sensei could continue.

"Settle down! I said SETTLE DOWN!" Iruka-sensei orders as the students all begin talking at once. Most of them clearly don't believe he could have fulfilled his side of the bet, declaring that he doesn't have any proof.

_Sucks to be them, the Old Man examined both items himself! He even wrote that scroll declaring that I won the bet. There's no way they can ignore that!_ He muses with a wide, satisfied grin upon his face.

Lunch seem to arrive fairly quickly and he was mobbed upon the bell releasing them from class sounds. "Read it and weep, you guys! The Hokage himself examined my evidence and wrote this!" He declares over the chorus of voices as he takes out the scroll and unrolls it upon the desk.

The class quiets down and Sakura reads the contains of the scroll out loud, including the fact that they were all on punishment detail for encouraging a fellow classmate to risk his life. He's not sure why, but he isn't expected to serve this punishment since the Old Man said that he was just a subject of peer pressure and he needed to catch up on all the work that he missed during those months he was outside of the village.

_I have to admit that those two weeks spent with that lady sure helped to improve my reading and writing abilities._ He reflects as the group before him demands to see his proof. He takes out a protective container that the Third had given him before taking the sword off his back.

"Here they are, a painting done by Ruki Akino of Earth Country and a triple bladed sword by the famous blacksmith of Wind Country, Takatoshi Yurika." He declares as Ino slowly pulls the painting from its container while one of the girls unsheathes the sword a few inches, allowing them all to see the triangle look of the sword's blades. The smith's stamp is upon one of blade's sides.

His age-mates murmur at the sword and then at the picture featuring those kitsune kits. Most of the girls coo at the sight of such cute kits while the boys are more interested in the sword. He isn't all that surprised to see Sasuke looking rather sulky, likely not liking the fact that he managed to do something far beyond his skills.

After a while, his classmates begin to leave. It's clear they didn't like the fact that not only do they owe him a lot of cash, about three weeks worth of allowance from each of them but the Old Man has decided they were responsible for him leaving the village. He wonders how their parents will react to that as he rolls the painting up and puts it back into its container.

Test of Team 7

He watches as his first clone stands firm instead of scattering about. He climbs down the tree trunk, heading for one of his other clones. The clone soon uses Henge to alter his cloths to sport wider sleeves as he uses chakra to cling to his clone's arm.

The other clones should be altering their cloths too. Within seconds, the clone he's hitching a ride upon charges forward. He lunges forward and manages to bite upon one of the bells' strings. As his clone pulls away, one of the bells come along for the ride.

He climbs out of the clone's sleeve as the clone lands roughly in some bushes before the clone pops. He drops the bell string down so he can wrap his body around the silver bell. He feels very smug at stealing this bell but doesn't dispel any of his clones since he wants them to keep Kakashi busy, so busy as to not notice the disappearance of one of the bells. So he waits for the alarm to go off before arriving with the bell.

He breaths a sigh of relief when the fighting moves from this part of the training ground. He doesn't bother to move from his spot since he doesn't want to have the bell sound while he moves. Besides, it's not as though he's got nothing to occupy his mind since as a clone vanishes, he inherits its memories, allowing him to know what's going on.

By the time the alarm sounds, pretty much all of his clones have been vanquished. As the alarm sounds, those clones Henged into the shape of crows dispel and he discovers that one of the clones managed to get a prefect angle to see the hand signs of Sasuke's fireball jutsu. He dispels his Henge and picks up the bell as he focuses on the hand signs needed to preform such a feat.

He sits upon the log with not only a wide grin but with the bell in his jacket pocket. Kakashi arrives after his two team-mates arrive. He notices the look in Kakashi's eyes and takes out the bell, tension sudden hangs about the scene. "Can't tie me to the log, I got this." He can't help but remind the jonin.

It wasn't long before Sakura is tied to one of the logs. He frowns but couldn't find a memory that showed that Sakura had even tried to fight Kakashi, just her falling prey to a genjutsu. He also recalls her fainting upon seeing Sasuke caught in that earth style jutsu, so he can't see any reason why she shouldn't be tied to a log. _Well, other then the fact that she's a girl and will likely start tearing up in a few minutes._

Sure enough, as Kakashi begins to lecture them upon their lack of teamwork, Sakura has started to tear up. He notices cause he wasn't really listening to Kakashi's lecture since he feels that the man was expecting silk from a sheep in regards to either Sakura trying to work with him or Sasuke getting off his high horse to work with either Sakura or himself.

_Besides, its not as though I don't have another career option. I proved myself to be a fairly decent theif and if I work on it, I'm sure I can become one of the best in the Elemental Countries. Although, considering what I hold, it would be a 'waste' for me not to become a ninja since I got tons more chakra then even Old Man Hokage does!_ He thinks, he does remember those lesson on politics he received while traveling with that trader in the form of a teen.

He is startled when Sasuke bellows and charges at the jonin. Within a blink of an eye, Kakashi has Sasuke pinned to the ground with a kunai pointed at the Uchiha's neck. "Get off of Sasuke!" Sakura screams and he glances at the pink haired teen in disbelief since he really doesn't see how the girl could make the jonin do anything.

"Like you're in a position to have him let Uchiha up even if you weren't tied up. He's a jonin, after all, pretty much out of our league." He remarks to Sakura and the pink haired genin is rather startled that he said that.

"I'm not very fond of suck ups." Kakashi remarks lightly and he snorts.

"Who's sucking up? You weren't even trying during that test! If you really took that test seriously, you would have hid and waited out the alarm without any of us being able to find you. Just because I'm an attention seeking brat doesn't mean I'm not an observant attention seeking brat." He points out. _Or I would have been detained at the various village and city gates and taken away to be question extensively._

He managed to escape the two times he had that done to him, sure, but he's pretty sure that the increase in village security likely happened because of him. It was about then that he began using animal Henges to escape notice and to hide among incoming wagons. _Though, if I had known that I could have flown around, I would have finished fulfilling the bet far quicker then I had._

Kakashi seems a bit startled by what he said while Sasuke likely sports a very loathsome look upon his face at the fact that he's saying that the jonin was going easy on them. "Well then, what kind of excuse can you come up with as to why you didn't work with your team?" Kakashi asks lightly.

"Gee, I don't know, how about the fact that they're just mimicking the attitude of the villagers? Or obeying their parents' sentiments concerning me? I mean, sure, Uchiha's parents have been dead for years but it's clear that he has picked up on the civic attitude of me being a pest. I bet Sakura's a produce of both." He answers and he could tell that Kakashi seems to frown.

"So, when I realized the goal of this little test, I knew you were trying to get silk from a sheep." He adds and hears somebody snort at that turn of phrase. "Kind of impossible since silk comes from worms."

"Indeed..." Kakashi muses and oddly enough, he finds a hint of respect in the single, visible eye of the jonin.

"So... what's your decision? I mean, are you going to pass any of us or are you going to fail us?" He presses. "Cause I want to know so I can start making plans for the future." He adds.

"Hmm, I thought I made it clear that you failed." Kakashi states and he shrugs, "I wasn't listening to your lecture, didn't think it meant much considering the Uchiha clearly won't take it to heart."

Sasuke just 'fehs' at that while Sakura yells at him about how great the Uchiha is compared to him. He ignores them both as he drops down off the log.

"So, where do I turn this headband in? I mean, I rather not get in trouble by impersonating a Leaf ninja." He says as he unties the headband. "Or do you just take them from us before you go?"

"Leave it on the log, I'll pick it up once I'm done with these two since I take it you'll be leaving now?" Kakashi asks and he nods.

Once the headband is upon the top of the log, he grins before using the substitution jutsu on a rotten log his clones had discovered a few kilometers away from this training ground. With a grin, he Henges into the form of a crow and takes to the air, heading not for his apartment, but out of the village, heading for the Land of Wave since he heard that it had nice views of various things.

Majority of his belonging are sealed in a storage scroll, he thought it a wise course of action on his part since it was unlikely that they could impress the jonin enough to pass, not when it's pretty obvious that the man really wasn't interest in having a team to model into ninja. He waits until he's high enough in the air before switching into the form of an eagle since he needs something with stamina to soar away from the village without needing to flap his wings.

Three Years Later

"Wanted, the Beast Thief, uses trained animals to aid in thieving throughout all of the continent. Reward for bringing in alive, $ 9,000. Rewards for bringing in dead, $ 4,000." He says before snorting at the wanted poster. There wasn't a picture to go along with the poster.

_Only nine-thousand? Huh, you'd think it would be more considering the worth of most of what I've been stealing._ He thinks as he gazes away from the poster and continues on his way to the back to upon on his apron to help out in the kitchen.

Being the only bar/mess hall in the small camp is the reason why there is a bulletin board located upon one of the mess hall's posts since pretty much everyone living in the camp eventually arrives to eat a meal they didn't have to cook themselves as nobody has their own private fridge in which to store food in. The fridge that the mess hall uses is a portable one that is powered by chakra then by electricity.

The purpose of this camp is to harvest wild herbs and begin preserving them so they can be shipped out when they head for their employer's base in a small town that's within a few days journey from the boarders the land of Fire. He only signed up because he wanted to spend time out in the wilderness and not in the Henge of an animal.

He stiffens as his primary distraction dispels after being around for about three years. _Huh, oh well, I knew the clone would vanish one day, at least there's a good three year period in which time manage to cover up my real trail in the world. Although, I wonder how many will connect the Beast Thief to Naruto Uzumaki?_

**So I end it here**


	97. Shinigami Naruto: Bleach

I don't own Bleach or Naruto!

**- o 0 o -**

"Why couldn't my test be beating you up, Aozora? This whole scavanger hunt is just so tiring." He says to his Zanpakuto who's name is Aozora no Kemono.

**"Don't give me that look! It's not as though I make the rules, you know."** Replies a being that appears to be some kind of winged demon. **"Although, I do kind of enjoy being out and about instead of stuck in your mindscape."** The manifestation of Aozora no Kemono adds.

His Zanpakuto that measures to be five and a half long with two foot wide flat blade that seems to be made out of some kind of blue metal, the metal always shins blue though some sections of it is lighter or darker then other parts of the blade. The guard about the hilt seems to be stiff metal chains encircling it. It's because of Aozora's unique blade, Aozora no Kemono is considered to be one of the prettier Zanpakutos in all of the Soul Society since he manifested Aozora no Kemono while still attending the, then, new academy; the academy that replaced the previous method of master and apprentice(s).

"Glad you're enjoying all of this, partner, but I really want to master Bankai before I'm needed back at the academy." He, once more, says to Aozora. "Besides, it seems like I'm missing the frame to put these scattered pieces of the picture. Heck, I'd say that there should be more pieces needed since few of these seem to match up with each other." He adds as he finishes up his meal.

**"I don't see why you prefer to teach then to go on patrol with your division. We are hard to beat in a fight, after all. We could have easily fit in with the eleventh division instead of being member of nineth division."** Aozora says. **"If were were on patrol, you could easily find time to fulfill this task while keeping it a secret as well as move along onto using it. Homing your skills against Hollows."**

He frowns as he brushes his bright blond bangs from his face. He leans back in his chair, glancing over to where Aozora is siting upon one of his few chairs. Unlike his quarters in the Seireitei, this house in the farthest reaches of the Rukongai districts and thus, doesn't have a lot of creature comforts. Instead of answering, he merely studies Aozora's red hair done up in a pony tail, the horns and spiked eye ridges above Aozora's purple eyes(in appearance think Disney's Gargoyles).

He can easily see the top parts of his partner's almost bat like wings. He's seen Aozora fold his wings about his shoulders, creating a kind of cape while the 'thumbs' of the wings kind of hook upon each other. With a sigh, he glances towards the entrance of the house, trying to think of how to explain that the number nine means something to him.

"There's just something about that number... I just feel like it has some kind of meaning for me, like it's some kind of link to who I really am." He finally says, it's the first time he has finally verbalize it.

**"Huh, how... interesting. I wonder if you'll be finally willing to explain your dislike of the number seven then."** Aozora muses and he tosses his Zanpakuto spirit a look before getting up off the floor.

"I think I'm going to tour about this district one last time. Forgive me for leaving you here, Aozora. I rather not rub it into their faces what I really am." He says politely to his Zanpakuto.

Aozora waves a hand in a dismissive fashion. **"Enjoy the boring sights, Naruto. I think I'm going to give that puzzle Gyou gave ya a try."**

With a nod, he walks through the beads that act like a door. The sun is only just setting but since the residents of this district don't need to eat, nobody but him really pay much mind to the passage of time. A few if any of the residents mark him walking down the street.

He notices Teruna, a brunet and Tsuyako, a fellow blond seem to be arguing about who wove the best looking mat for Nijito. The nervous, gentle, shy, and yet good looking Nijito seems to be wearing a look of despair upon his face. It's clear to him that Nijito will soon try and talk them out of their argument only for the two to turn on him, demanding Nijito to chose which mat is better.

Off to the side, Kazou and Lee seem to be enjoying the show that's centered around their good friend. He shakes his head, continuing down the street upon witnessing his prediction come true between Teruna, Nijito, and Tsuyako. "What do you mean you refuse to chose!" The two young women shout.

"Naruto! It's Gyou! He's... well, come and take a look!" Uchito, one of Gyou's assistants says.

They jog towards the house that's at least a mile outside of the village. He sighs at the sight of smoke and notices Toshiaki coughing while Gyou is trying to get back into the house.

"I'm sure Uchito will be here soon with Uzumaki in toe, sir." He hears the blond Toshiaki tell the red head, being sure to keep a good grip upon Gyou's left wrist.

"I'm here." He says and the pair glance in his direction. He ignores them so he can casts a water Kido to flood the top floor of the custom made house that Gyou worked to build.

The smoke changes color and he sighs in relief. "I wonder how you'll handle fires once I've return to the Seireitei, hmm?" He says to the three residents of this district that he often comes to visit every few decades since he graduated from the academy.

"You could always teach us a few kido before you leave." Gyou says with a sly yet easy grin upon his face. He snorts softly at the very idea of teaching any of the locals kido since it's unlikely that they'd ever receive a steady supply of food in order to build up their spiritual reserves to preform kido.

"Or I can take you lot back to the Seireitei so you can enroll in the Shinigami academy." He counters and the three just scowl at the idea. He crosses his arms over his chest and raises a slight eyebrow, waiting for them to explain what they were up to that caused a fire.

"Boss here was trying to build a steam powered drier." Uchito confesses and Gyou just rolls his eyes while crossing his own arms before him. He merely sighs, he wonders where Gyou got that idea but re-frames from asking.

"I'll never get where you find the material to construct such things." He admits frankly. "And I've been a Soul Reaper for close to six centuries now."

Toshiaki just sighs and heads into the house/work shop. "Really? Didn't you spend like, fifty years here before getting recruited?" Uchito asks, the younger of the three hadn't been around back then.

"More like twenty, actually." He admits. "Although it did take me ten years before I was allowed to join a division. I had to work on my control, among other things." He adds, doubting that any of them wants to hear about his time in the academy or how he survived long enough to get enrolled.

"You left within days of my arrival here in this district, if I recall correctly." Gyou reminisces. "I still recall how everyone was talking about you handing those rogue Shinigami a sound beating before that patrol arrived in search for them." The red head man remarks with a grin.

"I'm so glad that you continue to find such a life changing event to be so humorous." He replies dryly. "After all, I was dragged off to the academy within days of that patrol reporting it."

"It's your own fault for allowing them to take you then." Gyou answers simply and he sighs, he just knows that Gyou just won't want to hear about the lecture one of his escort had given him. He moves to enter the building while Gyou heads to find a rain barrow to wash up.

_I was eating stones, dirt, and other things that one just doesn't eat when one is alive just to fill me up. It's a wonder that it worked, but then, this is the Soul Society and thus everything is made up of spirit particles from the dirt beneath our feet to the clouds drifting overhead._ He thinks as he studies the floor, particularly the minor puddles that remain.

He casts another kido to dry the floor. Instead of heading towards Toshiaki, he heads up stairs to see if the other levels need to be dried as well. He can hear Uchito groan and speak to Toshiaki.

Soon enough, all of the levels above ground level are dry and as he comes down to the main level, he finds Gyou and Toshiaki taking large metal parts down to the basement. Upon seeing him, Gyou says, "The basement needs your magical touch, Naruto! It's pretty filled up."

He just nods and heads down the stairs, midway down, he sees what the red head means. He assumes that Uchito is off gathering up fire wood for the furnace. He casts a slightly higher level kido to get rid of the layer of water that covers the floor for about a foot.

With that done, he moves towards anvil before calling up to the pair, "It's done." He watches as the two come down while hauling the rather long bit of metal.

As Gyou and Toshiaki head upstairs to bring down more pieces, Uchito arrives with his arms full of wood. As he watches the three, he reflects that if he were like his fellow Soul Reapers, then he would think helping any residents of this district to be beneath him. If any of Soul Reapers knew what he does during his time policing this district, he's pretty sure they would throw a fit or lecture him about how he has better things to do then to help these souls out on the fridges of the Soul Society.

Already many of them disapprove of the fact that he does wear other cloths when off duty and still within the Seireitei instead of doing so in the higher level districts of the Rukongai, typically fifth district through to first district were acceptable places for Shinigami to spend their off duty time. He just doesn't see why they should care what he wears when off duty. _But then, I am part of a military..._

After a few minutes, he moves from his position by the anvil to walk over towards the counter to see what kinds of plans Gyou and his assistants have come up with since he was last in here, which was about four days ago. _Huh, a mechanical dog._

"Naruto! You know we can use some help over here!" Gyou hollers and he glances over towards the red head before leaving the counter to go assist the three.

= - [ **O**

With his eyes close, he tries to lose himself within himself. The box containing the pieces of a picture resting before him. He feels Aozora at the edge of his mind but he wasn't looking to contact Aozora no Kemono.

He doesn't know how long he floated within this white space until a old, warped wooden door appears before him. The door knob is a simple bit of metal instead of something much more broad and easy to grip. With his right hand, he grips the metal knob.

Suddenly, the metal twists in his grip and the door pulls inward, away from him. He stiffens at the sight of a hallway that appears dimly lit and seems to have metal tubes either coming out of the ceiling or along the side of the hallway. After a few minutes, he finally steps into the hallway and feels more then sees the door he entered through vanishes.

"Kind of reminds me of the sewers under the Seireitei." He can't help but muses, although the are various differences between this place and the sewers. He walks down the tunnel, a thin layer of water upon the floor. Some of the pipes above his head sometimes drops water.

He can't help but find this place to be pretty depressing as he continues to explore this place. Then, finally, he finds a room. He feels the hairs upon his neck perk up while paused by the entrance of the huge room. His heart rate increased and his mouth goes dry, he can't help but wonder why this room causes such a reaction.

After it proves impossible to control his heart rate and other bodily reactions, he gives up and steps into the large room. As he gets close to being in the middle of the room, he gets a good view of what appears to be huge metal door that appear to be doors to a giant cell. The metal is rather rusted and almost appear half melted. The scent aside from the scents of decay, rusted metal, and blood it seems to hint that some kind of large animal had lived here once upon a time.

And then, he spies something hanging upon one of the doors. He walks over and stiffens at the sight of a rather huge frame with parts of the picture being missing. What remains of the picture shows a map of some continent as the background with various faces of people, a few of them look familiar like this one who looks like Gyou only with some tattoo upon his temple and black rings about his eyes or this one who seems to be Nijito only with a more arrogant set to his face and sporting silvery eyes.

His arm trembles as he reaches out to take the frame off the ancient door. As he gets within a centimeter of the frame, those fragments that he collected around the Seireitei appear. He watches as the pieces of the picture move and sets themselves in the blank points of the picture.

The picture within the frame is now complete and after a few seconds of studying it, he finally grips the frame. As he pulls the frame from the gate, everything around him breaks apart and then, he blacks out.

= - [ **O**

**"Huh, I think I can identify ten of these people, even if their appearance seems to be slightly altered."** He hears Aozora muses. **"It seems like you finally fulfilled the requirements for Bankai. It only took you a whole century and a half."**

He sighs, his head is pounding as he tries to get more comfortable. It takes him a few minutes before he can gather enough strength to ask, "Not that I don't mind but, why are you still manifesting yourself outside of my mind-scape?"

**"Oddly enough, you're mind is stuff to the brim with a new or is that old, set of memories. So, until you absorb them, I'm not going to able to rest comfortably in your mind."** Aozora explains.

"So that's why my head is pounding..." He groans softly. It wasn't long before the spirit of his Zanpakuto spirit appears over him with a cup of water.

He raises himself up by his elbows before grabbing the cup. He gulps it down before resting the cup to his forehead before handing the cup back to Aozora. His partner takes the cup with a hand that sports three clawed finger and a thumb.

He lies back down as he waits for either his dizziness passes or when Aozora brings him the cup refilled with water. He's exhausted and yet he can't find a way to fall asleep. Aozora arrives with the cup once more filled with water.

He drinks it down after raising himself from the floor. He glances pass the fire place to where his Zanpakuto is resting against the wall. He finally sits fully up and he looks down into the fire pit as he rubs his temples.

"It's time like these I wish I brought medicine instead of depending upon my medical kidos and knowledge." He mutters. He become a jack of all trades simply because he offers to help tutor students privately when they are trying to apply to certain, specific division.

**"Well, don't expect me to give any of those a try. I'm better at causing damage then reversing it."** Aozora replies to his left.

He glances over and finds that, once again, Aozora is sitting upon one of the few chairs of the house. After a few minutes, he glances around for the picture that Aozora had mentioned. It takes him a few seconds to find it, he gets up and walks almost drunkenly over to it.

His headache grows worst and he finds himself sitting down with it upon his lap. "Huh, old lady Tsunade and pervy-sage..." He muses as he studies a blond sporting a purple diamond mark upon her forehead and a old looking man sporting white hair and strips of red tattoos going from the eyes down to the jaw line.

He blinks as memories of the two replay within his mind's eye. He closes his eyes and turns his head up to gaze at the ceiling. "Why am I remembering my old life now? What does if have to do with my Bankai?" He wonders out loud with only Aozora about to hear him speak to himself.

His thoughts drift to his Shikai release. The command to activate it is 'Phrase from sight, Aozora no Kemono!' His Zanpakuto divides into two Katana sporting four and half foot long blades that also sport dual edges while appearing to be made out of the same blue metal as when Aozora is in his seal sword form. Shikai allows for mist to cover the field, hiding him from the sight of everyone within the mist.

Within the mist he controls the atmosphere, he can call forth any kind of weather bit it simple rain and hail to cyclones and monsoons. The weather doesn't hinder him within the mist, only those within the mist along with him. It allows him to move about the battlefield without being sensed by those within the mist.

"How long was I out?" He suddenly asks as he's reminded of the fact that he could have been out for a few days because of Reiryoku exhaustion. He had suffered from it upon achieving Shikai.

**"Only been two hours."** Aozora answers. **"I don't know if you will or will not suffer from Reiryoku exhaustion when you finally use Bankai."**

"Ah, shouldn't you know what your Bankai is?" He asks Aozora. He turns to regard his Zanpakuto's physical manifestation. _So glad that he's not a fox._ He can't help but think, although that does kind of cause him to wonder where that came from.

**"I'll know when I manage to reenter into that head of yours."** Aozora says. **"I do know that it involves releasing a much larger storm over an area. I believe it also give you a larger space in which you won't be detected in as the storm brews overhead. The details beyond those things are sketchy though."**

"Really? I guess that makes sense." He admits upon reflection. He then turns to study the picture again and is soon lost in memories of his life before he arrived at the Soul Society, his headache forgotten.

Northern Gate of Seireitei

"It's good to see you, Naruto-sensei! How was your patrol, sensei?" Ayano says upon him entering into the Seireitei.

He smiles at his ex-student as she bows before him. "Ayano, I'm not your sensei any more so there's no need to add sensei to my name." He reminds the young brunet who went onto become a member of the third division.

"Sorry, sir, but I'll always see you as my sensei. I'm sure many of your previous student do as well." Ayano reminds him with a slight smile.

He smiles slightly, he knows she's right and it warms him that they continue to think so highly of him. _I wonder if this is what Iruka-sensei felt when we continued to call him that?_ He wonders to himself.

"How have your duties been treating you, Ayano?" He inquires and after a few minutes, they part ways. Ayano heads out of the Seireitei and he heads deeper into it.

He gets stopped by other students, particularly those that approached him for private lessons so it wasn't until noon before he finally made it to his apartment in the ninth division. It has been over three years since he had last been within this apartment and for the next ten to fifteen years he'll be teaching at the academy before heading back out of the Seireitei.

It wasn't long before he's found a spot to hang the picture of his friends from when he was alive. Once more he notices that Sasuke Uchiha isn't featured among his friends featured in the picture. _It's amazing to think that Gaara, Lee, Kankuro, Kiba, Konohamaru, Neji, Temari, Tenten, Temujin, and Udon are so different here in this afterlife. I wonder what became of the others though..._ He wonders while studying the picture.

_Kami, I hope none of my friends ended up as Hollows..._ He finally thinks as he considers the chances of his enemies ending up as Hollows. With a shake of his head, he heads for his room to begin undressing so he can have a nice warm shower.

_It's good to be home._ He thinks to himself as he enters into the bathroom. He turns on the shower's water, being sure to make sure that the hot water is twisted a bit more then the cold water knob.

"Although, what do I do now that I got my memories? I would have been better off without them..." He mutters to himself as he shampoos his blond hair as he reminisces about his live as a ninja.

_Guess I'll just have to take it one step at a time._

**- o 0 o -**


	98. MLP Wish: Harry Potter

I don't own My Little Pony or Harry Potter!

**- o 0 o -**

"Fred and George have gone too far!" Hermione declares upon his coming down the stairs. He moans softly, his head is pounding and Hermione just aggravated it some more.

"What did they do this time?" He asks his only female friend as he gets within range of the couch. He pushes up and stands only on his hind legs so that he can sit down upon the couch. His tail kind of aches from how he's leaning upon it so he moves it. He's just happy that his wings weren't fully upon his back, more to the sides so they don't really ache as he sits upon the couch.

Instead of telling him, the dusty pink unicorn pony with light brown mane and tail merely opens one of her books, displaying the open pages for him to see. He frowns as he notices the moving pictures, something about the appearance of those pictures cause his headache to spike even more. "I don't get it, what's wrong with them?" He finally asks.

Ron snorts and he glances at his second close friend, a ruby red winged unicorn pony sporting dual mane and tail colors which are bright yellow and orange. "Even I can see what's wrong with those pictures! Just look at them! They altered the pictures in the books to look like some kind of naked ape!" Ron points out.

_But... aren't we suppose to be..._ His thoughts cut off as some more students enter into the common room. "You won't believe what happened to the Fat Lady!" One of the three shout and a lot of the students who were hanging about the common room turn to stare at the threesome.

"Just come on and see for yourselves!" Another one of the three unicorn ponies states in an annoyed way and as if all connected to the same mind, all those within the common room get up and walk outside of the common room to see what's up.

He arrives outside of the Gryffindor common room with those who are up. He stretches his wings and takes to the air to see over the tops of his fellows. Once more, he gets this feeling that there's nothing wrong with the painting but with them, which is rather confusing since he clearly... er, kind of remembers his life as he is, although his memories are rather blurry upon the details though.

"One of us should go get a professor!" A girl among the crowd says and murmurs of agreements sound out at that idea. He moves from the spot that he's hovering in to take a look at the rest of the painting about.

After a few hours of touring Hogwarts, he discovers that every painting that is of a person appears to be human instead of a unicorn pony or a winged pony or even a winged unicorn pony. He swishes his tail in annoyance as he stares before one of the tapestries of Hogwarts, confirming the fact that anything pictured, painted, or woven features humans instead of the previously mentioned pony types. Even those who should appear as normal non-magic using ponies are humans.

With a shake of his head, which causes his blue and purple dual colored mane to shake, he decides to head for the Great Hall to get breakfast. _Can't believe I woke up so early, well, a lot of people did too._ He thinks as he takes to the air, flying through the hidden ways that are only accessible when flying... only to ram into a wall.

He manages to stop himself from hitting the floor and gently lands upon the floor. "Ok, something is mightily wrong with all of this. The twins aren't capable of influencing the castle to this degree." He mutters as he walks through the halls to get to the Great Hall.

He pauses and watches a group of Ravenclaws exit out of the Great Hall. They ignore him as they talk among themselves about the mysterious alterations to all of the pictures and paintings of Hogwarts. It's clear that nobody had taken time to look at tapestries as of yet.

He enters into the dinning hall and glances towards the head table. He finds none of the teachers or fellow staff members were up there. With a hum, he turns away and glances over to Slytherin table and finds that the majority of the house is glaring towards Gryffindor table. It seems that everyone seems to be accusing the Weasley twins of the alterations to the various paintings and such in the castle.

"Hey Harry! Where have you been?" Colin Creevey asks. He glances over at the sandy blond winged pony sporting a chocolate brown mane and tail. He can almost spy the camera icon upon the first year's hind quarters.

"Just touring the halls, looking at the other paintings about the castle." He answers as he walks pass the clump of first years, heading to sit next to Hermione. "Well, it isn't just your book or the paintings in the stair well that are odd." He says as he sits down upon Hermione's left.

"Did ya find any signs of the twins?" Dean asks him and he shakes his head. "Huh, I wonder where they're hiding?" Dean, a fellow winged unicorn pony who's color is dusty blue with silver mane and tail wonders out loud as he begins to fill his plate with pancakes and scramble eggs.

"They're bound to show up, if not here then in the kitchens." Saemus remarks. "Pretty wicked prank. Still, you'd think they know better then to do something this obvious." The purple with teal mane and tail unicorn pony states, it's clear that Saemus' mother came from a family of purely unicorn stock.

There are a few pure-bloods who prefer to breed with only fellow winged ponies or unicorn ponies. Typically, they end up marrying muggleborns since they only have one of the two physical signs of magic. He reviews such thoughts as he glances around the table, picking out those that only possess a horn or wings.

_Why can't I visualize the Weasley twins?_ He wonders as he notices Ginny Weasley, he notes once more that unlike Ron, she only sports wings and doesn't posses a horn; it does happen sometimes in pure-blood families that the more children one family has that some of the children are born with only one magical trait.

With a sigh, he focusing only on eating as his headache begins to come back upon his musings. "I think I'll check the dungeons for your brothers, Ron. Care to join me?" He asks as he gets off the bench after turning his body about so he can leave.

"Nay, there's a chess tournament I've been invited to be in." Ron says with a wave of his right hoof. "Thanks for asking though."

"Hermione?" He turns to speak to his other friend. "You want to come and lecture them when we find them?" He asks.

"I'm going to go check the library." Hermione says as she pauses in eating a muffin. "I'm sure there's a book around here that they didn't touch." The unicorn muggleborn says.

With a shrug, he drops down onto all fours after taking a few steps away from the bench. He walks for the door and sighs as he begins to wonder just where to begin his search. He does stop by a stair case to turn and look at the icon upon his own hind leg. The icon is a white shield with an image of a red dragon head upon it. It stood out because his body is black.

"You would think they would at least wait until the first week is over before pulling such a widespread prank..." He mutters to himself as he walks down the stairs. _I wonder if this has anything to do with those books upon rituals that I saw in their room that one time..._

He pauses and after a few seconds, decides to cast a silence spell upon his hooves so he doesn't make any sounds upon walking upon the stone floor. _Maybe I should have gone back for my cloak..._ He thinks to himself as he walks through the dungeons.

As he turns a corner, he finds himself colliding with somebody. He doesn't find himself knocked down and finds himself staring at the pair of humans before him. Then, it clicked as the pair stare at him with wide eyes. "Fred? George? What the heck did you two do now?"

"Harry?" George asks and he snorts as he swishes his tail.

"Yea. Now answer the question! What did you two do now?" He asks, narrowing his eyes as Fred helps George up from the floor.

The two exchange looks before they say, taking turns throughout their answer, "Why don't we find a room and discus this? Rather not have slimy snakes overheard this."

With a sigh, he nods and allows the two to take point. It takes them about thirty minutes of sneaking about the dungeons until they arrive at an unused room. All along the way, his memories slowly begin to untangle themselves unto he possesses two sets of memories. One set has him as a human and are much more darker then the set that has him in his current form and things seem to be a bit more... nicer in compassion to his experience as a human boy.

"Ok, what happened?" He asks as he watches as the twins move to sit upon the large desk in the room. "And why aren't you affected by this as well?" He adds, he enjoys not needing glasses to see.

"Well, during our summer, we began researching a way to alter an area through a single spell. What we found were variations of a wishing ritual." The twins explains, each taking a turn explaining it. "We decided to wait until we were at Hogwarts before testing it. We just wanted to do a minor change and there was this toy that we found rummaging through our dad's shed of muggle things."

"It was a little pink pony with dual mane and tail sporting blond and light blue with this odd icon on its butt, or is that back hip?" The two continue after a minor pause and he holds a hoof against the spot between his eyes as he realizes what toy they found.

"You found a My Little Pony toy and used it for this ritual, didn't you? That explains so much..." He grumbles. "The toy represented the idea of what you want the world to reflect!" He says before pausing as he tries to recall where he got that from.

"How did you figure that out?" One of the twins asks. "And why would anyone entitle that toy to be a My Little Pony?" The other adds.

"Well, for one, My Little Pony is a rather popular toy for girls. So popular that it even got made into movies and into a cartoon show. It's a muggle form on entertainment." He explains, adding the last part when they got confused.

"Let's just say that its got this huge following with little girls around the world." He summarizes upon the still confused look upon their faces. "As to understanding the ritual... Don't really know where it came from." He states flatly.

"Anyway, we were standing in position that made us immune to the ritual's effects. That's why we're not, well, colorful." The twins finish after a few minutes of silence.

"You didn't clean up the ritual, did you? I think I might know how to reverse this." He says after he ponders for a while. He still don't get why he's got this knowledge but he kind of has an idea of what needs to be done.

"No we didn't. Just follow us." The twins say and they were, once again, in the dungeon hallways.

They arrive at the room and he notices that the toy in the center is that of a human. He frowns before he moves to get a closer look at the ritual diagram. As he looks at the ritual, something in his mind translates so he can read it.

"Well, I think I know what you did wrong and I think we can do something about it before lunch." He says cheerfully. He then begins to tell the twins what needs to be erase so they can put in the right parts. He makes sure to move the toy out of the circle.

It takes two hours but they are finally ready to do the ritual once more. He stands in the center nervously but knows that this needs to be done. He has a rough idea of what could happen if he doesn't follow through with this path and strongly objects to what the future holds if its allowed to follow down that path.

_God, please forgive me for what I'm about to do but I refuse to allow the world to follow that course._ He thinks as the twins chant the spell in passable Latin.

As the ritual activates, he takes control of the magic and he senses the world at large. He freezes as various emotions roll into him and he understands that he's about to do the right thing for a whole new set of reasons. And so he plays god, fixing the mistakes the muggles had made to the world, be it the hole in the ozone to the inorganic garbage that's building up all across the world.

Once the world has become healthier, he begins to go to the source of the damage and erases all traces of the evil humans had constructed accidentally as they advanced their civilization. He does pause as he realizes that Fred and George seem to struggling to try and end this. So, he reaches out and changes them, he makes sure that their memories are also affected just like the rest of the world.

With that done, he returns to making the world in which they live to be a better place. He turns his gaze to the moon and begins to use magic to make it habitual, has the necessary gravity, and rotates, he then uses magic to seemingly expand the surface of the moon before teleporting the majority of the magical races up there. A few mundane species also joined them, they're role is to be food for the majority of the meat eaters.

He constructs a huge city upon the moon, one that will allow every magical pony to reside there with more then enough room for more. He also creates underground farms to feed the populous of the city before beginning to ward the city to keep undesirable species from entering it. Once the city is to his satisfaction, he returns his attention to the earth.

In time, he manages to erase cities from the world before expanding the surface of the world so that over nine billion ponies can be supported. Once the world is cleared of all settlements, he then begins the task of creating settlements, he also makes sure to alter the memories of the world to accommodate his most recent changes.

Once that's done, he is sure to create various gates throughout the world for magical ponies to use to travel, be it to the moon city or around the world. He 'steps' back and studies the world for a few seconds before erasing every soul bit from earth, going so far as to destroy that path of magic upon Earth and, after a few thoughts, the Moon.

Then he finds he's not yet done as there are still vampires, hags, and other near humans he needs to deal with. It takes him hours to studying the whole of the various, humanish races before he decides upon a course of action. The vampires are killed since they were nothing but dead bodies being animated by magic while the curse of the werewolves is replaced, making them into wolf animagi as well as making sure that all previously mundane werewolves are pegasus ponies or unicorn ponies. No race is spared, many had their very natures and magics changed so they are made less violent and capable of fitting into the typical peaceful pony society.

It shouldn't surprise him much at how naturally peaceful the My Little Pony species is, but it also means that there won't be much in the way of human type of violence which is killing, raping, money greed, and other extreme negative traits that humans seem to indulge in. A pony's type of violence seems to be prank pulling compared to human type and far less likely to leave lasting marks upon an individual or the world around them.

He did find it tremendously hard to create a believable history but he does so. It's hard for him to say if it were believable but it's what he created and wrote. His final touches were to erases his 'finger' prints so that if anyone tries to search out what he did, they'd have a very hard time finding the clues they need.

With that done, he lets go of the magic, fully expecting that the backlash will destroy him as he does have a soul fragment inside of him. He learnt about it from the information dump he received concerning the ritual. He's pretty sure that this way will save far more lives even though it will alter them beyond recognition of their previous selves or what their old natures use to be.

The released magic suddenly blinds and he... feels...

**"Welcome home, my child."** He hears a woman's voice say and he feels something wrap their arms around him, He feels so protective in this embrace. **"You've done what I had hoped. I'm just sorry you won't be there to experience it."**

**The End**


	99. Shinigami Naruto: The Test

I don't own Bleach or Naruto!

**- o 0 o -**

_Oh, this is going to be so much fun!_ He thinks as he sets the white fox mask into place over his face. **_"I'm sure your students won't find it very fun."_** Aozora remarks from within his mind-scape and he mentally shrugs.

He adjusts his red kimono before running his hands through his blond hair. He uses medical kido to alter his hair color to red with his pony ending in white, mimicking a fox's tail. The kido was developed by one of his students as she had been teased mercilessly about her odd color hair, it had been sporting dual colors, that she looked for ways to their hide it or to dye it and with his help, created this unique kido.

Humming a soft tune under his breathe, he is sure to center the gem like sphere upon his necklace so that it hangs over his chest. The fangish beads of the necklace are all pointing away from his neck. Finished, he checks himself one last time in the mirror before tapping his sandals and turning away.

He walks out of the shrine and gazes down at the forest where teams of students should be wandering about, each with one of a pair of scrolls in their possession. The forest is larger then the Forest of Death where the second part of the Chuunin Exam had taken place and none of the 'natural' dangers of it though. Another change is that the various teams had been dropped randomly about the forest instead of them all starting outside of it.

_**"How many do you think will get the true purpose of this training?"**_ Aozora wonders before manifesting himself in the more 'physical' world of the Soul Society. **"You basically set them up against one another and yet you expect them to form an army to stand against you, the so called Fox Sage."**

"There will be times when you must chose between fulfilling the mission while trying to ignore the danger an unknown party represents or putting the mission on hold to form a temporary alliance with their enemies to deal with said third party. It's fine to follow orders but to only follow them with disregard of your unit's lives... There's just too many who think like that already, particularly in positions of power that I want to at least try to make them aware of the possibility of them being in that position." He says to Aozora.

**"I see. Well, I think you're in for a disappointment in this upcoming test."** Aozora no Kemono muses. **"And you are, sadly, correct about how easily Soul Reapers mindlessly follow orders to the point of suicide."** His partner says with a sigh as they watch the sun set before them, the retreating sunlight causes the forest before this little mountain to look surreal.

He smiles under the mask as he nods as he glances over to Aozora. "I couldn't have created this forest without you, you know. You are link rather firmly to all of the elements. With your aid, I used earth and water to create this forest" He says to his Zanpakuto spirit. "Is it any wonder that when released you create storms?"

Aozora smirks and cape his wings about his shoulders while hoooking the thumbs at the mid-point of the collar bone. **"It's nice to be recognized for the aid I lend to you, my welder."** Aozora remarks dryly.

**"Beside, I do have to wonder how well the upper brass will react to this test of yours when you head back in about six days' time."** Aozora muses thoughtfully after a moment of silence. **"Your true intent isn't going to sit well with any of them, they don't take criticism well."**

"Not much they can do about it, I've become a valuable teacher at the academy. I am the only one there that's teaching because I want to teach instead of it being an assigned duty by my captain. I've become something of a professional teacher and I am rather popular with the students too." He reminds Aozora.

**"Guess it helps that the survival rate of fresh academy students has never been as high as it is since you started teaching."** Aozora adds rather calmly. **"Any way, it's almost time for you to start your haunting, oh great Fox Sage."** And with that said, Aozora vanishes from his sight.

He rests his left hand upon the dagger that is his Zanpakuto. It had taken a lot of effort to not just shrink Aozora but to make the metal of the blade to take the appearance of basic steel. Aozora's normal blue metal appearance is rather unique and would blow his cover.

_I wonder if anyone decided to wait until evening to move about?_ He wonders before shrugging the thought off. Within seconds he Shunpo to the base of this little mountain.

"It's game time." He mutters, doing his best to disguise his own voice. He holds out both arms with the palms of his hands turned up to the sky. He focuses his mind to create tiny blue fire balls, mimicking the special flames that are said to be used by Kitsune. Nine tiny blue balls of fire hover in the air before him before they zoom away from him, heading into the forest.

With a grin, his body glows and shrinks. His form shifts about until its in a form of a nine-tailed fox. The glow vanishes as he shakes his body. He stretches his altered body and moves each tail individually a few seconds.

Once he's satisfied, he trots into the forest that he had force to grow. _Let's see who's in the neighborhood._ He thinks to himself.

**Aizen**

"Aizen, Katsu, are do you make of that?" The third member of the unit, a student named Dan, asks while pointing to this blue fire ball that kind of reminds him of the description of Kitsune's Fox Fire. The tiny blue ball of fire slowly drifts towards them and he watches as Katsu, who's closest, move to the blue fireball.

"It's kind of pretty." Katsu muses and he snorts softly, finding it typical that a girl would find something potentially dangerous to be pretty. "Huh, it's not even warm." Katsu adds.

Katsu suddenly jerks back and he gets up to see what's wrong. "It's... it's growing." Katsu says and he frowns at the sight.

"This has to be a trick sensei set up." Dan states while gripping his Asauchi's handle. "There can't be any Kitsune in the Soul Society!" The brunet student says upon drawing his Asauchi.

As Dan slashes at the five foot blue fireball, he tries to preform a barrier kido only for the 'Fox Fire' to explode and its energies wash over them all. He curses softly under his breath as he rubs his eyes. He freezes as low, throaty growling reaches his ears.

"Oni... Oh god, it's an ONI!" Katsu screams and as he looks, he finds a being standing about nine feet while sporting a pair of red horns that jet out of very pale white hair. He feels the ground tremble as the red skinned Oni take slow, deliberate steps towards them as they retreat from it.

Then the Oni raises its kanabo and bellows, "The scroll! Give it to me and you might walk away with your head not bashed in!"

Katsu screams as she turns to flee and it seems that Dan's nerve also escaped him. He stares into those black eyes as he tries to bind the Oni using kido, only for the Oni to chuckle as it casually breaks it. Suddenly he finds himself flying into a tree and he doesn't recall the beast moving to do so.

He feels something tugging at his belt and he wakes to find a nine-tailed Kitsune trying to tug the scroll out of his belt pouch. It takes him a few seconds to release that the Oni had only been an illusion and yet, he finds his ability to move to be hampered. He does finally grabs the scroll, causing the ruby furred mystical beast to pull away from the scroll.

As he draws himself up, he stares into the fox's yellow eyes. _"I see. Well, congrats on waking from my illusion so quickly. I believe we'll meet again."_ The nine-tailed fox states calmly before turning into a blue ball of fire and zooming away.

_Regrettably._ He thinks as he tries to shake of the aftereffects of the Kitsune's illusion. He glances at his squad members for this test and find they're still out of it.

"How... interesting." He muses out loud as he watches them. He can only hope that no other team is within yards of them as they would have an easy time getting their Earth scroll.

**Naruto**

_It seems that Aizen has some talent in illusions._ He thinks after visiting the ninth team to be found by his Fox Fire and put under an illusion to keep them from waking as he searches them while looking for their scroll. With the exception of squad five, he did collect each squad's scrolls.

Each of the eight scrolls are held in eight of his nine tails as he trots towards the shrine. All in all, he is rather happy that at least one out of nine squads managed to hold onto their scroll. _I wonder how many will venture here to try and retrieve their scroll or to get the one they need... Of course even if some of the squads managed to capture their second scroll, they got a bit of a wait before they can begin to turn them over at one of the three stations._

He does wonder how well that puppet of his is preforming. He rather have people not knowing that the Fox Sage and Naruto Uzumaki are one and the same. As long as the puppet is in plain view of other Shinigami, nobody will be able to prove anything concerning the Fox Sage and Naruto Uzumaki other then maybe the Fox Sage being a student of Naruto's or somebody volunteered to play the Fox Sage.

= [ -**T**

"Only four squads passed, eh?" 'Naruto' muses upon arriving in the clearing with other academy staff. More then a few students stare between 'Naruto' and him, the Fox Sage.

"I was rather busy or I would have ensured that none would have passed." He states in his altered voice, more then glad that the mask helps with that. "Aizen Sosuke proved to have all the qualities of a fine leader. Charismatic enough to get the majority of his fellows to follow him in hunting me down." He explains.

"I see, well, congratulations to the army of Aizen then for managing to prove that you aren't mindless drones." 'Naruto' states and he can't help but chuckle at the stun expressions upon their faces upon hearing their respectable teacher say that. "If you are not in need of medical attention, you are all allowed to return home to get cleaned up for a party at Isa's which will start at seven." The puppet adds and the students cheer before heading off in different directions.

The puppet of him and himself begin to discus the performance of the class while the other Soul Reapers collect the scroll that he had piled in the middle of the clearing. They kept up the act to the point where they left the forest to continue their discussion someplace more comfortable.

**"Well, looks like you managed to pull that off rather well."** Aozora remarks as the puppet collapses upon arriving in his apartment. He picks up the puppet and then, focusing his Reiryoku, causes the puppet to be destroyed.

_'Yes, it does, doesn't it? You didn't complain as much as I thought you would, all things considered.'_ He thinks to his partner while taking the shrunken Zanpakuto from his belt.

It takes about a minute for the sword to return to its original size and shape. He pulls the blade out a few center-meters to check and see if the metal the sword is back to its original color. Nodding to himself, he sheaths the sword once more and leans it upon the chair in his living room before heading for his bedroom to begin changing out of his current set of cloths.

_I wonder if any of them truly got the lesson I was trying to teach?_ He muses in the shower where seconds before, he returned his hair to its usual state. _Ah well, at least they won't be able to forget about this test, even when they become Shinigami and take positions in the various divisions._

**- o 0 o -**


	100. The City Naruto Built

I don't own Naruto!

**- o 0 o -**

Day 12

"Alright men! Let's get this kingdom of Kiboo built!" A thirteen year old Naruto Uzumaki says to his army of two thousand shadow clones. The clones raise their arms up and shout back to the original, "Right!"

Groups of clones vanish off in different directions while the original moves to speak with a clone holding a bit of cut out bark. "Ok, lead me to where we should mark the foundation." The original says to the clone who's acting as his secretary.

The clone nods sharply before leading the original to the rocky hill that they shall build a fortress upon.

Beach  
Day 17

The rest of team seven is with the other the rookie nine plus Gai's team were busy far to the west of the island. "So... Naruto hasn't come crawling back yet?" Sakura asks as she drops a woven basket filled with sea creatures that the majority of the girls had gathered; Tenten seems to be focusing on making arrows.

"He'll be back." Kiba states in a dismissive way. It's Kiba's turn keep the signal fire from going out. Akamaru whines softly and the loud, tattoo wearing genin strokes his dog's side.

"Still, it's been about a two weeks since he left. Shouldn't we at least sent Neji or Lee to search for him? Just to make sure that he's not hurt?" The pink haired genin wonders as she begins to put crabs and mussels into a large clay pot that Shino had crafted and Sasuke had fire baked.

Once filled with the sea critters, Sakura begins to fill the pot with drinking water from the jars that, for today, Chouji and Lee are in charge of keeping filled with drinkable water from a stream a few kilometers from their camp. Ino and Hinata approach with their fish that they netted.

"How's Akamaru? Is he still feeling the heat?" Hinata asks her team-mate while dropping the net down.

Ino moves to collect a bunch of twigs for them to use to cook the fish while Kiba replies, "When the shelter is built, he'll finally have a cool place to rest. If Naruto hadn't been such a drama queen, the shelter would have been built days ago."

"I wonder what Naruto is doing now?" Hinata wonders softly to herself as she looks eastward.

Fort Ramen

Naruto hums under his breath as he walks through the first level of the underground part of the fortress. The clones had done a good job in using those imperfect earth jutsus to aid in not just tunneling through the rocky earth but in getting the rocks out of their way. The original Uzumaki's tour brings him to the newer section.

This part will soon have a chain gang of clones to take whatever stones they discover as they dig down to create another level of the basement. But before that happens, the clones will be using earth jutsus to strength the walls, ceilings, and floors of this part. With a shrug, the original heads back the way he came, heading to return to the surface.

The basement is already being used as a cellar to keep smoked meat and dry greens. There are plans for a water reserve to be connected throughout the fort but that will have to wait until the area is dug. Upon getting out of the basement, Naruto arrives in a room that will become the kitchen.

Roads are already being created outside of the temporary wall that surrounds the base of this rocky hill. When the time comes, a more permanent one will exist a full kilometer in every direction from the center of his fortress. Some areas are already being marked off for future gardens and fountains that will be created within the future enclosed area.

"Our patrols report that none of our previous associates have moved out of the area they've already explored. It is unlikely that they've finished constructing any of their shelters since you left. They have been hit by the blunt of the incoming storms so it is likely that the incomplete shelters will continue to be incomplete until storm season passes." Naruto's secretary role filling clone reports as he enters into the courtyard.

"I see. Well, knowing the various stubborn geniuses among them, it's doubtful that they'll do anything beyond trying to construct those shelters. Hopefully they won't feel the need to search for me until Fort Ramen is fully constructed." The original says before frowning.

"Err, I think we should start assigning code names and maybe encourage your brothers to alter their appearance so they don't appear identical to me. I mean, they could just alter their cloths or maybe the hair, I'm not asking them to totally alter their looks and what-not unless they want to, you know?" Naruto says to his primary adviser.

Within seconds, the secretary like clone now sports non-spiky blond hair, a pair of glasses, and a simple set of cloths consisting of a white shirt and light brown baggy pants. "Alright, sir, I'll pass it among the boys. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to be known as Fu." The newly dubbed Fu says to the original.

"Already, Fu it is. You may go spread the word now. I think I'm going to check on the carpenters and maybe spend a few hours helping them." Naruto tells Fu and the clone nods sharply before walking away, leaving Naruto to scratch his head while wondering how he manage to create such a serious clone like Fu.

Beach  
Day 22

"How troublesome." Shikamaru mutters while carrying water filled pails towards the signal fire. Ino merely huffs in agreement as they walk with the sun beaming down upon Shikamaru's topless upper-body and Ino's ripped shirt that is done up like a tank top.

"It's times like these that Naruto's shadow clones would be a great help." Ino huffs as the signal fire become clearer. "You'd think the idiot would be begging us to take him back out of shear loneliness." The blond murmurs.

Shikamaru doesn't say anything while Ino vents some more about Naruto's disappearance. Hinata stands to greet them. As they gently places the pails down upon the ground, both Shikamaru and Ino rotate their shoulders before stretching a bit.

"Did you want some help with the pails?" Hinata asks and Ino practically shouts, "Yes!"

And so the four pails of water have their contains poured into the stone jars that Shino's bugs had hollowed out by eating the stone to craft the jars. As the last pail is done, the foragers arrive arguing about something concerning whether they should try their hand at clearing away sections of forest to try and plant certain berry bushes in the clearing.

Neji seems to be defending the idea while Sasuke is arguing that they won't need to farm since they won't be here much longer. Chouji doesn't seem to care either way as the rather husky ninja seems more concerned about beginning to make lunch.

Shikamaru and Ino sit down with Ino coming to Sasuke's defense. As Chouji divides the various veggie and berries among those around the signal fire, those building the shelters arrive. Sakura and Tenten appear to be scowling and refusing to glance at each other.

As silence reigns among them, Sakura breaks it by saying, "You know, I think I miss having the goof-ball hanging around. I don't know how but with him around, we never argued this much."

Murmurs of agreements echo that sentiment.

Ramen City  
Day 30

"It seems that the others are beginning to range beyond their typical boarders." Fu reports and Naruto sits up to look at Fu, wiping his forehead with the back of his right hand. "They seem to be moving in pairs while doing so. It seems that they are trying to pick up your trail."

"Really... Huh, any estimate concerning when they'll discover this city?" The original Naruto asks Fu before drinking some water from a wooden container that Cat and other carpentry incline clones.

"If they finally abandon their main camp and with the two Hyuugas with them, perhaps four days of hard running but if they stop to camp, eight days." Fu states. "I've already called in our western patrols. It's likely that they will take up guard duty upon the western walls."

"Good, good." Naruto says as he studies the others working on planting various flowering plants and a few fruit trees. The fountain is still getting worked on since a bunch of intellectual clones are busying figuring out how to pump water throughout the city.

"How goes Seal testing?" The original kyuubi container asks Fu. "They must be doing something right since I haven't received any of their memories since yesterday around noon."

A normal day in the life of Naruto Uzmaki since they became stranded upon this island and he had a difference of opinion to the group's collective opinion.

Outside of Ramen City  
Day 39

"Naruto made that city? But, he was the dead last of our class! Are you sure that he just didn't stumble upon the ruins and claimed it?" Ino demands of Neji as the group hides in the forest about a mile away of the wall.

There is a gate located a bit more to the northern part of the wall. They noted it as they encircled the wall for a few miles south.

Everyone but Lee and Sasuke are crouched within the cover the forest offers since there is no cover between their position and the wall. Some members of the group is finding it hard to swallow that the blond genin known widely as a knuckle head could build something so huge, even using his signature jutsu, shadow clones.

"Naruto..." Hinata whispers softly as she studies those posted along the wall. Some of them appear to have different hair colors, styles, and other little differences but mostly the bone structure is the same upon all of them so she knows they are clones.

"As interesting as this conversation is, I believe you're surrounding." A voice says and the group shut up to look around.

Within seconds, a group of clones appear and one in particular seems to exuded a commanding aura even though the clone's appearance is almost comical considering that they know Naruto's personality rather well.

"But... How?" One of the group asks and the bookish clone merely smiles ever so slightly.

"It's amazing that even wearing that orange eye sore as you call it, Naruto had the highest scores in stealth. He did manage to evade ANBU for hours after what he did to the Hokage Monument." The nerdish clone code named Fu muses. "Compared to that, this was rather an easy even with you having two Hyuuga."

"Who says we'll let ourselves be captured?" Kiba states while moving into a pose that will allow him to preform man-beast clone with Akamaru.

Fu only raised an eyebrow at this.

Ten Minutes Later

"This is so embarrassing..." Sakura says as she hangs form a spear shaft that is carried between two clones.

"Their reaction time is much more superior then his usual ones." Neji remarks. Both Hyuuga and a few of the others like Ino and Shino are forced to wear these jumpsuit that seem to be suppressing not just their chakra but their bloodline limit or family special jutsu.

"I should say so, I myself have existed for close to twenty days." One of the red haired guards remark. "Some of us though, they've been around before building of Ramen City started, like Fu." The guard says, nodding towards the glass wearing clone.

"Just how long can you guys last until you dispel naturally?" Sakura inquires. "And how is it you can be so far from Naruto's side?"

"Not sure how long we'll last but if we stay upon this island long enough, we'll likely find out. And why shouldn't we be able to range away from our creator? We are the most independent clones ever crafted using jutsu." The same clone guard explains as they walk northwards to the gate.

Castle Tengoku

Naruto leans into his throne that is within his throne room, his clones insisted that he needed the throne to go with the room. The blond would have been happy with an office but his clones clearly had other ideas. _At least they're not making me a crown._

Blacksmith

"Ah-choo!" A group of clones sneeze at the same time.

"You think somebody is talking about us?" A silver haired clone code named Shuuseieki as he swipe his nose.

"Who knows? Anyway, I can't wait to see his face when we show him his crown!" A malt style, neon green haired clone code named Haru says with a wide grin as he holds up a artificially created sapphire using earth jutsu to collect the right elements to form such gems.

Castle Tengoku

"Ah-choo!" Naruto sneezes a few times in a row. "I hope I'm not coming down with anything..." The young ninja mutters, still unaware that he will soon be dubbed King of the Kiboo Kingdom, Defender of Castle Tengoku, and Lord of Ramen City.  
(The clones are still working on the name of their knighthood)

"Err... Naruto! Fu and his unit are waiting outside with their captives. Shall I permit them to enter?" Doo asks, Doo is an orange and black haired clone who seems to be among a small group of clones who seem to enjoy sporting mismatch eyes, even among that group Doo is rather unique. Doo sports one that is Naruto's typical looking blue eye and a copper colored eye with black sclera and iris.

"If you won't mind, Doo." Naruto says to his current bodyguard. Doo salutes before moving to fully open the doors on his own.

Fu is the first to enter into the throne room. Naruto sighs when Sakura and Ino demand for him to have his clones unbind them from the spears. "Oh shut up!" Doo snaps at the girls after the unit is all within the throne room.

Naruto couldn't help but smile at Doo's reaction and from the looks from the guards, they seem to share Doo's sentiment. _Oh this is going to be very troublesome._ The kyuubi container thinks to himself.

"You know, you guys really shouldn't be that surprise by your treatment. I mean, we didn't exactly part on good terms." Naruto states. "A lot of you also dismissed a lot of my ideas of improving our base as a waste of time. The last report from my ranging patrols seem to say that even after a month, you still haven't finished your huts."

"Funny how it only took less then twenty-seven days to complete this city." Naruto muses before adding, "Heck, we're almost done creating the gardens of this fair city. Kind of goes to show that even with various geniuses or book savvy among you, you can't operate well outside of the career of being a ninja."

"Kind of sad, if you think about it that way." One of the guards carrying the 'guests' of the city muses after a moment of silence.

"So then, what do you plan to do with us?" Neji asks the blond sitting upon the throne.

"Well... I thinking putting you into cells until I decide what to do with you. I might even send a few units of guards to fetch Lee and Sasuke." Naruto states. "Take them away, but make sure they get cleaned up before being placed into their cells." Naruto tells the guards, they salute before marching back out in order to travel to the kitchens.

Day 61

"Huh..." Kakashi muses at the sight a really old fire pit. There are stone jars not that far from the old fire pit among other items that seem to be slowly but surely being engulfed by the sand.

"They seem to have tried to build shelters but they were never completed. Though that might be because they used such flimsy material." Gai states after joining Kakashi by the fire pit.

"We found a battle site. It seems there were disputes among them." Kurenai reports a little distance away.

The team of jonin instructors head to see this battle field. "Lee must have been one of the combatants." Gai states calmly while Kakashi moves around, studying every broken or burnt tree or grass.

"Sasuke's fireball jutsu created this." The white haired jonin states at a sport where the dirt seemed to have been partially melted.

With a frown, Kakashi summons a dog. "Find a scent and lead us after it." Sharingan Kakashi states.

Day 65

"Who taught their genin earth jutsu?" Asuma wonders as they stood before a gate that is open. They can clearly see guards all along the wall.

None of the three admit to it so silence hangs among them for a few seconds before Gai begins to walk through the gate, heading into the city. Kakashi soon follows after the Green Beast with Asuma and Kurenai hasting for a few seconds before following the two.

"Hey ya! Did you want a tour around our fair city or did you wish to visit with King Naruto the First?" They glance to the side of the gate to find a clone, it had to be a clone, sporting black, orange, and white hair and yellow eyes with green flakes about the iris. Instead of whisker marks upon the cheeks, this clone sports dark purple tattoos with a figure of a dragon suggested.

"I know, I know, pretty cool tattoos, right? Names is Haundo and if ya want, I'll be your tour guide. I'll show ya the many wonders of Ramen City and Castle Tengoku." The dubbed Haundo says.

"Yosh! You're student is most talented, Kakashi! Yes, Haundo, we shall gladly take you up on your offer!" Gai says and Haundo beams.

"Alright! Now then, follow and I shall lead you to the wondrous garden of Taigaa! Its fountain sports five tigers with a tiger lilly being at the center of them." Haundo says while leading the four jonin down a street.

Hours Later

"And finally, our last destination, Castle Tengoku! The castle is one of the first buildings built. At that time, Ramen City was Fort Ramen and it only occupied the land of the hill. A temporary wall had been built about the bottom." Haundo says as they enter into the courtyard of the surprisingly large castle.

The four jonin found the tour rather informative but they had begun to notice that none of the other genin had been mentioned throughout the creation of this fair city. They had spied various clones, some exact duplicates of Naruto Uzumaki with the others preferring to appear vastly different then their creator.

The four jonin have visited pretty much every district of Ramen City as their tour guide lead them around. They visited each of the gardens of the city as well as the markets. They noted how each district sported its own design and decorations.

"I don't suppose you can tell us what became of our various genin. You haven't mentioned them throughout the tour so far." Asuma says and Haundo looks thoughtful.

"Well, that's because they didn't help with any part of the founding or creation of the city. The majority of them arrived rather later and it was believed that they planned to mooch off of our hard work, so they are guests within the dungeons." Haundo explains.

"Naruto and them had a difference of opinion when it came to how to set up residence upon this island. Naruto wasn't satisfied with only keeping close to the landing nor was he happy that his suggestions concerning jutsus being dismissed as a waste of time and chakra since the rest seem to believe they weren't going to spend more then a week or two upon this island." Haundo continues.

"Of course none of them objected to him creating shadow clones to do the foraging, watching the signal fire, or being sent out looking for usable scrapes from the sunk ship." Haundo says with a sigh. "The last fight had to do with the fact that whenever it stormed, the flimsy incomplete shelters would get ruined. Naruto wanted to give trying to shape shelters using an earth jutsu that he hadn't fully mastered. And so, Naruto marched off to explore more of the island."

"And thus, he discovered this place and saw a chance to create all of this." Haundo says. The group stilled as they processed all of that.

"That is rather unyouthful of my team." Gai muses with a frown.

"Ah, don't worry, it's not as though they're being tortured and they are being fed two meals a day." Haundo remarks upon seeing the looks on Asuma and Kurenai's faces. "Although, our Seal research team has been trying to understand Sasuke's curse seal, though sadly or happily, they accidentally destroyed it just last night. It seems that the seal's base was a poison and once they broke it down, it vanish."

"Sasuke seems to be comatose about the fact that it's destroyed. He raged for a few hours about how that seal was a gift for an avenger such as himself and wants them to reapply it." Haundo states after wincing slightly. "Once his anger was spent, he fell into a depression and is pretty much ignoring everything around him, off in his own little world."

Kakashi had mixed feelings concerning the destruction of the curse seal that Orochimaru had 'gifted' the young Uchiha. The jonin can only guess at how much more mentally unstable Sasuke is and hopes that once they return to Hidden Leaf, the hospital staff will be able to help him.

"Anyway, you guys must be pretty hungry! Come on, I'll take ya to the kitchen unless you guys want to dine in the dinning hall?" Haundo says, moving onto a new subject.

It's about then that the four jonin did find themselves to be rather peckish and they follow their guide to the kitchen. "You want smoked fish? Or do you prefer fresh?" Haundo asks as he moves to put on an apron.

"Fresh." Kurenai says and the clone nods. They watch Haundo with their eyes but their thoughts didn't encircle the clone at all as they each thought about their genin.

Master Bedroom

Naruto studies his pack, mentally going through a checklist. With a satisfied nod, the blond genin tightens the string before shouldering the strap. The blond is sure to adjust his headband before heading out of his chambers.

"Looks like you're in charge Fu!" Naruto says to the clone upon closing the door. "How goes the release of the prisoners?"

"Very good, sir. Sasuke continues to prove unresponsive while more then a few of our... guests have tried to kill their attendees upon having their chakra restored to them." Fu reports.

Naruto sighs, he rather expected that reaction from the majority of them. "So they didn't realize they were being attended by puppets until the blow didn't dispel them?" He asks the organized clone.

"A few seem to be more incline to believe that you've created a better, more durable version of us. Which wouldn't be such a bad idea, actually." Fu muses and Naruto smiles.

"Considering how often I use that jutsu, it shouldn't be that hard to test out slightly different things upon using said jutsu. After all, I'm still responsible for repopulating the city when a clone dispels prematurely." Naruto says. "Which will be rather tricky when I'm all the way back in Hidden Leaf."

Epilogue  
7 Years Later

"It's good to be home." Naruto says upon being summoned back to the island of Kangaekomu, in the sealing room three in the wing of Castle Tengoku.

"It's good to see you as well, sir." An unchanged Fu says, clearly voicing the group's opinion. "It hasn't been the same since you left."

Naruto grimaces as he recalls that day. "There are days where I wish I never left." The twenty year old, recently declared missing nin admits with a sigh.

"So we begun to understand. Still, our king has returned and he brings us new additions for our library." Omoi, the clone that has taken it upon himself to create a library. The black haired clone is one of a group that wishes to see a new city built to the southwest, a cliff over looking a cove.

"So I have, so I have." Naruto muses and tosses the scroll containing all of his plunder from the major ninja villages and a few of the lesser ones too. Omoi catches the scroll and vanishes in a flash to begin organizing the contains.

"I have Tako run a bath for you in your chambers." Fu says. "I believe your crown is still within the glass case where you left it." Naruto's adviser adds with a hint of a smile and Naruto groans at the reminder of his kingship.

_At least the title King is a more suitable title then missing nin. I never abandoned the village, it abandoned me._ The twenty year old genin thinks as he heads out of the room, heading for his waiting chambers that are many floor above his head.

Naruto pauses and glances over at Doo and Fu. "Be sure to start posting sentries about the island. It's likely they'll try to find me here after I haven't been sighted upon the continent after a few months. I didn't leave any clones behind, so it shouldn't be too long before they try coming here." Naruto informs the group, who just nod in response.

**The End and Yet, a New Beginning**


	101. Shinigami Naruto: The Return

I don't own Bleach or Naruto!

**- o 0 o -**

**"We're finally heading back to Seireitei after fifty years..."** Aozora muses as while reading the order to return to the Seireitei. **"Aren't you a bit worried that they're from the Captain-Commander instead of Captain Tosen? You know, your division's latest captain?"**

"They mention war time measure are being enacted, though against who..." He shrugs as he adjusts his rather large knapsack before slipping the greatly shrunken Zanpakutō. He had used his spiritual power to shrink it to the size of a typical katanna until they reach his apartment in Seireitei, then at which point, it'll return to its typical size.

**"So, you think two of the noble clans have finally decided to go to war then? If they have, maybe you can try looking a few years younger, like a twelve year old or maybe even an eight year old to get out of going to the front line."** Aozora remarks jokingly after taking a long look at him.

"I enjoy looking like a seventeen year old, Aozora. It always offsets the new students into thinking I'm just one of the guys. Thus it helps them to relate to me outside of the classroom." He defends as he gives his Zanpakuto spirit a minor hard look.

**"Ok, fine."** Aozora says before adding as he's about to leave their home of fifty years, **"So, are you going to say farewell before we go?"**

He turns to look at Aozora only to find Aozora has vanished from this dimension. He closes his eyes and leans slightly upon the door frame as he sighs. He gently bangs his head against the wooden frame before picking himself up and heading to do a round of the district to say good bye to the friends that will likely forever reside in this district. _Still surprises me that out of everyone I've known while I was alive, I would be one of the few who manage to get my full name right._

= [ -**T**

"The Captain-Commander is ready to see you, Uzumaki-san." Lieutenant Chojiro says and he raises up from his seat. He bows at the second-in-command of First division.

"Thank you, Sasakibe-sama." He says as he raise up from his bow. He then enters into the Captain-Commander's office. "Yamamoto-dono, it is good to see you in such good health." He says upon sitting down upon a chair before the elderly captain's desk.

"It is good to see you as well, Naruto. The quality of the graduates has fallen since your assignment in the far reaches of the Rukongai. Those souls you recommended for the Spiritual Arts Academy have done very well and have become rather remarkable Soul Reapers." Yamamoto says and he nods politely.

"It has been a long time since you achieved Shikai form, has it not? How proceeds your progress upon achieving Bankai?" Yamamoto asks him.

"I have it achieved it, although I have some problems with maintaining focus while it's activated. I had not thought to mention it in my yearly reports since I will likely continue to have problems mastering it. It is a rather unorthodox release I believe." He answers, he begins to worry about why the head Shinigami is bringing this up.

"I see, but that doesn't change anything for I am promoting you to the position of captain within your division." Yamamoto informs him and he feels as though his world just got set up upon its head. "There is much to do and so little time to do most of it. That is why I am very much relieved to hear that you have achieved Bankai even if you have yet enough experience using it."

"I did not know Tosen-san had passed on. Forgive me for not arriving for the funeral, sir." He says but the Captain-Commander sighs and he frowns. "I'm sorry, Yamamoto-dono, for being out of the loop, perhaps you can enlighten me upon the circumstances leading up to my sudden promotion?" He asks, being sure to pick his words rather carefully.

"I had not expected the news not to have reach you before now, Naruto, forgive me." The Captain-Commander says at last and he patiently waits for the powerful man before him to enlighten him. "It would seem that three captains had plotted to acquire a device that the former captain, I'm sure you remember the incident with Kisuke Urahara, created and was exile for."

He nods, he did indeed remember Urahara and his usual partner in crime, Yoruichi. "That incident always seemed... off to my mind. Urahara never struck me as the type to be so... so... ruthless when it comes to experimenting." He admits, he never liked how none of the victims were asked to ID who tried to hollowfy them.

He presses his lips as he realizes something. "Sir, does this mean that those three were behind what happened back then?" He asks after noting that the Captain-Commander didn't seem to be in a hurry to continue speaking.

He sits back and closes his eyes, he remembers the test he arranged when Aizen had been a mere student. _I wonder if it all started then... He had been fairly popular after that test. So many people looking at him for leadership, its enough to swell anyone's head._

"I only hope that your faith in my ability to lead division nine is not misplaced, sir. I have been away from Seireitei for five decades and I can only imagine what changes have taken place during my absence." He says to the man who shaped the way the Soul Society trains new recruits by founding an academy.

"I believe you have the skills needed for your new duties, it's not unlike teaching in its own way." The ancient Captain-Commander informs him with a soft smile. "The Seireitei has need of your abilities outside of the academy during this time of war and it is your responsibility to step up."

He bows his head in acknowledgment. "There will be a captains' meeting tomorrow so I suggest you use today to prepare to face your fellow captains. I believe Shūhei is waiting to take you to your new office. I'll be sure to have your haori sent to you by this evening." Yamamoto-dono tells him.

"Yes, sir. Thank you for this honor, Genryūsai-dono." He says as he gets up from his seat, he bows deeply to the ancient shinigami before leaving the office with his mind slightly awash of various emotions.

"Sir." Shūhei Hisagi says as he enters the waiting room. He studies Shuhei, noting a few new tattoo upon his ex-student and new lieutenant.

"I trust that the head quarters of division nine hasn't changed much since was away on patrol? Then let us walk together and perhaps you can fill me in more upon events that have happened while I was away, Shuhei." He says as they move out of the waiting room.

"His betrayal must have hit you the hardest." He adds and feels Shuhei stiffen slightly but doesn't respond. He can relate to what many Soul Reapers are going through concerning this betrayal.

_I wonder if Sasuke ended up here? Or did he get sent to Hell?_ He wonders as he gazes out of a large window that they are passing on their way out of first division's head quarters.

"The pain, it never goes away. Time only dulls it and perhaps, causes the details to blur. The cut will likely scab over but never heal properly." He murmurs softly before looking away from the window.

"You've had something like this happen before?" Shuhei asks and he smiles sadly at his companion. He pauses to answer.

"Once and it happened centuries ago. Funny thing is, perhaps I should have seen it coming after that one fight we had. He was such an ass even before we began that fight." He says with a scowl as he remembers how Sasuke refused to put on his headband. "The only regret I have is that I made a promise I should have to someone who was just a silly minded girl and didn't like seeing her imaginary prince fade to reveal a very disturbed boy."

"You had a crush on her, didn't you, sensei? And you were competing against her crush to get her attention?" Shuhei asks and he chuckles slightly before nodding.

"That pretty much sums most of the points up really." He answers. "The details make for a very complex tale though and I doubt you'll want to hear me reminisce about the 'good old days' like the old man that I am, eh?" He asks with a sly grin and Shuhei rolls his eyes.

"You're hardly an old man, sensei." Shuhei remarks warily and he snorts softly. "I might not be as old as Captain Unohana or Yamamoto-dono but I when I started attending the academy, Captain Jūshirō and Captain Shunsui were only two grades ahead of me."

"If you won't believe me, you can check the records of the academy." He adds upon noting how Shuhei just shakes his head in disbelief. He's not sure whether to be amused that his new subordinate doesn't believe him or a little ticked off that he didn't believe he's telling the truth.

"Or perhaps I can speak to either of them to see if you're telling the truth." Shuhei muses and he snorts softly while slowly shaking his head. "I'll be sure to have my hangover cure ready for you the day after you do that." He muses.

Silence soon descends between them until they were out of the building. He uses that time to reminisce about his time on team seven before and after Sasuke left. _It's funny, I kind of miss their quirks, even now, over thousands of years of being dead._

"Shuhei... Tell me, how were they found out? Has Central 46 punished anyone for not preventing to catch them before they went underground? Any idea of their current base of operations could be found?" He asks as they walk through the street and he feels Shuhei look at him.

"Central 46 has yet to have their numbers replaced since they were murdered by Aizen. So nobody is being accused of anything by them, at least not right now. That might change after this war is over." Shuhei says before making a throaty sound. "Perhaps I should start when Rukia Kuchiki was sent to the real world on patrol..."

**_"This is going to be one long story."_** Aozora muses as Shuhei mentions Rukia giving her powers to a moral, creating a substitute Soul Reaper.

= [ -**T**

_They will not enjoy this experience... Not at all..._ He thinks and feels Aozora agreeing with him as he holds his Zanpakuto before him.

The strange blue metal of his blade glinting under the sunlight. He closes his eyes and braces himself for what's to come, of the drain upon his energy reserves that this demonstration will cause. He privately wonders how well the Seireitei will stand upon the storm about to be released.

"Bankai!" He can't help but shout, his heart thundering in his chest as energy explodes from sword. The force seemingly breaking the metal of the sword's blade with the metal shards disintegrating into the air as black clouds suddenly shroud the sky as the wind not just howls but screams.

The hilt in his hand finally dissolves and his whole being begins to as well. Soon, he is the storm raging overhead. Seemingly with each breath he takes, a cyclone seems to spawn and exhaling causes them to grow. The storm grows worse and he uses all of his will power to search for the place where he released his Bankai so he can destroy the target so that he can finally seal it back up.

Upon finding it, he tries to will lightning, just lightning, to destroy the target. It kind of does but a bunch of ice also rains down upon it after the lightning hits it. With the target destroyed, he focuses on the spot upon which he wishes to reconstruct at once he releases his Bankai.

Just as it cancels, he feels Aozora moving to help close the 'door' and within a minute, he is once more appearing in a non-elemental form with the tip of Aozora kind of digging into the ground. He's breathing heavily but he takes it as a good sign that he hasn't passed out.

He's dimly aware of the so called 'clown' captain of twelfth division trying to convince the Captain-Commander to allow him to take him to the lab and study him like some kind of lab rat. He manages to stand, slightly shakily at first and using his oversize Zanpakuto as something to lean on. With each breath, his pounding in his head eases.

The reactions of his new ranking seem to have varying reactions to witnessing his Bankai. He glances towards the target and gets a ground level view of the damage that he caused just a minute or two ago. The remains of the storm is the chunks of ice about the target, he's glad that all he had done as a storm was rain down instead of hailing down.

_Funny how right they were when they declared me a force of nature..._ He muses silently to himself as he listens and responds rather automatically to their questions. He's a little too tired to really think about the questions being asked or to think about their reactions at this point in time, although that doesn't stop him from memorizing them.

**_"I bet a lot of them are looking forward to seeing it used upon our future enemies and upon the traitors. Fear will definitely be something we'll encounter from them in the future but then, they do have reason to fear, don't they?"_** He hears Aozora no Kemono muse.

He can't help but agree, they had every right to be wary of what he can do in that form. For as a storm, very little can do any lasting harm. He never heard of a release like his, even going through the records at Central 46.

"Well done, my boy, well done." Yamamoto-dono says to him, causing him to look at the very aged and worn Captain-Commander. He can't help but flush under the man's gaze and manages a nod before the man turns and walks away.

"We must celebrate! Come, onto the bar!" Captain Shunsui Kyōraku says upon slapping his left shoulder.

It wasn't long before he finds himself slightly dragged slash carried away with Aozora no Kemono still being held in his right hand.

**- o 0 o -**


	102. Trials of Youth: Naruto

I don't own Naruto characters!

**- o 0 o -**

Age: 20

Yawning, he woke and blinks as at the sight of a tail belonging to one of his sisters. His parents had given him a brother and two sisters and while he knows he's a bit more fortunate that he only had three siblings as he could have had five. He flickers his ears at the thought before he slowly begins to move out of the kit pile of their milking den.

As he finally leaves the minor pile of sleeping siblings, he shakes himself before walking to the seemingly massive entrance of the den. With a shake of his head, he walks out of the milking den, heading for the play area of the nursery. He grins at the sight of the nursery that is practically empty.

He moves to the center of the playground to try and connect with this really colorful cloud within his mind. He knows what that cloud is and he really wants to see if he can use it. He only become aware of his illusion powers when he was knocked off of one of the tiers by one of the bullying groups of his age-mates and got knocked out. It happened a few sleep-times ago.

He tries his hardest not to pout as the colorful cloud continues to drift away from him as he tries to walk into it, but the space between the cloud and himself isn't as great as his previous attempts. Suddenly, pain bursts from him and he's forcibly brought out of his mind. He growls and tries to dislodge the bully to stop the bite upon his shoulder.

"What you waiting for? Hold him down!" Snaps the lead bully of the group and it wasn't long before the other seven members of the gang charge forth to do just that.

"Get off!" He growls, trying to wiggle out from their grasp. Anger and fear dominate his mind as he fails to dislodge their grip upon him.

"Or what? You'll wet yourself?" The leader taunts and he just snarls angrily at the gang of nine.

"Turn him over, I want to teach this idiot a lesson about talking back to his superior!" The leader of the nine says and he manages to almost get away from the gang since they had to let go of him to flip him. It was a bite at his tail tip that causes him to cry out.

He turns and glares hatefully at them, wishing that they're deepest fears to haunt them right this minute. Suddenly, something looms around him and the one biting his tail tip yelps as the kit backs away as quickly as he could, tail curled up under his belly. He just growls at the nine as he feels something eating his energy but he refused to lie down since he can only guess what they'd do when he's totally unable to defend himself.

The rest of the gang are shivering in fear and more then a few are cringing upon the floor. Just as he collapses, urine suddenly comes from the nine before they all fainted. Within seconds of realizing they are out of it, he falling down upon the floor, he feels so drained...

"Looks like they'll think twice about bullying you, huh?" He hears a smoothing voice muse before feeling a tongue licks his back. "Come on, let's see if we can't get you something to drink, unless you want to try eating some fruit?"

"Fruit, please." He murmurs and the adult kitsune then gently picks him up. He's glad that it isn't by the scruff of the neck.

He glances backwards and sees two tails within his range. He tries to see if he can spot the tails on the other side but, he only got dizzy so he didn't see if the blue kitsune posses four or five tails. He wanted to ask how many tails they had but decided that he'll likely know upon getting to the food reserve of the nursery.

_What drained me?_ He wonders, finally turning his mind to what happened when his tail got bit. He recalls how desperately wished that they were faced with their fears, the ones that haunt them even when they're wide awake.

"Iku! Why are you bringing that kit here? Did you find out who as casting that illusion in the nursery?" He hears a vixen's voice and he turns to spy the four tailed, green furred vixen laying by the entrance of the food den.

He feels himself being put down and his carrier, Iku, replying, "Met the caster. Not that I blame him, one of the kit gangs were trying to teach him why he shouldn't talk back to them." Iku nudges him and he glances up at the kitsune before standing a bit upon shaky legs.

"There's so many of those in this generation... It's going to turn into a blood bath in the next few decades if the council decides to let it play out." The vixen says as he tries to walk over to her.

His stomach growls and whines as it feels as though his mid-section has a hole in it. He shakes his head, trying to dismiss the hunger pangs to focus on walking the few feet between Iku and the vixen. He hears what the two adults are saying but he doesn't have much time to think about it.

He finally makes it to the side of the vixen's head before collapsing down upon the ground. He feels the vixen, who's name is Waka, turn to regard him and gives him a few licks before using one of her tails to bring a few berries within range of his mouth. Drool escapes his mouth and with a yelp, he practically pounces upon one of the berries.

Each of the berries might be minor tidbits for the adults, for him, they were half the size of his head and he'll be lucky if he manages to eat two of them. His milk teeth gnaw upon the waxy outer skin of the berry but he finally manages to break it. He licks at the juices oozing out of the break for a bit before biting the edge of the rip to expand it so he can eat the 'meat' of the berry.

_It's sweeter then milk but its got that after taste, which isn't unpleasant just... odd._ He thinks, its only in the last two years that he and his age-mates have begun to sample actual food. It'll be about two decades before they are totally weaned onto solid foods.

"Thank you for the berries!" He says after eating three of them, which kind of surprised him that he would eat so much. He looks over at the giant pair of four tailed kitsunes when he said that.

"You got just as much on you as in you, little one." Waka muses and within seconds, he's between her paws and getting clean. The smoothing feel of the tongue upon his body and his filled gut slowly causes him to be laud to sleep.

Age: 50

He grins as he causes flowers and grass to 'grow' around him. His two sisters squealed in delight while his brother snorts. Once the floor of their old milking den is covered in the illusion of grass and flowers, he turns his attention to causes illusionary vines to grow about the walls before turning the ceiling into sky with a few clouds kind of drifting over their heads.

"Ok, now I'll try for making some simple insects." He says to his siblings. _Practice makes perfect._ He thinks as he tries to mimic some of the insects that their various teachers show them through using illusions in the safety of the nursery instead of taking them outside of the underground city.

In the three decades since he first access a part of his heritage as a kitsune, the various gangs of bullies have long since learnt to leave his siblings and himself alone or else he'd use them as test subjects in mastering his early access of illusion magic as the normal age in which young kits begin to gain access to their ability to create illusions is between a hundred to a hundred and thirty years of age.

The adults had declared him a genius because he accessed it a good eighty years early, topping the previous record of when an eighty year old accessed their natural illusionary gifts. _Of course accessing illusion gifts doesn't mean I'm an adult. To be considered an adult I would need to be able to create Fox Fire and that usually happens when a kitsune is over two hundred._

Giggling causes him to snap out of his thoughts and finds that those insects are changing colors every few seconds and displaying a sparkly effect whenever they move. He chuckles at the imperfects that he inadvertently created. With a frown, he focuses on correcting these effects, much to his sisters' disappointment.

"Shouldn't you four be on your way to class?" He hears Iku ask. The illusion remains up even though an adult has entered into it.

"I'm pretty sure your parents wanted you to attend your lessons." The four tail adult adds. He groans but cancels his various illusions.

"I guess, but it's been weeks since dad has been home and mom left a few days ago to help forage for the nursery." His brother explains as his siblings move to stand before the blue furred adult. He sits down to scratch an inch behind his ear, he gets up to follow after his siblings on their way to the multipurpose main chamber of the nursery.

He cocks his head as an idea grows and he smiles. He slowly tries to weave an illusion to hide his body and the dirt shifted dirt under his paws. He then stops moving and lies next to a wall, mentally chuckling at this idea.

"Where's your brother?" He hears Iku asks down the hall. "Wait here, you three." He hears the blue furred adult say.

As Iku comes within sight, he struggles not to laugh out loud when Iku's eyes slip over his spot. He feels a burst of pride at being able to fool an adult. Suddenly, he yelps as he feels Iku's teeth about the scruff of his neck.

He tries to think what he did wrong with his illusion as Iku places him behind his siblings. "You're good with visual illusions but you haven't gotten around to fooling the other senses yet, kitling." Iku tells him and he blinks.

"Huh? Other senses?" He asks and his siblings seem to be a little interested in the fact that he might still have a long way to go before being a full master of illusions.

"Other then vision, you have hearing, scent, and touch. You have only been working on visual illusions with a hint of tricking the touch." Iku explains and he blinks as he considers that.

"But none of the illusions used in lessons touch on either of those other senses!" A sister of his protests. "So how would we know about these other senses that need to be tricked?" The same sister points out and Iku chuckles softly.

"As you lot are only kits, we don't use the full force of illusions against you since you're too young to have a defense against them. Well, your brother likely has defenses against the encompassing power of illusions as he is capable of using illusions." Iku explains as he takes the lead once more.

_Hmm, I wonder what flowers and grass smell like?_ He wonders as he follows after Iku. He'll have to ask one of the other on duty care-takers. _Maybe they'll even caste an illusion to show me what they smell like..._

Age: 100

He snorts and continues pass the 'hidden' gang of bullies. As he finishes passing through their area illusion, his changes take effect. _You would think they would know better then to try and fool me._ He thinks as soft giggles and chuckles begin to fill the air.

The bullies remain ignorant of the changes he created in their illusions. None of the nine had tried to weave their illusions together the layers don't really mesh well. What he did was mesh his changes upon all of their illusions while making sure that they're unaware of the changes he made. To dismiss his illusion, all nine layers will been to be turned off.

"... his tail! It's got those scaly rings on it!" "...never want those colors on me, they just an eyesore when done up like that!" "...get that sparkling effect? I wish..." "...suits him, don't you think?"

He glances towards the group of female kits who seem to be enjoying what he had done to that one gang of bullies. _One gang down, a dozen more to humiliate._ He thinks as he heads to his favorite perch on one of the upper tiers.

He curls up and focuses on creating an illusionary moss to cover his tail. He works what it would feel like in his fur, which is kind of hard since he hasn't a clue what it feels like to have a clump of matted fur feels like. It always feel odd when he's experiments involve himself in the illusion too.

He knew it was an illusion but he wants to be affected by the illusion though. He watches as the dark green plant-like illusion sometimes phrase out of sight, allowing him to see his tail without the moss. With a frown, he tries to had the illusion of fur poking out of the moss, trying to make it appear closer to the skin.

An odd ghost like touch of his fur makes his fur prickly. With a sigh, he dismisses the illusion to roll upon his back. He stares off in front of him as he ponders how difficult it is to try and mimic things he's never experienced. _Maybe I should try sneaking out of the nursery area?_ He wonders.

He reviews the idea, after all, he's gotten really good at hiding using illusions to do so. The problem, he realizes, was the fact he has yet to find any exits leading out of the nursery area of this underground city. _And yet, there's got to be since how else do dad and mom manage to head out to hunt or where the care-takers go when they're not on duty..._

With a chuckle, he flops off of his back and onto his side. With a shake of his tail, he gets to his feet and heads off to find an adult to stalk.

Age: 150

He manages to stay within the ebony furred Junji's shadow as the party of five kitsune adults who range from having three to four tails. Every bit of his illusionary skills have gone into make him appear part of Junji's shadow. He has tried other ways to sneak beyond the underground city's tunnels and they had failed.

He wheezes at the pace of the party. His ears flatten against his skull, his mouth open, and his tail hanging limply behind him. The party had been on the move for a sunset, a sunrise, and another sunset. He's glad his stamina manage to allow him to keep up but now, it's running on empty.

He knew that the more tails a kitsune had translates to how mystically and physically powerful they are but it's another thing to experience it first hand. They must be over hundreds of kilometers from their island home. He still recalls how scared he had been upon realizing that he'd have to walk upon that rotting log set up as a natural bridge between the island where the city had been dug and the mainland where the party is headed if he wanted to remain hidden.

The party has slowed to a walk instead of the lop they were using previously. Hunger gnaws at him while his paws ache from the distances they traveled. He can barely swallow as he hasn't had a drink since the day before he attached himself to Jinji.

"We'll rest here for now." The honey furred, five tailed vixen named Beniko says. She is the leader of this party and he gladly drops upon the cool ground after the rest of the party lies down to rest.

He hadn't realize he had fallen asleep until he feels somebody picking him up by the scruff of his neck. He yelps in surprise and soon finds himself under scrutiny of four of the five adults. He curls himself up as best as he can and trembles at the varying emotions his noses tells him the adults are experiencing.

"What have you got to say for yourself, kit?" Orange furred, three tailed fox name Tarou snarls. He whimpers softly at the look of fury being directed at him. "Answer me, damn you!"

He feels his tail getting wet as he looses control. Two of the group move to hold Tarou from standing over him. "Cool it, Tarou! We won't get any answers if he faints from terror!" Jinji snaps.

"He managed to keep up with us with two days of hard running while maintaining that complex weave upon Jinji's shadow." Crimson furred, three tail Aoto muses. "How many kits do you know that can create an illusion that can fool adults so well? Or maintain it for over a few hours?" Aoto adds.

"What does it matter? He's a kit! And kits aren't allowed out of, let alone away from the island! This mission is canceled because of him!" Tarou bellows loudly and angrily.

"Not necessarily... If he can fool us, imagine how easily he'll fool those Oni." Jinji muses and he's a bit confused as to why they're bringing up that race.

_Aren't they more common in the central regions of the world?_ He wonders. He noticed Tarou snorting in derision at what Jinji had said.

"He'll come with us. For some reason, Fate has decided that this young kit's purpose is to join us for this quest. He will not be receiving special treatment either. As long as he's with us, he's an adult." Beniko decrees before she gets up from sitting down.

"Now then, pair up with somebody and hunt for your meal. We've still got a long way to go." Beniko states and he watches as Aoto moves to Beniko's side. Slowly the other adults head off, leaving him with Jinji.

He gets up off the ground and waits for Jinji to head off. He doesn't look up at Jinji, but at the various bushes about the clearing that hang under gaps between the trees. He's never hunted before and really didn't know much about where to find it or how to kill it.

Jinji moves and he follows after, he's determined not to act like a kit, dependent upon the adults of the group.

**Oni Camp**

He felt like a coward as the huge brutes lock the others into a wooden cage that sports talisman scroll spells about it. The cage is but one among twenty that exist. The few large ones contain spiral deer and horse demons.

He had escape the Oni's notice by weaving a hasty illusion about himself. It had worked and thus, he lies cowering be the roots of an ancient tree. He also felt fascination concerning the way the Oni stand upon their back legs and their forelimbs possess hands like monkey demons.

His kind are capable shapeshifters and thus, he wondered why none of the others hadn't transformed into Oni themselves and try to bluff their way into the camp. The majority of the party does possess three tails and more, thus signally that they're mystical side being able to give them access to the power of form-changing. _We're cunning and adaptive. Unlike so many others, we're gifted with mystical abilities that other races take years to train in. So why not use them?_

His fear pushed aside as he feels the need to know what powers Oni have that allow them to be immune to the powers of his race. After all, if the adults didn't use such gifts, then it must mean that they were a waste of time since the Oni must have ways to counter them.

Night has fallen and finally one of the Oni leave the camp to make water. He follows after, keeping low to the ground. Only when he's sure that the Oni is distracted, he begins to uses different sense illusions to see how the Oni counters them. For the illusion of touch, he made it seem as though the ground under it was unstable, for the illusion of hearing, he causes a whistling to happen from a tree behind the brute, for the illusion of scent, the smell of blood coming from the tree opposite of the one he's using for hearing, and for the illusion of sight, a huge demonic wasp to be hanging over the tree with the illusion of smell.

As he watches, the Oni snarls and covers his ears while standing up from the crouch to face the tree where he set the hearing illusion about it. He watches in puzzlement as the Oni begins to punch and then kick the tree while snarling something in its native language. After a few minutes, he cancels the hearing illusion and opts to give the wasp buzzing wings.

The Oni quickly snaps his head and looks up over that tree, towards the wasp. The Oni's eyes seem to widen before the Oni test subject grips part of the tree it was beating upon to throw stuff at the wasp that he created. He cocks his head as he causes the wasp to move out of the path of that ripped bark.

With a twitch of his tail, he causes the illusion wasp to dive bomb the Oni, being sure to add scent and touch to the insect illusion while maintaining only the original smelling illusion. He makes sure to have the wasp move out of the Oni's attacks and then sting the brute using the stinger.

As the Oni screams and races away, it's likely yelling about how its been poisoned. He sits up and dismisses the various illusion that weren't meant to hide him. Minutes later, the Oni returns with three others.

With a soft grunt, he creates a swarm of normal size demonic wasps and have them move from that tree that had the blood illusion. He wants to see if any of this group knows how to counter illusions. The other three Oni grumble and laugh at his original test subject while waving their hands at the swarm of wasps hovering around that tree, wings buzzing.

He causes the wasps to land back upon the tree and the three new Oni head back to camp, still chuckling about what happened to the first Oni. That one glares about and murmurs things in a very threatening tone before stumping off after those three.

"This might be easier then I thought." He murmurs thoughtfully. He just needs to be sure that the Oni destroy their cages by creating something that causes so much chaos that the Oni don't realize that he's influencing their reactions.

"Needs to be something so startling that it throws them off and then to keep them guessing. Can't let them think too." He murmurs before chuckling, he remembers this certain tactic that he used when three of those bullying gangs decided to try and attack him, believing that with more numbers, he wouldn't be able to target them all. "But boy were they wrong..."

With a nod, he slinks off and waits until the majority of the camp is asleep before putting his plan into action. It'll also give him a chance to roam around their camp, studying it from every angle he can. He only wishes he could climb up a tree to get an aerial view of the camp.

As he's about to drift off to sleep while the Oni eat their burnt meal of meat, though he's puzzled about why they went to the trouble of burning it. Tarou's voice got so loud that one of the Oni growl and get up, walks over and shakes the cage while yelling at them. Once the Oni returns to the fire, the party begins to whisper among themselves.

He even watches as they try using Fox Fire upon the cage but the written spells keep the cage from begin effected by their efforts. He watches as the scrolls glow even without any of the party using Fox Fire. It takes him a few minutes to realize that they were now trying to use illusions upon their captors but the written spells would not allow the effects to go pass the bars.

Finally the adults just lay down and seem content with glaring at their captors. The party isn't the only ones, the horse demons were doing so as well. None of the Oni seem concerned by this and once more, he curls up to wait for the time when most of the Oni are asleep to go head with his plan.

The Oni only began to nod off when some jug of sake got passed around. His Oni test subject is the one forced to be on sentry duty, much to its anger. He becomes a little more alert and slowly begins to weave illusions upon the resting Oni in preparation for the big one. _It's never too early to influence others using illusions._

He waits until the sentry begins to nod off before releasing the well tailored blanket of illlusions to act out upon the camp. The first thing that happens is the low burning fire to 'explode' into a merriment of colors that covers the area, the explosion is followed with a deafening bang which are then followed with as many loud noises that he's experienced in his short life, making sure that the source of these sounds aid in forcing Oni to back into those cages.

As he had hoped, he managed to direct most of the Oni to destroy both empty and filled cages. He even creates various kinds of large, unnatural insects. Once the cages were destroyed, he releases the entrapment part of the illusion, making it appear as though vines were growing out of the ground to wrap themselves about the Oni.

The freed captives weren't being influenced by the illusions but they seem a bit stunned by how the Oni are acting. They remain frozen until Tarou leaps at the nearest one facing him and bites down upon the Oni's throat. With that, the freed captives began their assault upon the Oni.

He hurries to cover their attacks with illusions, making it appear as some kind of ghost is attacking them using various weapons. Once the last Oni is dead does the demonic horses head off and the spiral deer, only captives not to attack the Oni, then follow their example. The illusions die with the last Oni and he sighs, loudly.

He is a little too busy watching Jinji to notice that a few of the other kitsune have altered their forms, taking the pose of an Oni but the features were off. The one with orange hair picks up the jug of sake and gulps some of it before one of the others do so. He's at a lost at how to react but it wasn't long before Jinji is before him and looking rather proud.

"Good job, kit. Come on, you must be starving. Their brains are yours to eat or in this case, take the first bites, as you are the reason why they're dead." Jinji says and he nods, he heard of that tradition even though he doesn't understand why it's in place.

None of the adults sport disapproving looks of any level or type. They all seem to look upon him with respect and he, oddly enough, felt kind of unworthy of such looks. _I only did what I've been taught, using my strength when the enemy is at their weakest._ He thinks humbly as Jinji's transforms and hefts one of the Oni's metal weapons to cut the skull of an Oni open so that he can get at the brains.

Oddly enough, by the fifth mouthful, he felt something tickle his brain but ignores it in order to eat what he can before Jinji motions for him move onto the next one. Once he's had a few bites of each brain do the others begin to eat them. He cleans himself a bit before he curls up close but not too close, to the low burning fire and falls asleep with a full belly and the knowledge that the others will protect him from whatever dangers that this world holds.

**Council of Kyuubis**

He struggles not to look around the magnificent chamber that houses the meetings and dealings of the whole city. All thirty-nine of the resident kitsune sporting nine tails are in attendance, their fur coloring changed upon them gaining their ninth tail, going either white or gold and sporting glowing eyes.

The adults laying about him smelt primarily of fear and it he oh so felt that he's about to lose control, wetting himself before these most powerful kitsune who reside in the underground island city. Guilt and shame racked his insides as he knew this hearing is about him. He also had a feeling that this wasn't about congratulating him for saving the lives of the group he trick through illusions just to get out of the city.

He has caused those of the party to break a bunch of rules simply because he had remained with the group instead of being escorted back. He knew that the adults were in hotter water then himself too, but had a feeling that whatever is to come of this meeting, it all depends upon him and he's at a lost as to why that was so.

And yet, he's the one in the center of the group with all the adult members of the party circling around him, making him the subtle focal point of the group even though Beniko is... was the leader. The weight presses down upon him and around him, making him wish that he could just wet himself and faint, but he just knew that giving into those reactions won't do anything but damn them all.

All of his lessons replay themselves in the silence within the chamber as the kyuubis settle themselves upon nice looking pillows. Their tails moving about shifting the pillows until the kyuubi is comfortable upon their nest of pillows. He briefly wonders what its like to have so much power at one's beck and call before reminding himself that he's got enjoy power under his command to allow him to kill that camp of Oni.

_If this goes wrong, I doubt I'll ever worry about achieving my ninth tail let alone my second._ He thinks sourly. His self-loathing is cut short as one of the vixen kyuubis remark, "So, this is the little genius that we've heard so much about... Rather runty looking, isn't he?"

"Oh, hush! We were the same when we were that age." That one's neighbor remarks. "It's sad that he'll be killed before achieving his true potential. I had hoped to see him having kits of his own, perhaps more then a few of them taking after him when it comes to maturing..."

A chill goes through him upon hearing that he's likely to be dead by the end of this session. He manages to keep himself from whimpering or generally acting out as another kit his age would. It won't do him any good anyway.

_This adult thing is really hard... Particularly when I'm not really an adult._ He thinks as a few more of the kyuubis make small talk until the one with a rainbow stone causes the stone to pour out white light, blinding him and then causing him to see spots of color that he tries really hard to blink away.

"Beniko, you acknowledge that you should have returned with the kit upon discovering him?" The ancient sounding golden kyuubi asks and though he doesn't see her nod, knows that she had done so. "You know the rules concerning kits, particularly during these troubled times and yet you continuously endangered the kit in question. What's worst is that you were captured by the Oni and left the kit unattended within hostile territory!"

He really wants to whimper at how tense the atmosphere is as this kyuubi continues to dig into Beniko. After finishing with Beniko, the kyuubi moves onto berate the other adult members of the party. This goes on for what feels like huge stretches of time until the kyuubi has rend each of the adults out for not just allowing him to continue in their company but other things they've done in the past.

Most of the adults ringed about him are shaking, a few had tried to pipe up to defend themselves, only to get cut off within seconds of making a sound. Many of the kyuubis send stern looks down at the speaker for a few minutes before letting up.

He wondered if he should be relieved that he doesn't have much history to speak of or resentful that he hadn't been subject to the belittling that happened to the others. He did wonder just what will happen when this kyuubi begins upon him. He couldn't get a good sniff of anyone beyond the scents of all those kitsune about him so he doesn't know what emotions the kyuubis are experiencing.

"And now, we attend to the source of the problem." The speaker of the kyuubi says. "The kit who thinks he's an adult."

He frowns and glances down at the rainbow stone. "Because of you, all of the kitsune who allowed you to tag along will likely have their tails bitten off and sent off in exile if you, yourself can not prove that you are capable to shouldering an adult's burden." The kyuubi states.

He looks up and cocks his head questioningly up at the lead kyuubi, kind of curious as to what that means. _Unless it means that I have to call forth Fox Fire... That's the only way that I know of as to how to prove that I'm an adult since I certainly don't have the size of one, at least not yet..._

"Perhaps it would be kinder to kill him now instead of sending him to the Maze of Trials." One of the previously silent kyuubis muse but the speaker doesn't reply. The speaker simply glances at each of the kyuubi behind him until one finally gets up off the nest of pillows, bounding down from the high balcony ledge.

He's suddenly very much aware of how small he is compared to every adult he's met in his short life. The white kyuubi stands a full two heads over Beniko, who's a four tail kitsune and much longer in the body compared to her as well. His ears flatten fully against his head for the first time since the kyuubis began to appear upon that balcony ledge.

Instead of picking him up with his jaws, the kyuubi waits for him to get up onto his shaky paws before turning to lead him some place. He follows after, privately wondering just where and what kind of maze he's expected to run. The paths the kyuubi leads him through seem to be rather old and not used as much as the other hallways of the underground city.

He finds that his voice to be rather faulty when he manages to gather up enough courage to speak only to find himself unable to. He so wants to know more about this maze but it seems that he won't be able to until he is placed upon the entrance.

"You're made of some stern stuff, kitling. Your predecessors have usually acted their ages, wetting themselves and whimpering piteously..." The kyuubi tells him and his head perks up. "They had used illusions to do the same as you, but they never achieved their skills as early as you, though. Fate seems to have some kind of grand designs for you, kitling. Trouble brews in the southern lands, more and more of southern demons are pressing their boarders northward, into regions typically home to those preferring to live in a basic fashion."

His ears perk up somewhere in the telling. He frowns as he wonders why the kyuubi is telling him. It's not as though he's more powerful then a single kyuubi, let alone a council of them.

"And here we arrive at the beginning of the maze." The kyuubi says before a stone door. As he tries to make out the door, he watches in surprise as one of the kyuubi's forepaws alter to mimic a monkey's hand or an Oni's hand.

Then, suddenly, the door creaks and the kyuubi pushes upon the door and it swings inward. He sneezes at the scent of stale air. The kyuubi chuckles as the golden fur kitsune moves into the room.

He follows and is stunned to find that it's only a room, granted there are strange designs upon the walls, floor, and ceiling, but it doesn't appear to lead into a maze. As he walks over to the nearest wall to get a better look at the marks, the room brightens even more. He glances over to find one of the kyuubi's tail tips aflame with Fox Fire.

It's the second time he has seen the mystical flames that is unique to his race and he is fascinated by how it only gives off light without a scent of smoke or seems to burn unless the creator wishes it to burn. It's then that he notices the stone chest that the kyuubi is going through.

Within minutes, the kyuubi has a bundle of herbs in his paws and he watches in bewilderment as the kyuubi walks to the center of the room upon only his back legs since the kyuubi's front limbs seem to be occupied. He notices how at times, a tail or two would drop down to help steady the powerful kitsune.

The bundle of herbs drops down at the center spot and as he watches, the golden furred kitsune summons Fox Fire to start an actual fire. As the herbs catch fire, a strange scent fills the air. It's kind of... relaxing, causing him to feel rather light headed. He shakes his head, trying to dismiss the feeling and while he's doing so, he hears more then sees the kyuubi leave and the stone door closing behind the adult kitsune.

He turns and walks towards the bundle of herbs with the intent to douse the fire but he collapses not even close to the aflamed bundle of herbs. As he stares at the spot, he swears the smoke seems to have creatures dancing within it. He blinks his eyes as the light headed feeling makes it hard for him to know what's real and what isn't.

By the time his head clears, he finds himself in a kind of familiar place and glancing behind him, he finds a landscape that is like the forest he had traveled through with those adults. He knows that it's a part of him that's 'tamed', he couldn't think of a better word to use to describe that power as he hasn't really mastered it. _It'll be centuries before I can make that claim._

He glances away from the illusionary landscape to face the darkness once more. He walks through the blackness, away from the safe part of himself. Time is meaningless as he wanders about this place, looking for something he needs confront.

He doesn't know when he spotted it, but he saw a tiny blue light at some point before him and he alters to direction to head towards it. The light slowly grew bigger after what feels like a million steps and it took a few more million before he finally stands before a cyclone of blue fire. The cyclone remains in place with small flares sometimes crackling off from the funnel of cycling baby blue fire.

He doesn't know how long he was memorized by the flames of baby blue but he snaps out of it when the cyclone suddenly roars and something creaks. He takes a few steps backward, only to watch as the cyclone seems to move towards him. With wide eyes, he turns and runs. He can hear the cyclone of Fox Fire slowly but surely follow after him.

He keeps his pace to a ground eating lop like the group had taught him. The cyclone continues to roar, it becoming louder and he can feel the sound rattle his bones, but he refuses to speed up from his set pace. He also refused to look back, he didn't know why it was a bad idea to look back but he trusted that knowing.

He doesn't know how long he lopped before the cyclone but he does know that he tripped over something. He whines at the sight of a skull with a back paw stuck in its eye socket but does since the roar of the cyclone is closer. He reaches down at the skull to take it off but pauses as an odd sense of rightness seems to hit him with his mouth about it.

Fright demanded he pulls the skull off but instinct tells him to leave it. Feeling indecisive, he glances back and finds the cyclone within five feet of him and closing in. He pulls his head from the skull and lets out a mournful yowl as the cyclone engulfs him.

As he burns within the heart of it, he finds himself numb to the feel of his body and yet, he can feel his foot still in that skull. It feels as though that skull is anchoring him within the cyclone. Of all of his senses, his sight is totally disabled while the others are merely dull. He moves to curl his body and once that's done, he tries his hardest to curl around the skull while wishing the fire of the cyclone would stop harming him.

As he feels the coolness of the skull upon him, he concentrates upon the coolness of it. Slowly, the heat around him seems to fade and that coldness begins to engulf him. Suddenly, he's thrown out of the cyclone and he lands, only nothing is upon his one back paw. He also finds that he's regained his senses.

He looks at the Fox Fire cyclone for a few seconds before getting to his paws. He walks up to it, this time, he knows that it won't burn him. It takes him a few minutes but the cyclone breaks apart and becomes nine fire balls. With a thought, they shrink and he has them dance around him.

He begins to laugh as he turns about in place while the nine balls of Fox Fire simply move up and down while rotating counterclockwise as he circle clockwise. Then he catches sight of his rear end and his control over the Fox Fire almost slips. He is bewildered at the sight of two tails coming out of his behind.

His fur color hasn't taken that of an adult's but he does sport twin tails. With a shake of his head, he thinks about the forest that his illusionary skills has built and suddenly he's in that forest and finds his Fox Fire to be burning upon this pile of logs.

He feels something poking his side and within seconds, the forest vanishes in a blink of an eye. His eye sight is rather blurry but he turns his head to look at the kyuubi that had guided him to this room. He twitches both of his tails as his ears flicker about. The kyuubi stops nudging his nose into his left side.

With a yawn, he moves to stand upon his paws. The kyuubi is already walking out of the chamber and he follows after upon shaking his head to get rid of the sleepiness that the herbs had installed within him. He finds himself rather hungry and thirsty after what happened in that stone crafted room.

Everyone seems to rise up to their paws as he enters into the council room. The kyuubis upon the balcony ledge murmur among themselves while the adults he had traveled with and rescued are rather stunned and very much disbelieving that he's standing before them. He only pauses for a few seconds before deciding to return to the center of the ring of adults possessing tails less then nine.

"How do you feel?" Beniko asks him and he answers truthfully, "Hungry."

"That's typical." Jinji murmurs while the others snort softly. A few move to allow him to take his place once more and with it, he sits down instead of lies down.

Minutes later, the room is engulf in white light and the murmurs stop cold. "So, you return to us sporting a new tail. Let's see if you can show us what we sent you to master." The speaker states.

It takes a few seconds but he causes Fox Fire to cover all of him. The speaker nods and he dismisses it, it'll be a while before he knows how to create it in the air around him without it touching him but he's got time now to do so.

"Bring in the boy's parents. This young kitsune needs a proper name and it seems he's long pass due for one." The speaker says and Beniko gets up.

He turns and watches as Beniko vanishes out of the room. Minutes later, Beniko brings in his parents. The yellow color of his father's fur and crimson blood fur of his mother causes him to smile, especially when their scent reaches his nose. They gasp slightly at the sight of him and his father's six tails intertwine with his mother's four.

As his parents stop just outside of the circle of kitsune, the speaker of the kyuubi says, "Do either of you know where this young kitsune came from?"

"We do, great one." His parents say in unison.

"Tell us where you know him from." The speaker says and it's then that it dawns on him that this was how the naming ceremony goes.

"I know of him as I carried him here." His mother says and his father then responds, "I know of him as I witnessed her carrying him here."

"Then, as you have carried him here, I proclaim you his mother." The speaker decrees while looking at his mother and then the speaker turn to his father. "As you witness her from carrying him and did not prevent her from doing so, I name you his father."

"As you wish it, great one, so we shall be." His parents reply.

"As you are his parents, give us his name so that he can be given membership to this city." The speaker says.

His parents pause for a few seconds before his mother speaks, "His name, oh great one, is Naruto, son of Minato and Kushina."

"Naruto, son of Minato and Kushina, do you accept membership to this city?" The speaker asks.

"I do, great one." He manages to says.

"Then in the name of this council and with the authority that the city gives me, I welcome you, Naruto, into our city." The speaker says. "May your fires burn brightly."

He just bows and as the speaker moves from the stone, his parents and the party of kitsunes move forward to greet him and to congratulate him upon gaining his second tail, especially since he's not even two hundred years old.

_I have a name... And they won't be punished for taking me along! I'm just so... happy!_ He thinks as tears well up as everything finally catches up with him. He begins to apologize for causing this mess and other things, like causing his parents to worry about him and promising to try and stay out of trouble.

In time, his mother picks him up as his stomach makes itself known that its empty and needs to be filled. The other kitsunes head off while his father merely licks his mother's neck as they move for the exit. He doesn't care about being carried, his paws hurt from all the walking he's done since he arrived in the city and wonders if this will be the last time he'll be carried by the scruff of his neck like a kit.

**- o 0 o -**

The End


	103. The Founding of the Country of Qarrezel

I don't own Harry Potter!

**- o 0 o -**

August 1, 1991

He clutches his three notebooks filled with pages of information and sketches of his made up country as he waits for the Port Key the goblins sent to activate. It had only been a day since Hagrid dropped him off at his aunt and uncle's place, he's pretty much alone in the house and likely will be for a few days before they make it back.

He's just happy that costume that he had tricked Dudley into wanting to go as a knight one Halloween with him dressed up as his squire. _All it took was that picture of a knight and his squire. So glad that one of those books people keep sending Dudley had to do with history._ He thinks before it feels something gripping his stomach and dragging him through this blur of scenes until he arrives in a stone room.

Oddly enough, his reflects manage to kick in before he dropped to the floor. He blinks his eyes a few times before rubbing his eyes by the bridge of his nose. Standing up a bit straighter, he glances towards a goblin.

"Mr Potter hear to see Bonedice." He says to the goblin. "This way, Mr Potter." The goblin says before the goblin gestures to follow him.

The door at the end of the hall opens after his guide knocks upon it. "Thank you for your assistance." He says to his guide before entering to meet with his account manager.

The door closes behind him and he gets his first sight of the goblin who likely worked with his parents. He greets the goblin before he sits down upon a chair before the rather human size desk that the goblin is sitting behind. He knows that the dress code are robes but, well, if what he wants his country to finally come into being, he had to get them to deal with him without whatever expectations they have of the humans they usually do business with.

"Who is said to be my guardian within England's Wizarding society? My guide yesterday had not told me and I doubt that my aunt holds any kind of legal position within their society." He says upon putting his various notebooks down upon the desk after studying Bonedice.

"As your parents' wills were sealed, your godmother isn't in any state to take you in, and your godfather imprisoned, I believe the headmaster of Hogwarts has stepped in to be your guardian." Bonedice states and he frowns upon hearing that.

"I find it rather, odd that this man has taken such an interest in my life. Isn't this... Albus Dumbledore rather busy with his various duties and responsibilities to act as my legal guardian?" He asks. "I find myself seeing a very large conflict of interest when a headmaster of my future school and primary legal maker of this society considers himself my legal parent when I've never met with or interacted with this man since he placed me with my mother's sister." He muses after a few seconds of silence.

"The man has a lot of political power within England and Scotland." Bonedice states in a manner of fact tone. "There isn't much you can do to get out of his thumb."

"Actually, I find myself disagreeing with that. You see, for a number of years, I have considered myself leader of my own country." He says and he spreads the note book before selecting one. He pulls out an official document confirming the existence of his made up country, one that a certain Minister commissioned that sports the date of formation.

"I believe that this document confirms the existence of my country." He then takes out stapled document that he had sent the previous evening and had gotten it back within half an hour. He waits until the goblin finishes looking at the previous one before handing this much more important document. "This is also grants me diplomatic immunity within the UK's Wizarding society. I do believe that as the Holy Emperor of Qarrezel, I do not need a legal representative as I am my legal representative."

Bonedice grins in a very savage way. "I take it you want your parents' will unsealed, sire?" The goblin asks and he returns the grin with a nod. "Wait here, I'll have someone filed these while I retrieve the will."

"Before you go, I wish to know, had the headmaster signed as witnessed with the will? And what kind of punishments can you bring him up on for betraying such a document?" He asks Bonedice. _Well, so far so good. I had expected Bonedice to put up a token fight in believing my claims... Which means that the goblins don't like the headmaster very much._

"Sadly, because of his positions, there isn't much we can do if the man is an oath-breaker. But we can get any gold he withdrew from your vaults back. I believe I'll have the locks upon all of your vaults changed, though that might take a day or two to complete." Bonedice informs him and he sighs, he had thought something like that would allow the man to get off.

"I also believe an Inheritance ritual would be beneficial. I will need all the wealth I have if I wish to begin building my empire." He muses.

Bonedice tells him how much such a ritual costs and he merely told the goblin to arrange to have the amount taken out of his trust fund. With that, the goblin leaves him alone and after a few minutes, he reaches for another document. The various sheets are rough drafts that he had come up with over the years for making alliances with other countries or a race of creature. Each of the treaties has a name upon the top and jot notes of what kind of agreements he would want with each.

He takes them and folds them before pocketing them as he doubts that he'll need them, for now at least. He picks up one of the older notebooks and flips to the back of the cover and studies the coat of arms that he created for his country, Qarrezel. It consists of a eagle sitting upon a sword's hilt as it's lodged in the ground with vines twining up about the blade to the hilt. On either side of this sword is a wolf on the left and a lynx on the right. A plaque rests at the bottom with the country's name upon it.

_I wonder if there is such a creature as a lion-drake in any of the magical societies of the world..._

August 5, 1991

"What's going on in here?" His uncle bellows and he glances towards the door leading to the living room. "Where is that FREAK?" Vernon growls as the man thunders up the stairs.

"Oh great one, it seems your relatives have returned." Kimi, one of an army of house elves that he inherited. The majority of them are getting his properties ready for him to tour, the tour's purpose is for him to pick which estate he'll be moving to and live upon while they figure out how to move the properties so that they are right next to each other.

"Boy! Where are you?" His uncle thunders just as the door of the kitchen opens to reveal his cousin Dudley. His cousin gulps at him and then pales at the sight of Kimi.

"He's in the kitchen!" His cousin squeaks out, his cousin's hands going straight to his rump while backing out of the kitchen. He hears the other two house elves that decided to attend him arrive just as his cousin's bulky front is blocked by the kitchen door.

"How goes the examination of the wards?" He asks the three house elves and they share a look before his uncle arrives through the door. He ignores the man, knowing that the elves won't allow any of his relatives to harm him and will use whatever force they have to do so.

"Carpie thinks that sooner wes get you, oh great holy one, out of this place, the better!" Carpie's exclamation seems to be followed by Boo nodding in agreement. Vernon suddenly goes very pale and shuts up upon noticing the very non-normal beings attending him.

"Boo be happy when wes away from weird block. Boo never thought Boo would be seeing so many duplicates of same houses!" The younger house elf says and he winces at the haunting look upon Boo's face. "Boo shall have nightterrors for long into future. So... plain. So... boring..." Boo adds under his breath while rocking slightly upon his feet.

"What the hell are those things? And how dare you bring them into my home, boy!" Vernon bellows and he glances over at the adult with a raised eyebrow as his train of thought of how to comfort Boo is cut off and he looses it.

"Their house elves, Vernon. They're magical servants who attend to the duties you typically assign to me. As to why they're here, well, these three are here to attend to me until my inherited properties are ready for occupation." He explains and adds, "I currently can call upon a few over a hundred of them to do anything I wish."

Then he remembers his previous train of thought and turns to Boo. "Once everyone is asleep, why don't you make this house and property suitable of housing someone of my standing? Of course, you'll need to make it reversible since when we leave, I don't want such things remaining. It might cause them to think themselves beyond their station." He says to the house elf and it shakes the young elf out of his thoughts.

"Oh no you don't! I don't care what you think your capable of, you little freak, but I will beat you senseless if you..." He watches as the three house elves bind, blast, and shrink his uncle.

His aunt screams in the living room but he ignores it. "If any of them gets within four feet of me, you can stuff them in the basement for a few hours or you can freeze so they can be used as statues." He says as he grows bore of dealing with these people. He had books to read, treaties to write up, and investment reports to review.

"Yes, great Emperor Harry sire!" The three chime in and he can only assume which of the two options they personally prefer. "Does wes got to return the man to normals right away?" Mimi asks and he shakes his head. He can only assume how the three beam happily at that.

_I hope Hedwig is safe. How was I to know that the most advance gadgets of combining muggle tech with magic would be in the US? I wonder if she'll manage to bring over a catalog along with my order? Hopefully they'll shrink the lot or at least, have some way for her to bring my order home safely._ He thinks as he returns to trying to puzzle out one of the many journals he inherited when he went through that magical ritual to see what other families he can claim.

September 1, 1991

He pulls his head phone from his ears after pressing stop upon his walkman when he hears his last name and then first name. He notices how quiet the hall becomes even before he begins to walk out of the herd of first year students. As he moves from the herd, whispers suddenly sprout among the four tables sporting various banners.

He's glad for his new glasses as the glass the lens are made out of had layers of enchantments to allow him to see perfectly in any kinds of light and to protection against various elements. He had not even known that kids were expected to return year after year to the eye doctor to get new proscriptions. He saw clearly the various emotions upon the various teachers' faces, particularly the slight frown upon Albus' face.

As he turns his back to the staff, he has the sorting hat in his hand and puts it on as soon as he's on the stool. _'So, you're the Holy Emperor of Qarrezel. Well, I know where to put you, don't I?'_ The hat says to him and then, out loud, "The Royal Suit!"

Within seconds, a single table appears with a throne like chair. He murmurs his thanks as he takes the hat off and once off the stool, he puts the hat there as he begins to walk over to his table with a grin. It wasn't long before he has his headphone on and presses play upon his walkman.

The robe's emblem becomes a crown before the Hogwarts' crest of four animals. His eyes become half closed as he ignores them, patiently waiting for his supper to appear. He's got his memory pendent all set up in case anyone tries anything with him or to him.

With the discovery of a special staff, he has finally found a way to collect all of his properties and have them all laid out so they're next to each other. He now owns over thirty farm of varying size all ready to be cleaned up and various magical species of vermin to capture and sell for money before he decides to start up farming, ranching or for him to begin building the capital city of his country, Qarrezel.

September 20, 1991

"Why don't you attend classes any more?" A ginger haired first year student growls upon planting his hands upon the table top. He merely raises an eyebrow at the Gryffindor.

"How is this your problem? I'm a visiting royal and as such, I do not belong to any of the four houses. Just because Albus refuses to accept that doesn't excuse you and the rest of your house from accepting it." He replies as he continues to read the summary of various experiments that his new citizens and employees are undertaking on his behalf.

_Hmm, looks like I'll have to have the elves raid the UK's ministry for their old research in this direction. Perhaps I should just tell them to locate and duplicate all written records, books, and what not while they are there._ He muses while gently tapping the end of his pencil upon the desk top. _Might be a good idea to hit Hogwarts too. Summer would be ideal time._

"Don't call the headmaster by his first name! And don't disrespect him!" The ginger haired eleven year old explodes.

He frowns and glances over at the angry student. "Hm, you must be slow, but that's fairly common considering how inbred your society is. After all, there are things one can't correct with magic." He states while privately adding, _Like how I possess a double Y gene. Must have gotten that from my dad. I wonder how much some of those US researchers would pay if I provide them with more samples of 'Pureblood' blood?_

_Damn glad that I've performed those rituals they suggested to correct it. Perhaps I should try and preform that deer one to increase my agility?_ He muses as he returns his gaze to the report in his hand.

"What did you say? Are you insulting me?" The ginger haired student snarls and appears to be in the process of grabbing for him when the librarian appears and shushes the ginger eleven year old.

"This school should offer biology since it would likely help prevent such things as marrying your cousin from occurring, especially when since it describes what kind of disorders arise from such pairings." He remarks in a thoughtful manner. "Although, your culture seems to idealize the Greeks and Romans cultures, so perhaps you lot see a wife only when you need an heir and prefer boys and beasts for your pleasure? It could very well explain certain animalistic features I've come to note within the vast population of students and teachers."

With a bellow, the ginger hair child launches himself at him but he merely touches a paper featuring a rune and a shield shimmers between them. The librarian takes the ginger haired lad by the ear upon noticing the books flying off the table and screeches, "Out! Out of my library you... you... hooligan! Out!"

The boy tries to protest but they fall upon deaf ears. His hand had left the rune when the librarian appeared and grabbed the other's ear. He honestly doesn't see the point of attending classes when the US have easy to read books that outline ways for beginners can practice each of the subjects that Hogwarts sports for first years and subjects that only admit third year and up. He bought a rather wide selection of such books that range not just from common magical and non-magical subjects but to the obscure like rituals.

_I wonder if I shouldn't try for a transfer? Nay, I'll just look into hiring tutors come summer and only if none of my current employees lack the ability to teach._ He decides before returning to reading the report, trying to find the point where he stop at.

**Staff Meeting**

"He's not even attending his detentions, Albus! He don't care that he's losing house point and when pressed about why he won't attend, he claims it's because he's busy managing his country!" Professor McGonagall answers upon the headmaster asking about how things are going with the students.

None of those present need to know who 'he' is and a few of the other staff member could only privately sigh knowing that this was going to turn into another one of those rants concerning a certain boy Emperor. "He should have his wand snapped and expelled!" A certain potions professor growls.

_I wonder if anyone has noted that despite Albus' declaration of him belonging to the Gryffindor house that they haven't lost any points when anyone tries to take points from Mr Potter... The magics of Hogwarts know what's what even if the majority of us refuse to admit it._ Filius Flitwick thinks to himself.

_Even during the few classes he attended it was clear that he's farther along then the rest of his year. He likely hired someone before school started._ Professor Flitwick thinks to himself. The tiny teacher already had a good idea about who'll be the top student in first year and while Hermione Granger would be close, he knew it would be Emperor Harry the first.

October 31, 1991  
Two Hours Before Dawn

It had taken hours of standing before a non-talking mirror to get his ears just right as well as making sure that the lynx fur cream he completed last week was coming in as the recipe had said it would. With that done, he moves onto putting in some potion drops to temporary grant him perfect vision. Taking off his glasses, he then reaches for a pair of fake fangs and then a lynx mask. With the mask firmly in place, especially the top cloth part featuring the ears, he moves to sit by the bed.

Once sitting down, he goes on to put on those leg extensions, gets up to put on the bob tail, and upon having his paw gloves, he then awkwardly enter into this space between four wooden posts. He pauses to put the gloves on before walking into the space of the five by five square. He flinches as black cloth seemingly explodes from each of the four rune covered poles.

Within two seconds of the cloth walls appearance, his body tingles as certain parts of his body begin to have magic editing them to make such fake additions a seemingly natural part of him. As the tingling sensation vanishes, the cloth walls vanish as quickly as they appeared.

A might dazed, he steps out from the square the four poles create and heads out of his room. By the time he's in the living room area, he hears chiming and he picks up his pace to answer the door. Upon opening it, he finds a small party of students ranging from at first year through to seventh year waiting.

He greet them, "Welcome to the Royal Suits. I hope you enjoy this meal that we're about to share together."

Once Percy Weasley has hold of the door, he leads the group to the dinning hall that his two stationed house elves have set up. Each person within the group is dressed up as an animal, mystical or mundane. The fore mention Weasley prefect is dressed as a stag while the Weasley twins are dressed as a raccon and a ferret. Their younger brother, Ron, did not receive an invite as the boy has been trying to forcefully butt his nose into his business.

The majority of those from the seventh year were muggleborn and he's already offered them employment right out of Hogwarts. The work will be primary handling and breeding magical creatures for a year and once that year is up, he'll allow them to seek employment elsewhere, continue working with magical creatures, or moving onto some other project of his. His plans for the creature breeding is to see if he can't magically create a various fictional magical species like a tiny dragon that could be sold as a pet or a huge turtle that one can build a small house upon its shell.

As they arrive at the dinning hall, strings of lights flicker on to reveal their breakfast. Most of the group gasps at how the table is set and the various food statues that his house elves back at his properties had worked to supply this feast here and the one back there for his employees. Tonight this hall will be cleared, the large table will be taken away and replaced with smaller tables that will line the opposite walls while a small sitting area will be at the far back. The large space will become the dance floor and music will be pumped from a record stereo through to various mounted speakers.

"Was this cooked here at Hogwarts?" One of sixth year girls asks and he shakes his head. "I have all this cooked at my estate by my house elves. I did not want to impose upon the school any more then I have to in regards to my hosting invitation only events." He explains as soft music begins to play.

As they take their places at the table, they all stood. They wait for him to address them. "My thanks to you for joining me upon this morning to honor my parents and to celebrate this holiday. I know it will be hard for you all when dawn arrives and the fasting begins so I will try and keep this short." He says.

"Over ten years ago, my parents raised their wands to defend their home and myself from a deadly threat. This murderer also tried to claim my own life that night and it is only through my mother's death that I survived, for what can a babe of one could do to defend themselves from this murderous brute of a Dark Lord? This No-Name?" He pauses.

"Whatever magic my mother focused that night, it proved to be powerful enough turn the man's magic against himself, thus saving my life." He says. "So, to wrap things up, to Lily Potter!" He says, raising a mug of hot chocolate.

"To Lily Potter!" His guest chime and they then sit down to begin the feast. He felt he did a rather good job with his toast as it is his first one.

Evening

Once again, he answers the door. He's not sure how many of them had fasted during the day but it didn't matter much if they didn't as he did. The living room had been transformed from what it had been this morning, taking the appearance of a forest. It was all just an illusion but it didn't dampen their reactions, as few of them know the tale tail signs of an illusion.

His guest murmur softly among themselves as they enter into the dinning hall. The walls and ceilings sport illusions that make it seem as though they're outside while the floor takes a stone like appearance, complete with some plant life. The hall is meant to look as though they were upon a top of a mountain.

A gentle wind ruffles through his fur while the disguised speakers pipe in some dance music into the room. He notices a few of the muggleborns' eyes widen as they seem to identify the song. He turns to the group and simply says, "Enjoy the food, the drink, and the music."

With that, the group of regular students move off to either side of the hall for the food tables while a few pairs move to dance upon the floor as he walks over to the minor throne upon his own visitation to one of the tables. He's had plenty of practice moving, eating, and drink in his current magically transfigured costume since he placed the order for that kind of automatic transfiguration ritual. The magic will be reversed itself in either twenty-four hours or by entering into the ritual square after two hours.

"Vain. Guilt. Good work." He says as he finishes the food off his plate. The two house elves appear at their names being called. They bow while murmuring their thanks before vanishing to manage the stereo and likely refilling empty platters upon the food tables.

He gets up and searches for one of the various girls that are sitting alone. As the evening progresses, he dances with the majority of the girls in attendance, glad to have the grace of a lynx this evening. During pauses, he would fill up another plate and another cup before returning to his throne to eat and drink what he gathered.

At ten o'clock does the party end and a large pile of gift bags appear with the guest's names upon them. Within each is sports one of four easy instruction book for four different subject and they are potions, runes, transfiguration, and illusions. Each bag also contains a chocolate figurine of either a cat, bat, skull, or broom stick. There are also small bags of candy corn, gum eyeballs, and gummy fangs. The final gift within the gift bag is a long sleeve shirt sporting their house crest and colors with an ever fit enchantment upon them.

Guilt then leads the guests out of the dinning hall and once out, Vain cancels the illusionary enchantment within the dinning hall. He gets up from his throne and stretches a bit before glancing about the hall.

"All of your majesties guests have exited out of the suit." Guilt says upon popping back into the dinning hall. He nods thoughtfully.

"This was a pretty good party. Sure, it's my first but it seemed that everyone enjoyed themselves." He muses and the two house elves agree.

_Maybe hosting a Christmas party won't be that bad of an idea. Though I should have one where I celebrate it with only my employees/slash citizens and another for invited guests._ He muses as he begins to think about how to go about planning both as he practices with his magic by aiding the house elves in cleaning up the hall.

**Fred Weasley**

"I got a bat." He says as they compare what they got within their gift bags as they head for their common rooms. A few of the others seem to be doing the same as he holds up the palm sized chocolate bat while waiting for his twin brother to pull out his own chocolate figurine.

"Seems to be a skull." George says and does display the palm size chocolate skull. "Wicked!" They chime in.

"Check out the shirt! Now this I wouldn't mind wearing to class!" A fifth year wizard exclaims and he turns to see a mostly red shirt being held up. Faded gold displays the Gryffindor lion on the left side while about the right breast area sports their crest in brighter yellow.

Putting the chocolate bat in a box back into the bag, he then pulls out his own shirt and finds if rather soft to the touch. It appears pretty much the same as the one the fifth year held up. "An Easy and Safe Guide to Transfiguration." A third year witch murmurs.

He had noted a book within the bag but hadn't thought much about it. He shoulders the shirt and takes out his own book. "Runes Made Easy." He reads out loud while George reads out, "Guide to Making Brewing Safe and Easy."

"A Field Guide to the Art of Illusions." Another pipes in. It soon became obvious that they each received one of the four books. He found nice big words and pictures within the book, so much easier to read then the kind of yellow paper and tiny print their text book sport.

"It must of cost him a bit to purchase all of these book just for these gift bags." A wizard muses while a witch snorts softly while countering, "What about these shirts? They're pretty top of the quality stuff! They were made in France and have an ever fit charm on them! That's nothing to sneeze at, you know."

"I wonder where he got the candy and the chocolate from though. I mean, candy corn? Gummy fangs?" George wonders and the muggleborns stifle a chuckle but it dies as they find their head of house waiting for them before the entrance to their common room.

_We did put those slips telling her about the party on her desk, so what's got her knickers in a bunch?_ He wonders as the elderly witch seems to build herself up in order for a long lecture.

December 20, 1991  
**Harry Potter**

He studies the headmaster's office. It's not the first time he's been called here, the first time had been after Halloween when the man wanted to speak with him concerning his party. It didn't end the way the man had wanted since he reminded the man that within his suit, his word was law, not the headmaster's and if he decides to host any kind of parties within it, he will. He had pointed out that he could have commandeered the kitchens of Hogwarts to cooking for said party but hadn't and the man had better remember about how little power he, Albus Dumbledore, had in his, Holy Emperor Harry Potter, affairs or life.

He then began discussing the fact that if the man keeps trying to overturn the treaty that Minister Fudge had signed that he will withdraw and declare war upon them. He went on to explain the other treaties he had with various magical races like werewolves, centaurs, and, of course, goblins. He implied that he already have on staff hired mercenaries, he managed to keep from meeting the man's eyes by regarding the man's pet phoenix.

He smiles as he recalls the sour look upon the man's face. Most of the portraits seem rather dismayed concerning how the Wizarding Society is 'indulging' his delusion. He merely ignored them after remarking about how could it be a delusion if the sorting hat granted him the Royal Suit.

A soft chirp causes him to glance over at Fawkes. He smiles slightly at the bird and then checks his wrist watch. "Huh, five minutes. I here by enact the five minute rule." He says as he gets up, he ignores the portraits as he heads out of the office as it was getting close to the time where his Port Key will activate, taking him to his current place of residence.

As his Port Key is about to activate as he's outside, the headmaster hollers at him but the item activates. He smiles as he finds himself standing in his underground throne room that's under the manor that he's living within. He unzips his jacket and takes off his boots, they vanish, likely being sent to the closet.

As he sits down upon the throne, all of his house elves appear within the room and bow down before him while saying, "Welcome home, Holy Emperor Harry the First!" He flushes slightly at the sight but allows himself to sink slightly into his throne.

"Greetings citizens of Qarrezel. I have returned to spend my winter break here." He says and the house elves murmur excitedly, though why, he didn't know since they knew that he was coming here.

"I take it that my employees have left to spend time with their families?" He asks and the house elves note in agreement. "How goes the preparations for the two holiday celebrations?"

The house elves huddle into some groups and then from each group a single house elf. They approach the throne, they do a quick game to decide who's report first, and then one by one, the house elves take turns explaining their parts in the over all preparations.

The two parties will be held in two different estates. The invitation party will be held on the twenty-third while the citizen/employee party will be held on the twenty-fourth. As the house elves will be attending that second party, he had hired a muggle catering company to cook the food, to be the servers, and to clean up.

He often leaves Hogwarts to visit London to go on buying trips in both the Wizarding world and the Muggle one. He's bought a bunch of new tapes to listen to upon his walkman as well as began looking for films as his employees had wanted something to watch outside of work as they not only worked within his currently tiny country but live there as well. It was rare that they leave his country and so it's only natural that he would look for ways to make their time within his tiny country enjoyable even though its doubtful that they would have found the same kind of employment in the UK or anywhere in Europe that houses the same sentiments as UK Wizarding World.

"Majesty... You sure you wants muggles to... cater the party on the twenty-four?" Corty asks him and he raises an eyebrow.

"I know that your race thrives upon work but, just for these few hours, I want you all to enjoy this holiday. You can work as much as you want before the catering company arrives and pick up where they left off after they leave, but while they're here, you are to relax and enjoy the party, ok? They won't be here for more then six to eight hours." He says.

"We got to wear those illusion things while they be here?" Corty asks and he nods. "It's best to be sure that they don't know your true nature. They believe that this is a kind of cosplay party." He says and the house elves frown at the unfamiliar word.

"Cosplay is kind of like a costume party only with a lot more acting and trying to keep to certain roles. At this point in time, all of you are not just citizens but my army and nobles as well." He says and the house elves all look rather stunned. "Hence why I hope you all have finished creating those suits of armor and wardrobes of noble cloths for some of you, I hope, will be wearing such to this party." He says.

"Carpie wants to be a knight!" "Mimi a lady!" "Boo a earl!" "But Vain wants to be an earl!"

He smiles slightly at the antics of the house elves, it seems that they're really getting into this, has he had hoped they would. He keeps an eye on all of them, prepared to step in if they begin to get into physical rows.

December 23, 1991

House elves stand about wearing heavy suits of armor that hid their faces. It seems that most of his guests believe that he hired goblin guards to be stationed throughout the manor and in particular by the doors. He had been careful about who he invited, using old reports to avoid sending invites to Death Eaters.

He even put upon the invites that any guests that show up with the invited will be subjected to a arm search to be sure that none of those who followed his parents' murderer would be allowed within his presences and if the one that brought one of the marked could be sent home if they protested such a search and the result that follows.

He had also made it a point not to invite the headmaster or any of the staff of Hogwarts. There are standing orders to keep the man from entering and to forcefully escort the man out as well.

From his position upon the silver and white gold throne sporting cushions filled with unicorn hair that parties of house elves collected while killing Acromantula(part of the treaty he has with the centaurs) for their venom and their silk. Iconic wolves lay about the bottom while two lynxs appear as arm rests. The back is an eagle with its wings spread.

The throne was just one of a few that his elves had crafted. It was one of eight thrones that they had created. He had liked each of them but had decided upon a primary throne that would remain in his true throne room. The other seven though, he decided to use during parties that won't be held in said throne room.

He notes the clump of students about one section of tables, the majority of them were the same ones he invited for his Halloween celebrations as well. It's not that surprising that they were skittish at being around so many 'important' people like the some of the department heads and the Minister of Magic. The dance floor before him have few dancers upon it as most of his guests seem to be rather busy speaking among themselves about business, he can only assume it's business.

With a glance, the guard stationed to his right comes a bit closer. "Could you ask Madam's Bone's niece if she cares for a dance with myself?" He pauses before adding in an exasperated tone. "Perhaps if I dance, that will finally encourage the rest to dance instead of discussing business."

Min the house elf nods sharply before heading off in that direction to the student part of the room. Susan Bones hadn't been a part of his Halloween celebrations, it wasn't because he hadn't invited her, it's because she and her Hufflepuff friends had declined. That's not to say that he hadn't had Hufflepuffs at his Halloween celebration, only none from the first and second years.

He hadn't tried to re-invite those that had declined since it was his belief that had their chance. After all, it had gotten around about what happened during the dance and a lot were envious concerning the gift bags. Those shirts had cause jealousy among the school but the real interest was in the four books as they have become in demand by the student body, particularly when the potion guide outlined what they were potentially doing wrong when preparing their ingredients and how they were putting them into the potion.

Susan Bones came in the company of her aunt and he figures that she's come to these parties before so she shouldn't be that self-conscious with so many 'powerful' people about. _Hopefully, she'll not take this dance too personally either. I had danced with every girl during my Halloween party so I should be able to do the same here without too much trouble._

He notes how Susan jerks slightly upon Min passing along his request. He hopes that Min remembered to use an illusion to alter his voice to protect what race Min himself is. He watches as a few of the girls about Susan encourage the girl before she nods. As Min returns, Susan follows the house elf.

As Susan bows, he nods before raising from his throne. He holds out a hand upon standing to the first year Hufflepuff. Susan blushes as she takes his hand, its likely due to the fact that he's using that eye correction potion that he had used for Halloween so he doesn't need glasses this night.

Murmurs quiet down or stop altogether, allowing the music of piping in to be heard so clearly. A few seconds upon seeing him dance causes a few more to find partners and do the same. "If you don't mind my asking, why did you decline my Halloween celebration? I don't recall doing anything that offended the first or second years so."

"You refuse to attend classes. You don't seem to care about losing Gryffindor points." Susan answers.

"Just because teachers say they're taking points because of me, doesn't mean the points are taken. I know as the Ravenclaws pointed me to check the library points book to see if the magic of the castle is taking the points away. The magic hasn't done so as the hat itself had declared me beyond such so I can't be used to increase or decrease House Points. It's why none of those that attended my dance lost points when caught on their way to their common rooms." He explains and Susan looks stunned for a second, "Oh!"

"Anyway, the point system is a joke after you read it. The potion instructor takes points away for the silliest things and rewards his house for the silliest things." He continues on. "You'll also find that Dumbledore signs off the taking and the giving of points, so the headmaster apparently approves of the man's underhanded ways of ensuring his house wins the house cup. But I know you likely will need to read it for yourself so check the shelf marked school management."

"I will." Susan replies. "But I don't see Dumbledore allowing such things to happen." The first year Hufflepuff adds and he snorts softly but doesn't reply since the song ends.

"I hope you find another to dance with. It would be ashamed if this is the only dance you'll receive this evening." He says as a third year Ravenclaw witch hangs a few feet away, likely waiting for him to finish with Ms Bones.

They part with that and he offers his hand to the older student who takes it after bowing to him. "Have you and your fellows looked through that catalog and order form?" He asks after exchanging pleasantries.

"We have and have sent in our order while we were in Hogsmeade. You were correct in regards to our mail is being reviewed before it is sent to us." He nods, it's one of the reasons why he spent do much upon certain bird band sporting a wide array of enchantments to make it rather hard to sideline Hedwig.

"I take it you've found the Shrieking Shack to sport that tunnel as the Weasley twins had said it would?" He asks and the witch nods. "Their information in regards to much of Hogwarts have proven true."

They speak shop for a few seconds before they just chit chat about something less serious like comparing who's dressed in colors that match the decoration or how silly the Minister is with that toad like woman following him about, hanging on his every word.

And so it was that most could be found on the dance floor for the rest of the night. He dances with all of the female students of Hogwarts and manages to dance with a few of the older single witches as well. As midnight arrives does the party end and like before, he hands out gifts to his invited guests and their companions they brought.

The minister received a cloak made out of Acromantula silk. The department heads receive personalized quill and ink bottles. The other adults received scarfs made out of bicorn mane. The invited students received marble statues of their house mascots along with their name upon the base. While the guests of his guests received one of eight items and those eight items that all sport the Qarrezel coat of arms upon them, the first item is a set of glass mug, the second item is a pair of cotton gloves, the third item is a set of plates, the fourth item is a set of cutlery, the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth items is a gift of four small pictures during one of the four seasons.

December 24, 1991

He watches as the house elves dance about the dance floor while a few human couples dance among them. Being so much taller the the house elves, it made it easy to pick them out. The witches and wizards in his employment have either chose to dress in dress robes or in nice suits and dresses.

This party, he finds, is so much easier and doesn't feels any pressure concerning how to act. It helps that people were dancing without him needing to initiation it or that they need to stand so much on ceremony or for introductions as they all know each other. None of his employees were currently dating so no need for any gifts for their guests nor did the house elves want gifts, thus he just gave his employees a holiday bonus.

He just sits back and enjoys the sights of this dance. Hedwig is perched to his left and seems to be enjoying the party too. He's not sure how a order of bird feather painting kit that came with five feather paints. The kit is kind of automatic and the snowy owl had just stood at the center while the kit begins to do its job. He's not sure how the kit knew what Hedwig wanted done but he has to admit, that shade of blue did look good on Hedwig.

_I wonder if it wasn't made specifically for birds to use?_ He muses, he didn't mind if it was since Hedwig has been such a trooper when it comes to being a delivery owl that she deserves something to pamper her.

_I wonder what the coming New Year will hold for us? For Qarrezel._ He wonders and becomes lost in his thoughts.

June 19, 1992

He glances around the living room of the Royal Suit, wondering if this might be the last time he'll see this place since he might not return. The so called safest place in the world not only had a troll get in during Halloween, but unicorns have been killed by something and Hagrid hatched a dragon. He's not sure how Neville and Hermione ended up in the Hospital wing or what has become the the so called Defense Against the Dark Arts professor has vanished as well.

Not only wasn't Hogwarts safe but it offers sub-par education. "I should sue." He muses since he had learnt anything at this school other then how the headmaster allows a bully to reign over the school to make him look like the good guy. _The man kept something here in the school and it likely caused those two to get injured._

With a shake of his head, he finally leaves the suit, all of his belongings have already been taken back to Qarrezel. Depending on how this summer goes, he may or may not be pursuing conquest of Scotland. He knows that Albus hasn't stopped trying to legally challenge his country's existence, the man has only gone through other channels.

He knows that the Death Eaters are supporting Albus in this. His contacts within the bank hint that a lot of business is being done concerning money being transferred around. _Not that it matters, I've already declared that since the Ministry allowed so many Death Eaters to get off that they're not terrorists but some kind of hidden branch of military. The goblins, werewolves, and centaurs are willing to support that claim._

As he walks down the hall, he spies a group of students from the Slytherin House coming but before a light of theirs could touch him, he's teleporting out of Hogwarts and into his command center of his estate. "Have wands been issued?" He asks and Kimi nods.

"Then proceed to not just capture but advance. Be ready with those ward stone. They want a war, they got a war." He says as his chair comes out of the floor, he sits upon it.

Illusionary windows give details of the advancing forces but between they are no match for against his house elves welding not just wands but wearing armor with various types of shielding runes against physical, magical, potions, and mental aspects of warfare. The Death Eaters fell easily but the hired wands took a few extra minutes.

The attack is over in under an hour and victory came about simply because the house elves acted as a unit then individuals. "Claim a full three kilometers around and then sent them to raid every property belonging to those enemy fighters. Remember to dispatch a messenger giving the goblins permission to totally absorb their vaults in the name of the goblin nation."

"What of the werewolves part of the enemy fighters?" Kimi asks and he looks thoughtful for a moment before answering, "Alert the leader and offer to give him these rogues. If the man declines, we'll test those collars crafted to control the werewolf curse and then release them. It's the wizards and witches we need to imprison and question."

"No food and water until you say so, majesty?" Kimi asks and he nods. "Make it so, General Kimi." He says as the five other house elves flip about the sentry posts about the property.

Those raiders are already vanished into tiny cells, their snapped wands on the floor of their cell, and only a pail for a toilet. The goblin messenger leaves the property before the counter forces head out but then, the forces need to set the ward stone about the newly claimed ground and be sure that the magic will be stable before they are free to make the next move.

"When the raiders come back, I'll have a message ready to be delivered to those races we're treating with." He says, he's already have a note pad in hand as well as a pencil. He's confident that his house elves know what they need to do and how to proceed when it comes to this counter raid. He didn't hire that ex-military squib instructor in February for nothing.

The first thing the house elves will do it grab those witches and wizards within the house. Force them to give cloths to their house elves, they will then stun the humans before delivering them here in a different jail complex for questioning, and then his house elves will then take everything out of the place taking the building apart very thoroughly in search for hidden items. Once done, everything will be delivered to one of the houses before the raiding party moves on to do it all over at a new location.

Only when they're done with the raiding will they begin sorting through everything that they claimed from those raids. Dark items will be placed in warded area, books in an area, cloths in another area, etc, etc. It shouldn't take long since all but seven house elves will be going out on these raids.

"Alert me if they run into trouble or when those newly released ones are wanting to join our country." He says to his general and Kimi merely nods in a distracted way, it's clear that she's busy speaking with someone as she whispers into her mic.

Lunch arrives and he dispatches those messages to those races he's treating with, complete with observation orbs documenting the attack. He also gets a reply from the leader of werewolves saying that they could do what they will with the rogues as long as he doesn't kill them. He'll have his team of researchers tomorrow put those collars on before releasing them in London.

The goblins sent a progress report concerning their ceasing of those vaults belonging to member of the enemy army. They mention that they'll need the owners to sign a few documents so that their actions can be seen as legal within the UK's Wizarding Society. He didn't have a problem with that and knew that they can't be under duress when signing or else the magic upon the documents would void it. He's got a surefire way to get the lot to sign a statement agreeing to the goblins' ability to cease their vaults and doubt that they'll be in a mood to read said documents when presented with them in a certain way.

"When will we begin the questioning of our... guests." Reaper asks, the house elf is in charge of his current information department within his army. He glances up from his jot notes concerning what information to release to the press to study the gruff house elf.

"The prisoners are to be left alone, no food or water until they sign a goblin document. The guests... well, you can start to work on them around midnight. Don't use potions on your first attempt at questioning, just be sure to have recorders about. I'm sure you know how the rest of this goes." He says to Reaper and the house elf nods.

"No bleeding them?" Reaper asks and he replies, "Save the bleeding for the first session with the prisoners. At this moment, they are forced to be my guests. Once the goblin documents have been signed will they be released but I don't see that happening for at least three days from now. I'm sure that's enough time for you to get every drop of information from them and to erase their memories of giving that information."

"Shall we inform the employees of this?" Another asks and he shakes his head. "Just tell them we were only going through drills. We'll inform them before I send what happened to the press."

August 12, 1992

He studies the army of not just house elves but of goblins, trolls, and werewolves. Save for the trolls, the others were not only armed with typical weapons like swords, daggers, spears, shields, spell firing guns but also with wands. The trolls wore the more massive armor while the rest wore mixture of leather and steel. All of the armor has protective magic woven upon it while allowing for free movement.

The goblins and trolls were being paid to fight while the whole of the werewolves had sworn loyalty and become citizens of Quarrezel the full moon after the attack upon his country, it's when those experimental collars proved that they can reign in the inner madness of the werewolf curse, granting the werewolf total control over his transformations. A minor side effect was that their bites were no longer infectious in anyway. _Likely doesn't hurt that I don't have any racial laws or that I've conquered most of Scotland, thus they'll be granted land upon which to build their homes and raise families._

He's not too troubled about the lack of humans in his army, he had paid handsomely to his human employees for their skills with the wand since few of the werewolves know how to use it. The goblins had been surprisingly helpful in regards of use of that knowledge transfer ritual, but then, he had just given them the juiciest bank accounts right off the bat while asking for only five percent of the total sum of what's within there.

"How are your pack-mates' spirits, Fenrir? I know few of them had not like how we took Hogwarts. That Remus fellow seemed particularly outraged we won without encountering much resistance." He says to the leader of the werewolves.

"I believed he had hoped for Albus to be more prepared. The man is a spy for the man after all." Fenrir Greyback states and he snorts softly at the very idea of Albus doing anything other then retreat or defend. He wasn't that surprise to learn about Remus being a spy, it's likely a position the man had been in during the reign of terror No-Name had spawned that lasted over a few decades.

"I had noted you objected to the lack of physical combat during that battle." He recalls.

"And yet the school fell to us before dinner, just as you had foresaw." The werewolf remarks. "I doubted that the Dark Lord would have been able to take Hogwarts as easily as you did."

"Good thing that the goblins have taken care of the man's soul anchors, eh? Who knew they would be that out raged upon finding one upon the Hufflepuff cup? They were foaming at the mouth to find the rest." He says, his scar upon his forehead had been dealt with using a technique to stop his heart and then using electronic shocks to restart it. With that sliver of soul gone, he found himself not feeling so heavy and noticed changes in his emotions as the silver of soul influenced him to feel the more negative emotions more acutely then positive ones.

"At least we finally going to have two armies go at it instead of all this retreating." Heartbeat the gobliness states while staring hungrily over to the other side. The gobliness's battle trained Gytrash paws the ground. The saddle of the Gytrash's back provides magical protection to light, hence why the canine is out during the daytime.

"I doubt they have anything to say during this parley." General Kimi mutters and Heartbeat nods in agreement. The number of house elves serving under him had long since increased, especially when all of the Hogwart house elves were freed but still wanted to remain with the school, so they swore loyalty to him and he gave the running of the school to Chef. It had surprised him to learn just how many house elves worked at Hogwarts, it seems that there was just too many of them since the excess house elves have joined up with the army.

He had promised Chef that yes, the school will be accepting students when September comes. He had already sent out letters to the students and every family that has a magical child. It surprised him to learn that some muggleborn witchs and wizards weren't at school because they couldn't afford to send them. He changed that by deciding that the up coming school year will be free and that he'll supply what they needed since he already decided to change what's being taught and how it's being taught.

It still shocked him how many ex-muggleborn students were willing to move back to the UK to teach at Hogwarts, one that's under his control at that. Many of them were willing to even become citizens as well, although they did want the war to be over before they swore any oaths. They had been keeping him updated concerning course outlines and what kind of material they would need to teach. At the moment, he has the sorting hat standing in as the headmaster since he didn't want to give the job to a painting and Chef refused the appointment.

"I'll wager that it'll end with one of them trying to hex or curse us." He admits with a sigh. The unicorn he's riding upon snorts so he leans forward and strokes her neck. The mare oddly enough appeared within hours of them setting up camp by the lake. The unicorn sports odd gray spots about her rump and the tips of her mane and tail are black, which makes him wonder if its the reason why the mare, he hasn't thought up a name for her yet, is willing to tolerate him.

"Let's get this over with, I have plans this evening." Fenrir Greyback snaps upon his Thestral mount. With a nod, the unicorn mare begins to move forward. Kimi's pony follows close behind, likely due to feeling more protected next to the unicorn then with the Thestral or the Gytrash.

Minister Fudge, Madam Bones, Albus Dumbledore, and some elderly wizard weren't riding upon anything. He notes how drain and drawn Albus is and figures the man is hurting dearly for the lack of his Fawkes. They wait in the middle between the two armies and some of the enemy fighters get a better look at the unicorn that is willing to bear him into battle. He can only assume what they're thoughts are upon the matter since he does ride bare back and there are no reins for him to control her. The mare's only protection is a steel breast plate about her ribcage while her legs sport metal braces to protect her joints.

The fact that he's righting a unicorn reminds them that he's the Holy Emperor of Qarrezel, with empathize upon the word _Holy_. He's pretty sure that if he had been riding something else, they likely wouldn't have second thoughts. The mare paws the ground as Albus tries to come straight at him. The mare lowers her head, pointing at the man with her horn. It's the first time this has happened as the mare hadn't even done that to Fenrir or even Heartbeat.

"She really doesn't like you. But then, you did allow those Acromantula to go uncontested within the Forbidden Forest. They did claim many lives as my subjects had discovered piles of unicorn bones about their main base within the forest." He muses and the mare knickers in agreement.

The other three move slightly away from Albus while the man merely stands his ground. "Now, Harry my boy..." Albus begins but Fenrir and Heartbeat laugh at that.

"That's Holy Emperor Harry. After all, Qarrezel now stretches all across Scotland and certain parts of England." Fenrir says and he nods his head slightly, his crown isn't as heavy as it looks but that's likely due to the feather weight charm he had placed upon it earlier.

"You can't possibly be serious about that!" The unknown wizard spats and Fenrir replies, "You're government is the first to acknowledge the country so you believed it existed or you wouldn't have signed those documents confirming to that effect."

"We goblins have filed that document and I believe sent out copies to the ICW after thirty days. You didn't challenge it then so, legally, he is an emperor and as for his Holiness, well, I've never heard of a unicorn enjoying a male's company let alone allowing somebody to ride upon their backs." Heartbeast pipes in and the wizards all sport sour looks.

"Then you should stop before the ICW gets involved." Albus says and he raises an eyebrow.

"We do not recall treating with the ICW concerning the joining of their council. Nor do we recall receiving any documents declaring their involvement in this regard. Perhaps they feel that your ministry has been lacking in following their laws?" He muses, he found it odd to be referring to himself in the royal we but it seemed like the right direction to take.

"As a matter of fact, my kin in the bank have sent the ICW many evidence concerning how Albus Dumbledore has been allowing the Dark Lord known as Voldemort," the gobliness scowls at the flinches, "You allowed Death Eaters to gain freedom, you kidnapped a boy, had his godfather sent to prison without a trial, and worst, didn't do anything concerning the man's soul anchors! You had one in your own school but you left it alone! Where anybody could find it."

"What are they talking about, Dumbledore?" Madam Bones asks upon noting how stunned look upon the man's face.

"Not now, please. It was all for the Greater Good!" The man pleads.

"And who says you get to decide that, I wonder? I believe I recall Remus speaking about how you spoke out against those racial laws but the documents collected during a raid upon the ministry says otherwise. You keep sprouting about equality but you don't do anything to make it happen." Fenrir says.

"And you think this brat cares about that?" Fudge snaps and Fenrir answers, "Yes, I do. He sent treaties about to the other races weeks before he attended Hogwarts. And just a few months ago, he gave my people a way to totally control ourselves in either form."

Then Fenrir takes out a wand and with a smirk, causes fireworks to burst out of the tip for a few seconds before putting it back. "He's given us wands and knowledge upon their use. Not even the Dark Lord did anything but make promises. His majesty has proven himself far more worthy of our loyalty then your government and... No-Name." Fenrir finishes.

"You allowed that child eater a wand?" Fudge demands, clearly not hearing everything.

"We have granted them much more then that, Fudge. We have granted them a future. They can now settle down and marry. Raise children to continue their lines. We have given them a chance to be normal." He states calmly. "If all you plan to do is hurl insults at us and turn deaf to the benefits of surrender, then we have nothing more to talk about." He adds.

As the mare begins to turn around while Fudge stutters, Kimi yells and suddenly, cries of outrage erupt. He glances over his shoulder to find the nameless wizard bound and a shield about Kimi and her mount. "We doubt you will have a good day. Come now, we have other things to attend do." He says to the three under his command.

Before they even reach their side, the enemy has open fire. Not that it matters as the hasty constructed poles before their front line stops the spells dead. The magical energy is sent to the three large cannons. "Let loose the dogs of war!" He says upon returning to his position with his decorative mace held high.

The cannons open fire as his mace is swung down. The cannons hurl forth huge area stunning spell into the incoming enemy. More enemy fire is absorbed and redirected to the cannons. "Archers!" Heartbeat bellows and goblin archers ready their bows.

"Fire!" And a hail of potion filled arrows are sent off towards the enemy. The enemy might posses anti-arrow amulets but they didn't have anything to protect them from the potions that explode from the hallow arrows shafts as the amulets snap the arrows.

"You would think the centaurs would have thought of that tactic." He hears Fenrir muse softly under his breath.

"Fire!" Heartbeat bellows after giving the archers a minute to grab another arrow. Again, arrows hail down upon the enemy and having their contents spilling forth while the cannons thunder over head.

Finally the line of wizards get within seven feet of the front line. "Wolves at the ready!" Fenrir shouts while Kimi hollers, "Elves at the ready!"

The enemy line advances to four feet and both Kimi and Fenrir bellow, "Charge!" With that werewolves, house elves, and trolls charge pass the shielding poles.

Everyone upon his side is charging with the exception of the archers and those that operate the cannons. With his mace in hand, he enters into battle, smashing his mace down upon the robe wearing enemies. He notices dimly how the unicorn mare lashes out with her horn, teeth, and hooves. He doesn't know how he manage to stay upon her back but he did.

His armor absorbs the spells as fuel to the web of healing spells that link each of his army's armor. Any magical attacks that is directed right at the soldier, they're fairly useless concerning area effect spells. For some odd reason, products made from organic things holds the healing matrix of spells far better then non-organic products. Another reason for the mixture of leather and metal armor.

Though it felt like hours, the battle is won within forty minutes. Few from his army had died and it doesn't surprise him much to learn that Dumbledore couldn't be found about the field, he knew that without Fawkes, the man couldn't teleport off of the field as they had erected wards to prevent that. He glances about, trusting that the enchantments upon his glasses will see through the man's concealing spells.

He spies the man studying one of the poles with his wand out. He weighs his mace for a few seconds before he flings it at the man. The mace's head causes a cracking sound upon connecting with the man's head. Within seconds, the others surround the man with spear heads pointed at the man.

He walks over and one of the house elf soldiers hand the mace over to him. He nods his thanks before studying the felled wizard. "And so your ministry falls. How well does this defeat sit with you, Albus? Everything you fought to preserve, helped along, and killed for is no more. The victors write the history books, Albus, and from where we stand, you shall be the villain, your true history shall be written, not the lies you crafted and had put down upon paper. We are fairly certain that the ICW will be more then happy to give you a cell next to your old lover." He says to the man before watching Heartbeat tie up the man's arms behind the man's back and take the man away with a few of the group acting as guards.

"And so ends one chapter of all of this and a new one begins." He murmurs to Kimi upon her arrival at his side. "So, what are our casualties compared to their's?" He asks his general as they head for his tent.

December 31, 1992

He swirls his glass of wine as he reviews the drafts concerning the publishing of the founding of his country and the conquest of the UK's Ministry of Magic. Hedwig scratches herself with a clawed foot while Fawkes remains dozing upon the nest of ashes and soot from the fire place. He sips from the glass before taking his red pencil to write a few notes in the margin of the page before moving onto the next.

"You know, one would think you would have something better to do then read that. It is New Years Eve after all." His godfather, Sirius Black, remarks upon entering into this chamber from the hallway.

He puts the glass of wine down before the sheets in his hand. "Shouldn't you be busy watching those pornos?" He counters while Hedwig makes a disgusting sound upon hearing that particular word.

"Sometimes you just need a break from such ah, draining activities." Sirius explains while approaching his desk. "I do believe you need a break as well."

"It's rather hard considering the fact that I'm still organizing my civilization, how those in power are picked, and how laws are enforced." He remarks. "There's always something that needs my attention."

"Like those experiments in creating that strange hybrid between a Nunda and a phoenix? It kind of looks like a gryphon except for its colors and size." His godfather muses as he takes a seat across from him.

"That's the idea, actually. In a few years, if those faux gryphons prove to be able to breed and function without any outside interference, you'll likely witness attempts at a creating a downsizing dragon breed. The size goal is the size of a hawk or a golden eagle." He explains.

"You seem to have a pretty good idea at what you want to breed." Sirius muses with a frown. He studies his godfather for a moment.

"Magic begets magic, Sirius. This world could do with a lot more magic in it." He tells the man, he can only wonder how the man will react to the news of having people looking into terraforming the other planets and moons of this solar system.

He did sign that treaty with the ICW promising not to expand his country beyond the British Isles on Earth. He did not promise not to expand his holdings beyond this planet however. He knows for a fact that a lot of various races are looking forward to mining the meteor belt for metals and gems.

True, so far all of the magical none humans have proved to have an easier time keeping their magic but that doesn't deter him. A company of dwarven citizens should be completing the lunar compound within a year or two. They are using a perverted form of Port Keys to supply their ship with fresh air and water while taking away the tainted air and water. They have food caplets delivering food and taking trash and waste away.

"It sounds as though you want magic to come out in the open." Sirius states rather calmly. "Which seems to go against the current attitude that the ICW supports." The older wizard adds.

"Too little too late." He murmurs as he glances over to the fire place. "The parents of muggleborns are made aware of magical society, certain people holding positions within muggle government knows about magic, and let's not forget squibs." He says before he takes a sip from his cup of wine.

"Although, if those experiments with those power enhancing braces work, squibs will be capable of welding magic. Heck, with enough research we might even have muggles welding magic." He says. _Although, that's just a side effect upon researching ways for magical humans to keep their ability to use magic in space._

He notices how Sirius stiffens while sporting a shocked expression upon his face. "I can see that you find that to be rather unbelievable, huh?" He says and his godfather nods slightly.

"You have to remember, we can draw upon resource from around the globe instead of locally. New sources can be created through creating new breeds of animals and plants. I'm sure you recall those Mint Cherries from the parties last week? It's what my new head of plant development had brought about trying to combine herbs with fruit trees, trying to create multipurpose plants that not just supply food but medical and clothing material." He explains. "Although, at this point in time, Medina is sticking to magically hybridizing muggle plants before trying magical."

Sirius slowly shakes his head. "Unbelievable what happens during being wrongfully imprisoned for a decade causes you to miss." Sirius murmurs.

"Well, I'm just happy all that time being exposed to Fawkes' singing and receiving those mood uplifting potions have helped to repair the damage done by those Dementors." He says as he reaches to grab one of the crackers with cheese and fruit upon them. "You're actually focusing on something that's not related with Peter or Albus." He adds before putting the snack into his mouth.

He noticed the range of emotions that play out upon his godfather's face while he chews what's in his mouth. He glances away, he kind of wished that Remus would have elected to remain here then to leave Britain but the werewolf left with the majority of adult wizards and witches. _Good thing I separated the adults from their kids and gave the ten and up the option of leaving the isles totally or to attend Hogwarts on a student visa._

True, not as many of the kids chose to attend Hogwarts but those that did, well, he's just glad that the majority of them were those that had attended his parties during his one year of schooling at Hogwarts. Like for example three of the five Weasley children had chosen to accept the student visa. Percy seemed a bit dismayed that his sister won't be attending Hogwarts and slightly exasperated that Fred and George had done so. _You would have thought the whole of the Weasley children would have jumped at the chance at attending Hogwarts not just for free but without needing to purchase any school supplies._

"I toured Hogwarts at the start of the month." Sirius says and he wonders if the man knew which way his thoughts were in as the man continues, "I've never seen the student body so relaxed or enjoying their classes. The professors seem to have time for students. I had thought getting rid of the point system was a bad idea but, well, I've never seen the students so... friendly."

"The sorting hat is responsible for the point system being taken away. As for the professors, well, it only made sense to have classes sorted by aptitude. Each year is divided into three different classes per subject. The students are tested to see if they should be place in the high performance class, the average, and those with problems grasping the material." He explains. "Having smaller class sizes allow the teacher to have less papers to grade and make them more available to help individual students."

"I believe that each professor only teaches two different years for the subject, giving them even more free time." He adds as he recalls the meeting he had with the sorting hat before school started. "For example, a professor teaching first year transfiguration could also be teaching fifth year transfiguration. It seems as though the hat had more teachers applying to teach then it knew what to do with." he adds.

"Rumors say that young goblins and werewolves will begin attending next year." Sirius muses and he nods. "Yea, they will. Hogwarts will be also accepting dwarf, centaur, any being's children really. The centaurs likely won't be sending any yet, although I did send them wands and text books on charms and other spells as a good will gesture." He confirms.

"That's... rather bold." Sirius admits and he shrugs. "I would suggest that young house elves attend but, well, they have certain needs that can't be fulfilled as students." He explains with a frown.

Sirius just shakes his head at the whole thing. "You really do support equality among the races, don't you?" Sirius muses and he snorts softly.

"The goblins are applying to being allowed to create and manage their own school. I'm holding out, wanting to have at least one age group attend the full seven years of Hogwarts before agreeing. I'm looking into building magical elementary schools for those under the age of eleven." He pauses to drink some wine, "The elementary schools will focus upon teaching the subjects that doesn't need magic like history and runes."

"You not waiting on implementing changes are you?" Sirius muses. "Got to strike while the iron is hot." He replies.

Silence descends between them, Sirius does use his wand to create a glass and pours himself some fruit wine before taking one of the crackers from the plate. "So, does this mean I have your approval to start up my own movie company?" Sirius asks as he moves to continue reading the draft for the upcoming history book.

He blinks, kind of surprised about the sudden appearance concerning his godfather's business idea. He shrugs as he replies, "As long as you use your own account, sure." He pauses before suggesting, "Just a minor suggestion, try looking among muggle comics, novels, and screen plays as you won't have to worry about special effect."

"Like Batman and Superman?" Sirius asks and he frowns slightly. "Yea, although, you might want to find something needing spectacular effects as they're the ones most unlikely to be converted into movie format. You also have to speak to whoever owns the copyright in order to avoid getting sued for copyright infringement."

"I see. Well, if I can't come up with anything original then I'll try that route." His godfather says and he hums in agreement.

"So, does this mean you'll be opening movie theaters?" His godfather asks and he chuckles softly. "Got five under construction, they're waiting for school to let out before having their grand openings."

"How about tv stations?" Sirius asks and he sighs softly, it seems that Sirius isn't going to allow him to continue with his review of the history book.

The End


	104. Shinigami Minato: Bleach

I don't own Bleach or Naruto!

**- o 0 o -**

As he sorts through various files, being sure to insert the updates within the folders before putting them aside. Suddenly, Mie Kensaki drops a bunch of new files upon his desk and he sighs softly as he moves to put the new folders into his in box. _Maybe I should have joined that training journey after all..._

"Huh, yea, I can see the resemblance. Only, he's grown his hair out into a ponytail, his eyes are slightly different shade, and has a slightly different angle to his face." Mie muses and he counts up to five before asking, "What are you talking about?"

"The new captain of ninth division, Naruto Uzumaki." Mie answers and he jerks upon hearing his son's name. "Just got appointed last week. He use to teach at the academy, one of their most prized instructors too." The woman adds.

"I see. What's so special about him other then his appearance and former occupation?" He asks while Sutaaraito(starlight) begins to waken within his mind.

"His Zanpakuto is rather large, he doesn't seem to be keeping it to a smaller size. The hilt has linked chains acting as the guard and it's name is Aozora no Kemono. It's a fairly unusual one as it isn't in tune with a single element but multiply ones." Mie explains. "It seems that his Bankai has him seemingly physically dissolving into a vast storm that spawns fast growing cyclones, large balls of hail, lightning dancing within the clouds with thunder roaring minutes after, and vast amounts of rain pouring down."

"Such a Bankai sounds as though it would be handy when confronted with a massive number of enemy lines." He muses while his Zanpakuto remarks, _"Make you wonder if he blames you for how his life turned out, doesn't it? Of course the chances of him remembering are pretty much nil since he didn't get collected by zero division upon arriving in the Soul Society."_

He does his level best to ignore Sutaaraito. _Oh, hush._ He thinks to Sutaaraito and he can sense her mood become even worse. "Are you hinting something or can I get back to working on these files?" He asks Mie.

"Just wondering if your hadn't been experimenting with that cloning kido and caused another clone of you to come into existence." Mie states rather coolly and he turns his gaze away from Mie's face at the accusation. He recalled the problems **that** incident caused for his division.

_"There are times where I wish you continued down that line of study. It would be interesting what other personalities lurk within your own mind."_ Sutaaraito muses.

"I have not attempted that line of kido since the Emperor sent word ordering me to stop." He answers. "How old is this new captain? Four hundred? Five hundred?" He asks.

"Well, we've his old academy record and well, if it's right, he's a bit over two thousand years old." Mie admits with a defeated sigh. "Which is likely true. He never raised from his seated position within the ninth since he achieved it. He doesn't seem the ambitious type since it seems he was rather content with his teaching position and his patrols to the out reaches of the Soul Society."

"Are you wanting me to investigate him?" He asks Mie. "You seem rather obsessed with this captain." He adds, he doesn't know if he hopes she wants him to or dreads the idea of coming face to face with his son.

_"You just want to stand before him and apologize to him. Like that will help him now, being dead and all."_ Sutaaraito snaps at him.

He knew his Zanpakuto is right but he's focusing on Mie as she answers his question. "Just a minor information gathering done by our own would put such fears to rest. So, I believe that yes, you will be investigating the background information concerning Naruto Uzumaki. Interviewing him with be the end of your investigation as we don't want to alert him to the fact we are doing so." Mie tells him and he nods.

With that, Mie leaves the office and he pushes back upon his chair as his thoughts whirl with the fact that he has just been given official sanction to contact his son. _I wonder if he ever found the one and had kids? Did he ever study under Jiraiya-sensei?_ He thinks while Sutaaraito reminds surprisingly silent.

= [ -**T**

"Excuse me! Are you Gyou?" He shouts, trying to get the red head's attention.

"What? Go away, I'm busy!" The red head bellows while twisting a valve, not bothering to look at him. He's a bit perturbed by this attitude since most see the black kimono and almost automatically become fearful and subdued.

He with a groan, he preforms a kido to freeze the sprouting water. Gyou seems to still and then curse before turning to face him. Gyou's curses stop suddenly at the sight of him. "Naruto? No, wait, it's too early for him to show up..." Gyou murmurs out loud while frowning at him.

He blinks at Gyou's attitude while the red head man rubs his frost covered shirt and pants. "Who are ya? And what do ya want? Do you know what kind of damage ya did with that kido? I'll have to reforge the pipes!" Gyou snaps at him, clearly unimpressed with him.

"I just want to speak with you concerning Naruto Uzumaki." He says while Sutaaraito chuckles at how Gyou spoke with him. _"Oh I like him! He's certainly got a pair!"_ His Zanpakuto remarks as Gyou scowls at him.

"What about Naruto? He's a shinigami, he patrols about here usually between a decade or two period where he's gone back to your headquarters to teach at your academy. I'm sure you Soul Reapers know more about him then I do." Gyou answers as the red head pushes pass him.

He sighs, not use to dealing with this kind of attitude outside of his division. Although to be fair, he wasn't wearing the jacket. He pauses as he catches sight of a symbol he recalls seeing commonly upon a forehead protector. He glances over to the red head while thinking about the Kazekage, noticing some similar looks between them.

His left hand goes to a pouch that holds a memory recovering device, he brought it just encase he needed to reverse the memory erase powder. If Naruto had been up to illegal things, it would stand to reason that his son would have used such a device upon the residents in this district. _Not harm in checking... If need be, I can always erase them again._

Sutaaraito murmurs about how he had hoped to use that tactic upon his own son but he just ignores her. _Why couldn't I have a Zanpakuto who doesn't communicate so frequently with me?_ He wonders as he manages to appear before Gyou and activates the memory retrieval device.

This causes Gyou to faint and he manages to catch him and gently lowers the red head upon the soggy ground. He begins to get a bit antsy as minutes tick by and Gyou hasn't come too. Then suddenly, sand engulfs him while Reiryoku pours from the fallen Gyou. He tries to Shunpo out but the sand somehow, keeps that from happening.

Finally Gyou gets up from the ground while his eyes are still closed. He frantically tries to piece together what's going on and can only think that Gyou had been a demon container to Hidden Sand's own demon, the Shukaku. Finally, Gyou's eyes open and he's slightly shocked with the look in the man's eyes.

"I see, so you are his father." Gyou murmurs in a monolithic tone. "For what purpose have you restored my memories?" Gyou asks as the sand finally loosen but hangs in the air.

"You knew him while he was alive?" He asks Gyou and the red head nods. "He saved me from myself. He gave me something to live for." Gyou answers simply.

"There are others in this district who knew him while he was alive." Gyou adds and he felt excitement race through him. "But that does not explain why you want to know of him." Gyou states.

"I'm here to do a background check and, I want to know the kind of person he became before I met with him." He answers. "If you wouldn't mind telling me about him, Gyou."

"Gaara. My real name, it's Gaara and I became the fifth Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand." Gaara says and the sand finally releases him before the sand falls to the wet floor as Gaara's Reiryoku finally gets under control.

_He's probably hungry now._ He thinks to himself as he follows after the former Kazekage and demon container. He does have more then enough food so it wouldn't hurt to share with Gaara.

= [ -**T**

He tries to get some sleep but his mind just won't let up upon reviewing the information Gaara had supplied him with. He also has a list of others to use the memory restoring device upon. Gaara will get back to him upon the subject of erasing his newly restored memories as Gaara doesn't know if he wanted to be sent to the academy to receive training to become a Soul Reaper or return to life as a simple inventor.

Before retiring, he had made a quick round of those Gaara identified as knowing his son during the time they were alive. Instructing them that he wanted to meet with them come dawn. He plans to restore all of their memories in one go. As he closes his eyes and still upon the sleeping mattress.

As his eyes open, he finds himself within his mind-scape. It wasn't long before he spies Sutaaraito. His Zanpakuto spirit's appearance is that of an otherworldly beauty who's skin is so white that it seems to glow compared to her surroundings. Long, braided pale blue hair flowing down Sutaaraito's back while her totally black eyes stare at him with minor flakes of white. Sutaaraito wears a priestess attire only gold and gray in color while holding a monk's staff.

Poking out of the pale blue hair are ear points that are rather sharp looking. He assumes that if he were to chose what being his Zanpakuto spirit would be, he would say a Western Elf. "Minato." Sutaaraito states coolly and he returns the greeting, "Sutaaraito."

The few times he's been brought here had been when Sutaaraito wished to physically assault him. Typically when she grew tired of him ignoring her. She generally harps about how all the mistakes he's made throughout his both of his lives, his living one and his current dead one.

Unlike many among division zero, he can't preform Bankai, not that it matters much since he is more valued for his seal skills then his fighting skills. Sutaaraito is a vacuum type, capable of depriving a spot of everything, including oxygen, though why Soul Reapers need to breath, he still doesn't get and just assumes that it's more of a habit then anything, a deadly habit that he can exploit using his Shikai.

"Are you sure you wish to pursue this course of action? These souls have rights concerning whether or not they want to recall their living lives." The regal elven worman says to him.

He didn't feel the need to answer, he knows that on a moral level she's right but Gaara only encountered his son during certain times and only knew very little of Naruto's childhood, how he acted during his time in the academy, what his typical day was like... There's such a wide selection to choose from really. _I wonder which family adopted him..._

"You're only doing this because you lack confidences concerning how Naruto will react upon seeing you. You fear that he'll reject you, you already have." Sutaaraito says. "Perhaps when you finally confront him, you will be capable of moving beyond this fear." His Zanpakuto spirit says.

With that, his mind-scape breaks up and he finally gets some sleep.

= [ -**T**

**"What are you doing here?"** Somebody asks and he silently curses. He holds his arms up and slowly turn around to discover a non-human being sporting bat like wings, red hair, and navy blue skin tone.

**"How... interesting."** Muses the monstrous being upon the wings folding over the shoulders, giving the male being the appearance of a cloak. He slowly plans out an escape route while the seemingly demonic being studies him.

**"I take it your here to meet with Naruto? He should be along shortly as he only stepped out for some groceries. I'm fairly certain you know who I am, but it's only polite that I introduce myself. I am Aozora no Kemono, the Zanpakuto spirit of Naruto Uzumaki."**

He blinks, not sure how to react to that as he assumed that with a name like Aozora no Kemono, his son's Zanpakuto's spirit would be a kind of bird or maybe a sickle weasel. _I thought he already can preform Bankai? So why manifest his sword's spirit?_ He wonders.

"I thought once one attends Bankai, you don't need to manifest your Zanpakuto's spirit." He states and Aozora no Kemono snorts while moving to sit down upon the couch with a back to it, it's then that he notes the tail and how Aozora no Kemono's legs are constructed.

**"You subscribe of that school of thought, eh? Guess there aren't any enlightened shinigami outside of Naruto."** Aozora no Kemono remarks and he feels Sutaaraito's interest concerning this odd practice. **"It's rather enjoyable being able to taste a cup of tea or a fresh batch of cookies..."**

"You must be on good terms with Naruto if he's willing to waste so much energy in giving you a physical body." He murmurs and he feels Sutaaraito scowl at him. Aozora no Kemono snort softly.

**"He doesn't even feel the drain. If you've seen my actual self, you'd get an idea at his reserves at the beginning of his career. Considering what our Bankai is, it's a wonder he hasn't expired during the first attempt. As it was, we both were out of it for a good two weeks, although, he did recover an hour or two before I did..."** Aozora no Kemono says and while he's digesting that, the door knob turns.

His first thought upon laying eyes upon Naruto was, _He barely looks to be out of his teens! How can he be over two thousand?_ He also notices the orange shirt his son is wearing and smiles slightly as he recalls that meeting.

"Huh, hey, dad, what you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the belly of that shinigami you summoned?" His son asks him upon closing the door and he can't help but stare in frank amazement at Naruto.

**"It almost looks like you broke him."** Aozora no Kemono states in a bemused tone. **"Here, I'll take those and put them away while you two have a chit chat."** The non-human being says while moving to take said bags from his son, the captain of ninth division.

_"Huh, he certainly knows how to redeem you speechless, doesn't he?"_ Sutaaraito states rather calmly.

**- o 0 o -**


	105. Gotta Touchem All: Animorph And Pokemon

I don't own Animorphs or Pokemon!

**- o 0 o -**

-Is that fox suppose to have six tails?- Ax wonders and Tobias murmurs, -Huh? What fox?-

As the Andilite moves, Tobias gets a clear view of said fox. -Eh... huh, that kind of looks like a Vulpix but that can't be right...- The boy trapped in the body of a red-tail hawk says.

-Any particular abilities its suppose to have?- Ax inquires while his main eyes are focused upon rusty red fox sporing six tails.

-Ah, well, according to the game, they're capable of producing fire attacks. It's sketchy about how they're able to do so though in the game.- Tobias answers while getting ready to launch into the air the moment the strange fox gets ready to pounce in his direction.

-Perhaps I should acquire it?- Ax wonders and Tobias blinks in surprise at the idea. -No reason why it won't work... Just be careful.- He answers.

About three seconds later, Ax's tail blade is resting upon the body of the vulpix. The little six tail fox had been knocked out by the flat of Ax's blade. Tobias takes to the air and begins to glance around, trying to spy some hint to suggest how they got here.

Tobias watches as a purple rodent glances up at him before returning to its previous actions. -What is that creature by the river?- Ax asks as the Andilite moves to the water to get a drink.

-Huh? I've never seen that one in any of the games.- Tobias murmur. The hawk moves to circle over the river that's about thirty feet from where they encountered the vulpix.

"Bi? Bid loof of!" The buck tooth mammal shouts at the sight of Ax before leaping into the river. -A bidloof likely. These... monsters tend to be named by what word sounds they make.- Tobias explains while noticing these small group of tad pole Pokemon sporting whiskers shaped like an tv antenna.

The hawk Animorph spies a poliwag swimming after a magikarp while a few goldeen moving down stream. -Which to choose, which to choose...- Tobias muses while circling about the river that seems to be forty feet wide.

About fifty feet from where Ax is, Tobias spies something that appears to be an eevee. Tobias heads in the little beast's direction, as the hawk stuck boy enters into a dive bomb, the eevee notices him and takes up a battle pose. The brown fox like Pokemon evades out of the way but Tobias manages to grip the tip of the tail.

Upon contact, Tobias concentrates upon the eevee and the brown monster goes into a minor trance for a few seconds. Upon shaking its head, the eevee darts off away from Tobias. Upon righting himself, Tobias takes to the air and heads back.

While Tobias acquires the eevee, Ax watches various monsters move about. The young Andilite contemplates acquiring one of the monsters hanging about the river. The alien spies moving plants coming to the water's edge. "Oddish?" One of the plant monsters wonder at the sight of the Andilite while the others of the group drip their leaves into the river.

Ideally, Ax wonders what they would taste like when he grazes. Ax watches Tobias arrives back and pulls his hoof from the water. -I take it you acquired one as well?- Ax asks Tobias.

-Yea, I think I spotted a cave where we can try out our new morphs. It's located behind a water fall a pretty long ways away.- Tobias says.

-Lead on then.- Ax says and as Tobias wings it northwest, Ax enters into a trot. While Ax keeps a stalk eye upon Tobias while the other glances around, noticing some deer type monsters grazing a few meters away. A few of them glance up and watch as Ax trots by.

Large butterfly monsters flutter over a meadow of flowers while large green worms could be found in the stands of trees. Brown birds move about the berry bushes while living vine knots sit in patches of sunlight. The roar of the falls grows and they soon travel right next to the river the falls feed.

Various kind of bug monsters seem to hang about the minor lake that the river flows from and the waterfall feeds. They startle a pack of orange and black striped canine monsters that Tobias identifies as growlithe. The pack of six growls at them before taking off.

Tobias lands upon a rock and waits for Ax to arrive. -What an interesting selection of beasts.- The young Andilite muses thoughtfully and if Tobias could smile, he would be sporting one.

-I'll go first.- Tobias says before he kind of glides down to the ground. With wings spread, Tobias begins to focus on the mental image of the eevee he manage to touch. Bone crack and pop while feathers fade to give way to fur.

Increasing slightly in size, Ax watches as his fellow rebel and best friend's head suddenly sports long and thin looking ears, similar to a rabbit. The fur around Tobias' neck suddenly puffs out becoming a light brown mane. As the tail grows, the inner organs shift about. Suddenly, Tobias drops forward and within seconds, the wings have given way to legs.

The change end and Tobias shakes himself, ears perking up. "Eev? Ee vee." Tobias says out loud while sending, -Huh? Sounds like zubats and golbats.-

-Any trouble with its instincts?- Ax asks and Tobias replies, -Surprisingly, they're not pressing in on me.-

With a slight intake of breath, Ax summons up a mental image of the odd fox that Tobias says is called a vulpix. The first thing that happens is Ax's blue fur becoming rusty red while Ax's eye stalks begin to fade. Bones crack and pop as Ax's face stretches to form a muzzle.

Organs shift within Ax while shrinking down. Ax's arms shift position as the front set of legs shrink until they vanish into the belly. The tail blade gets retracted just before five other tails suddenly begin to grow out of Ax's backside.

-I'm bigger then you.- Ax muses while noting that Tobias' morph is male. **"You're also male."** Ax barks out.

**"And you're female."** Tobias counters and then they blink as they realize they understood each other without thought speech. Their ears flicker about and they each catch bits and pieces of conversations.

-Well, the anime did have them being able to understand their own species and other verbal sounds of other Pokemon species.- Tobias muses while Ax spats _ember_ at the rock Tobias had been perched on and is very impressed with this ability.

-Should we try and acquire other... Pokemon while we're here? They would be good additions in the war.- Ax notes, trying to ignore how his current set of instincts seem to find Tobias' morph attractive.

-That is the question, isn't it? Perhaps we should find some town and see if we can't become Pokemon Trainers. That should allow us to travel without too much hassle. It would also allow us to get fur samples from those we capture.- Tobias says while coming up to Ax's side. -But first, we got to know where we are.-

-Should we demorph and then take to the air?- Ax asks, turning to look at the brown fox like morph. Tobias' scent causes Ax's morph to bristle up and Tobias, upon noting this reaction, backs up while giving Ax a questioning look.

-We could or we could explore the cave. We might be able to gather up battle experience in these morphs and maybe encounter some other Pokemon to acquire before we leave this area.- Tobias suggests and Ax takes a few steps behind the thundering water.

-I'll keep time.- Ax says at last and Tobias nods before trotting pass. Ax shakes his head before following after, eyes slowly getting use to the dim light.

Month Later

Ax and Tobias stop a few feet from the path to take a break, to demorph and to feed their Pokemon. Tobias' chikorita, Grace, plumps herself down while Ax's totodile, Ripple, wanders over to the bench and climbs onto it. Neither of the two Pokemon reacted as their respective trainer begins to change after they put down their pack that contain the other Pokemon and empty balls.

As Ax and Tobias once more appear human, they let out their other two Pokemon out of their balls. Ax's female spearow, Song, and male hoppip, Spore, stretch about before moving to sit by Tobias' female sentret, Alert, and female wooper, Alice. They each have acquired their own captured Pokemon and those belonging to the other.

During their cave adventure, Ax managed to acquire a male zubat morph while Tobias managed to acquire a male geodude. Thus Ax and Tobias share six same Pokemon morphs and two the other doesn't have.

Food jars open and dry Pokemon food gets set before the group of six. The Pokemon begin to talk among themselves while Ax and Tobias take out a map to figure out how far they are from the nearest town or ranch. They will, hopefully, encounter other Pokemon trainers along the way, they could use a bit more money in purchasing supplies, although they can stay at the Pokemon centers and get meals for free, but then, their secret would be found out so they stick to camping outside of various towns, cities, and ranches.

After about fifteen minutes, Ax and Tobias are ready to go, they heard about this Pokemon convention and contest happening in about two weeks in Marketville. They hope to acquire a few unusual Pokemon from the other regions. Tobias leaves Alert out while Ax leaves Song out.

Marketville

Ax and Tobias had a fairly eventful week. It had taken a lot of thought upon how to pass off Ax's natural form off as a costume. It had allowed Ax to acquire an onyx, hoothoot, ekans, nidorina, sandslash, ponyta, hypno, scyther, mightyena, duskull, and a luxray. As for Tobias, he managed to acquire a murkrow, hoothoot, ekans, nidorino, raichu, rapidash, chansey, dragonite, linoone, duskull, and a rare female lucario.

They had seen others battle and have battled themselves, most often in their first morphs. Ax in vulpix morph got passed off as one of Tobias' while Tobias in eevee morph got passed off as one of Ax's. Ax's party also now consists of a male dunsparce, Hover, and a female snubbull, Rachel. Tobias's party expanded to include a male spinarak, Spindly, and a female mareep, Sparkles. All got Pokemon belonging to Ax and Tobias had been used during various battles with other visiting trainers of Marketville.

The pair also learnt more about what regions they would likely need to visit if they want to acquire. Tobias would like to acquire a psychic while Ax would like to acquire a dragon. Neither of them know how much time they still have in this world, so they decided to head to the nearest airport after raising enough money to purchase tickets, hopefully one of the charter flights that have private restrooms for them to demorph within them.

**Willing to accept somebody to adopt this story idea! Just PM me if interested!**


	106. Uzumaki Enterprises

I don't own Naruto!

**- o 0 o -**

**Age:** 10

"Huh... But, why? I'm content to pulling pranks!" He says to the Third Hokage while putting the film camera back into its box. "Besides, nobody would want to help me filming them..." He murmurs as he pushes the box on the counter towards the elderly leader of Hidden Leaf.

"I believe I have a solution to that. How would you like to learn how to make water clones?" The military leader asks him and he gives the old man a stunned look.

"Really? You'll teach me a jutsu? Oh! Thank you, thank you, thank you..." He repeats 'thank you' about thirty times before he remembers that he's got ramen to eat and quickly breaks apart his chop sticks to begin pigging out on the pork ramen.

All the while the Third chuckles in amusement at his antics. "So, you'll be keeping the camera then?" The old man asks him and he just nods, not really thinking about the camera, only about the jutsu the old man plans to teach him.

Two Weeks Later

He studies the camera once more, he's grown bored over the two weeks. Since he had promised the old man Hokage about not pulling any more pranks before the elderly Hokage taught him the water clone jutsu, he's been at loose ends. Sure in his spare time he's drawn up various plans concerning prank pulling but it got old as he's unable to put them in action.

He raises a slight eyebrow at the sight of a key under the book of instructions. A tiny tag says studio key and he finds a note explaining the key and what he can expect to find in this studio. He couldn't help but be intrigue by this work space, so he repackages the camera and instruction book, carrying it under his arm, he leaves his apartment in search of the place.

It took about an hour to find the place and using the key to unlock the door, he fumbles about trying to find a light switch. Even when he finds it, the lights didn't really shine all that brightly. He pockets the key while moving into the main room.

He explores them all, he found more blank film as well as a few strange machine. A shelf of books seem to be about how to make a movie, inserting music, and pretty much anything in relations with making a movie like costumes and how to improve the background noise like cloth moving or hoof beats. As he looking to a desk drawer, he finds a few scrolls detailing simple seals that range from flash bombs to blood pellet tags that hold will hold fake blood.

_Where was all this stuff when I was doing my pranks?_ He wonders as he automatically saw how all of this stuff could be used to help in prank pulling. With a sigh, he puts the box down and unrolls one of the scrolls to begin learning how to much such tags. He's glad that he's got an actual ink set and tons of blank sheets of paper, he's got the typical paper usually used for tags but he's going to need a lot of practice to get these seals just right since his writing skills is dismal, he's better at reading then he is at writing, likely due to him being entirely self taught in both skills.

Five Months Later

He scratches the side of his head as he studies the blond girl before him. Ino huffs slightly and moves out of her pose to cross her arms over her chest. "It's nothing against you, you under stand, it's just that the camera doesn't pick up genjutsu." He says finally.

"But I got an opening in costume design if your interested." He adds and Ino's face brightens out of the slight scowl her face had adopted. "I'll take it!" Ino declares and he hands the girl a copy of the script that Hinata had written out.

All he knows is within a month of him discovering the office, the young heiress of the Hyuuga clan had left a note saying she's willing to take a position in his film company and decided to give the script outline to Hinata to polish. What he got back did have a bunch of mature scenes that include the main character and the lead female having a bedroom scene but it did have a lot more explosions and fighting scenes that he just decides to ignore those baffling, strictly adult scenes.

He's not sure how Ino learnt about all of this, he had only just got the permission he needed to use various training fields as back drops and only just settled upon the appearances of his main cast of characters. He had to create large holes and then unseal vast amounts of water into them as a source of water for his clones. Having it around will also help keep the clones from being easily destroyed.

"You're really going to follow this script?" Ino asks as his clones finish getting the site as needed for the upcoming fight scene. Those clones arm coming over to the minor well of water and dispelling within it, he really didn't want to waste water needlessly.

"Well, Hinata seemed to know what she was writing about and, well, I couldn't think of any reasons not to exclude any of the scenes." He tells the blond. "Is something wrong? Anyway, I'm about to start, do you have any objections to the cloths my clones will be wearing for this scene?" He is sure to motion towards the story board as they also have drawings concerning the kinds of uniforms the enemy will be sporting.

Ino's face remains red but she does take a look before shaking her head. "Those will do, for now I guess." The blond eleven year old says.

With a nod, he takes a sack from the hanger and walks over to the well he created. He takes out a large paper pouch and dumps the mixture of powders into the water. He takes the pole and stirs the water before adding two bottles of liquid thickener before stirring that into the water. Once the water is a deep, dark red color, he notes how the water is slightly sluggish but that won't affect the movement of his clones.

Letting go of the pole, he goes through the head signs for the water clone jutsu. He's sure to focus upon mental images that he wants his clones to assume. He had learnt how to craft water clones into the images of animals and to assume the appearance of other people beyond his own appearance. Gender wasn't a barrier at all, nor was size.

Once the clones were in position, they had pick up their special equipment, aka the blood pellet tags. Once he's got the mic in position and fastening it down so it won't move much, he sets up to the camera and once the camera is rolling, cries, "Action!"

The clones act out the scene without any of them really getting dispelled. Once the scene is done, his clones get up and get ready to redo the scene while he moves the mic and camera to the next position to do a retake. The clones use dirt to cover the fake blood that's splattered about the area. The clones each took turns upon dispelling their cloths and recreating clean ones from the well water.

And so it went until he's got all five angles of this scene. "That's a wrap!" He says, very pleased at how his first screen shoot had gone. And so, the clones begin to take down the preparations. _Good then I got the second and third sets prepared. It shouldn't take long to set one of them up and shoot those scenes before heading to the office to begin editing them._

"Huh, I guess it's easy to get through a shoot when their all clones." Ino muses as he hands her the next two shoots costume designs for her to review. The backstage stuff is getting sealed within storage scrolls.

Once his clones are done, they once more get into the well before dispelling. With them all gone, he takes out the special storage scroll and seals all of the dyed water into it. Grabbing the pack with all the scrolls in it, he begins to march up to the second set.

Ino walks after him after a few seconds. She has a few ideas for the next shoot, mostly for the female fights that are about to come up. He listens as Ino points out how the women are more likely to act in a fight and cosmetics used to help highlight their looks. He frowns slightly as that sounds like it'll be a lot more work, but guesses that Ino likely knew what she's talking about, he'll just need Ino to create facial sketches and use the colors. He'll likely need to have a few clones about for models but is sure that Ino's capable of doing this job as she is one of the girls trying to land Sasuke Uchiha as her husband, so she would need to know these things so she can look her best.

Three Months Later

"Patches of Omissions." The Third Hokage says to him and he frowns. He didn't see why he's here in the office, not when he's got to prepare for this even's showing.

"Are you complaining about the title? If you are, you'd better talk to Hinata Hyuuga cause she's the writer." He states simply and he swears that the old man dropped his jaw in surprise, although a few seconds later and the old man schooled his expression.

"That's not why you're here." The Hokage states and he frowns while asking, "Then why am I here? Are you looking to purchase tickets? Cause I'm pretty sure that this week is sold out. But if you really want to watch it, I guess you could sit next to the projector."

Since there weren't any movie theaters in Hidden Leaf, he's had to find some place to show the film and had found an old warehouse that needing a lot of fixing up but it worked. Boarding up the windows, clearing out the old wooden boards and sweeping up the floors made room for the various benches, old sofas, and chairs for ticket holders to sit on while watching the movie. Hinata had found the huge white cloth needed for the screen while Ino had been in charge of ticket sales.

The first show didn't have a lot of people, he recalls that there had been seven jonin and Iruka-sensei. One of the jonin had been wearing green spandex and seem to enjoy saying 'Youth' a lot. He recalls the number of gasping sounds that Iruka-sensei had made during those romantic and bedroom scenes. Heck, that one silver haired jonin put his book away when the second bedroom scene got shown and remain put away until the light came on. Iruka-sensei had been really red faced and had left quickly while the various seven jonin seem to wait a few extra minutes before leaving.

After that first showing, they've had packed house for then on, which kind of made it worth it since it means they really enjoy the film. Heck, that silver haired jonin has seen at least five more shows since the first. He's already looking forward to making another movie, he knows Hinata is working on a new script while Ino seems to be busy coming up with future ideas for costumes.

"That's not what I want to talk to you about." The old man Hokage says and he frowns, not sure what else the Hokage would want from him. "This is about certain scenes that you filmed. Particularly, the bedroom ones."

"What about them? I wasn't sure if they went off right but both Hinata and Ino seem to say that they came out better then they expected." He says, he leaves out how red faced the pair were whenever they saw said scenes. "I would have liked to have more explosions in the movie but I decided to trust Hinata and didn't change anything she wrote."

"Who's idea was it to rate it R then?" The Hokage asks and he answers, "Ino and Hinata were insistent on that one. I kind of thought it sucked since I wanted to rub this in Kiba and Sasuke's faces about how successful my film is."

"Naruto... Has anyone mentioned how babies are made?" The old man asks out of the blue and he just stares blankly at the elderly ninja sitting before him.

"What's that got to do with my movie? I mean, babies come from some super secret lab in under the hospital, right? I always wanted to see the place cause I wanted to see if I can't make myself a younger sibling but I can't find it." He explains wistfully. "I mean, I'd be a great big brother! I seen how its done and it would be great to have somebody who needs me and looks up to me."

He notices how sad the old man is and he figures the Hokage is likely remembering his own younger sibling. _I wonder if I should change tactics and try to rent Hinata's younger sister... I wonder how much Hinata would charge per hour?_ He thinks to himself.

"Has nobody taken you aside and given you any kind of lecture concerning where babies come from?" The old man asks after a few minutes of silence. "Like the nurse?"

"I'm still not following. I mean, the last time I was in her presence she offered to do an operation that would help me learn, I think she called it a castration? She says that it's used to help calm down male dogs and horses, allows them to think better." He says before adding, "I didn't take her up on it cause I don't want to cheat, I'll make it to Hokage without that castration, believe it!"

He watches as the old man begins to rub his temples with his fingers. "That's good, Naruto. And I need you to promise me that you won't take anybody up on any... beneficial sounding operations. If anyone does make the suggestion, I want you to come right to me and we can discus it here in my office." The old man says and he just nods, he didn't see any reason not to do as the old man asked, after all, it gave him another reason to visit with the guy.

"Sure!" He chirps and the old man smiles slightly. "Is there anything else we need to talk about or should I go?" He asks.

"I would like you to find both Hinata and Ino. It seems that I have something to discuss with them." The Hokage says to him and he nods.

"Will do!" He says as he gets up from the chair. "See ya later, old man!" He says as he leaves the office.

_I wonder if he's going to try and get free tickets from Ino?_ He wonders as he exits the tower and heads off in search for the two girls. After all, the sooner they have their meeting with the old man, the sooner he can find out what it is the Hokage wanted to speak with them about.

"Hey kid, you made one hell of a movie!" Some old white haired man says. The man ruffles his blond hair before leaving. He turns and watches the guy walk off, he notes a large scroll hanging behind the man's back. The guy seem to be more interested in the women on the street then the guys.

With a shrug, he refocuses on the task of finding his costume designer and his writer.

Week Later

"So... we made a good hundred thousand right off the bat and we're getting a five percent in royalties on the movie. I never knew you can make that much money so quickly." He says to Hinata as they walk to his apartment.

Ino will meet with them in a few, she's going to try and see if Sasuke is interested in going on a date with her. He highly doubts that the guy has even noticing the opposite sex, much less looking to be in their company.

"After meeting with Lord Hokage, I reconsidered the direction for the next film." Hinata stutters out and he perks up. "Does this have anything to do with those mythology books and scrolls you've been reading during lunch?" He asks.

"Yes, I thought we'd try something concerning the mythical creatures." Hinata explains. "But perhaps we should wait for Ino? I'm sure she would like to be here when I explain my idea." The Hyuuga heiress adds and he nods, he clearly recalled the few other staff meetings Hinata and him had begun without the blond, only for Ino to get all huffy about it.

Minutes pass as they made small talk about how chakra control that Hinata suggests they try next since he needs a lot of work concerning it as he has way too much chakra on hand. He's just glad that Hinata knew so many different practices on how to control one's chakra. He's gotten so good that he can create cloths out of water instead of making water clones to wear the cloths.

His current set of gray long sleeve shirt with orange vest and brown shorts are all made using that technique; the only real cloths items he's wearing are his various weapon pouches. Sure, he had to head to the bathroom a few times during the day to refuel the water the cloths were made out of but with practice, he's sure that he might one day be able to maintain them without waters every two hours, maybe even putting it off for a good eight hours.

Ino seems to be pleased to see him out of that orange jumpsuit but is confident that she hasn't figured out that they cloths are made using that water jutsu. After all, he couldn't afford to buy groceries let alone purchase nice cloths that what they appear to be. _I wonder what other elements I can make cloths out of?_

As they lose things to discus about concerning the latest chakra control exercise, Ino enters and slams the door. He winces as it usually means that the blond is in a foul mood. He's kind of wishes that Ino and Sakura hadn't ended their friendship since this usually means that they have to deal with the upset blond.

"Why's wrong with how I dress?" Ino demands while looking at him and he cocks his head to the side while he studies what she's wearing.

"It... err, empathizes your belly?" He answers, kind of at a lost at how to answer that but knows that he had to give some answer.

Ino pauses and places a hand over her exposed belly. "What's wrong with that?" The blond girl demands.

"It's a good place to insert a kunai?" He replies, saying the first thing that pops in his head and that seems to cause Ino to pause. Thus Ino walks over to join them without much trouble, it's clear she's considering his reply.

"I guess your right." Ino admits with a sigh as she slumps down into the chair. "But how am I suppose to show off how slim I am if I cover it?"

"You ever think that you would impress Sasuke by dressing as though you're about to go into battle?" Hinata offers when he glances at her with look asking her for help.

"Yea, Sasuke does take being a ninja pretty seriously." He adds. "Ever thought to improve your taijutsu? I'm sure he'd be even more impressed if you manage to rank second to him." He admits, he really doesn't want to discus this at all, but, well, they don't usually get any work down unless they wade through Ino's latest drama.

Ino wrinkles up her noses and opens to say something but stops and looks towards a wall. "It's not as if following those fashion magazines are helping any." Ino finally admits in defeat and Hinata reaches out to comfort the blond.

When Ino didn't continue on this after a few minutes of silence, he finally brings up the topic he wants to confront. "What's our next film going to be about? I know Hinata's been looking through mythological creatures and stories..."

Hinata nods and begins to outline a story concerning a child somehow getting spirited away to some magical land where various fantasy creatures call home. Hinata makes suggestions of the child encountering kitsunes and other mystical beasts like two-tailed cats and lion dogs, fighting oni, learning from tengu, and even gracing the court of dragons.

"That sounds like it'll be a fairly hard angle to sell. I mean, Hidden Leaf isn't keen on anything related to kitsunes." Ino says.

"I like the angle but how about invaders from another dimension? We can call them demons, fiends, devils, or oni. The main could be a half-breed and a bounty hunter?" He says and Ino taps a finger against her chin.

"We could have various fractions. Make them more beastly in nature." Ino muses slowly.

"We can have the humanoid type called demons and have them being responsible concerning the bounties. Make their whole society hidden and needing hybrid since they're unable to pass themselves off as humans." Hinata reflects and he nods.

"We could try creating miniatures cities out of metal and glass like some of those summoned movies! Create those metal contraptions and their weapons." He says with a grin. "We can have it over top of a pail of water to help strengthen those tiny clones!" He says.

"I can design design those things!" Ino says. "Though you'll have to work on creating clones under an inch tall." The blond girl says and he shrugs.

"I'm more worried about how to get the miniatures all filmed." He replies.

"I think we could visit the discard pile of the old people's home. They are the ones who fish for useful items. We could likely find tiny camera among the discards." Hinata stutters out.

"Sounds good! Want to go now or did ya guys want to work on designs?" He asks and Ino waves him off.

"You two go, I'll stick around here coming up with a sketches for the 'Demons'." Ino says and thus, Hinata and him leave his apartment.

Month Later

After two weeks of waiting for Ino's miniature order, they decided to go in a different diction since, in the end, Ino got really frustrated with the order taking more then a week to get shipped. Not to say that the order was canceled, they just decided to do something that didn't have them waiting for so long and had plenty of it in stock. It helps that they found something that pretty much didn't cost much money and it had to do with this battered old looking manga featuring talking lions. The book's called the Lion King but by the time they were done making a bunch of changes to the story, it barely resembled it the book.

They decided to call it Destined for Change. The characters remained animals but the main cast typically come from these two animal groups, magic using lions and magic using hyenas. The hyenas rule this canyon of bones and mushroom forests while the lions rule the lands of plenty. The lions come from a wide array of prides that sport such names as Dawn Sight and Faith's Wings. The hyenas come from various clans with such names as Bone Breakers and Spore Furs.

The conflict comes about from a meteor that creates a wide trench in the canyon that leads to their lands getting flooded. They're forced out of their native home lands and forced to encroach upon the lion's homes. Naturally they come into conflict with certain parties on each side seeking to enslave the other species.

In the end, the supposed 'good' guys on the hyena side get killed which results in the race getting forced through a magical gateway. To survive, they place themselves into a magical sleep, waiting for the day when the few that escaped this fate can rally enough forces and set them free.

While not a happy ending, it did leave room for a bunch of sequels if it proves to be popular. It also proved easy to film since they didn't need to worry about cloths, although Ino is the one who created most of the glowing tattoo designs for both sides. The ink they used to apply said tattoos was one that reacts by coming into contact with chakra by glowing and since the clones were constructs of chakra, they continued to glow, even when they didn't want them to.

It had only taken them so long because he had to figure out how to create tiny seals or for his water clones to be capable of channeling any jutsu he can do. In the end, he kind of succeeds in both as his tiny, human clones did do a good job writing out those seals while he learnt that if he creates a water clone strictly out of his own blood, thus becoming a blood clone, the clone is capable of being a channel for a jutsu.

He's privately glad that he only had to make tiny blood clones since he figures a full size blood clone would likely kill him. He plans to see if he can engulf a drop of his blood in chakra and insert it inside of a water clone, could the droplet of blood be enough to allow the water clone to channel a jutsu? He'll have to try it later as Ino's out of village order has finally arrived, allowing them to pursue that old movie idea.

"That's a bit better then your previous movie, Patches of Omissions." Iruka-sensei says. The chuunin had somehow got the position of having final say on whether or not any of their films will be allowed to be seen within Hidden Leaf.

"Although, I was looking forward to a happy ending, but then, I take it you have plans for a sequel." Their academy teacher says and he can't take it any more.

"So we can we start selling tickets for it or not?" He asks. "Ino's got a good two hundred posters ready to be posted around town." He adds and Ino proudly displays said poster.

_Although, she could do to improve her artistic abilities..._ He silently admits. _I'll give her points for trying though._

"Just as long as you add the thirteen to that PG rating as it does feature a lot of violence and death on screen." Iruka-sensei says finally and Ino squeals before pulling him in for a hug. Ino bounces up and down, all the while holding onto him, much to his embarrassment. He keeps reminding himself that he loves Sakura and that this doesn't mean anything.

"Sounds good." Hinata stutters out with a relieved expression upon her face. Iruka-sensei nods as he gets up off the couch and heads out of the warehouse turned movie theater.

Three Weeks Later

"Huh, looks like Uzumaki Enterprises just got an offer to produce some film called Monster City." He says upon arriving into the basement where they're filming Nerves; that's what they're calling that one about the half breed bounty hunter killing dimensionally displaced beasts that are grouped into Fiends, Devils, and Abominations.

"What's the script about?" Ino asks while she moves the lights just so to mimic the correct time of day. Each of the desks have various sketches ranging from alien creatures to clothing designs for each of the characters.

He rips open the envelop and takes out the thick script. He hands the loose papers over to Ino once she gets up from her crouch. He skims through the script and can't help but snort at certain points, but over all, he didn't see how they'd have difficulty making this picture, easy money actually.

"We could actually afford to construct an actual movie theater and hire people to work it." Ino says after whistling at the amount this company is offering. They exchange papers and he snorts softly at the number of zeros.

"If only your clones could be independent, then we could get them to build the miniatures for this film while we're in classes." Ino says.

"In a few weeks we might not need to worry about the academy. We'll be taking the examine to get promoted to genin. If I don't pass then I'll be doing this full time as it'll be my third try." He says to Ino, he notes how startled Ino reacts to the mere mention of the upcoming examine.

"Oh, yea... Genin..." Ino murmurs and looks off into space, clearly more interested in her thoughts then what's going on about her.

"At least you got all three of the jutsus perfected. I doubt I'll ever be able to preform the basic clone jutsu. They just keep looking like crap." He says.

"And I'll likely get paired with Chouji and Shikamaru when I pass it." Ino states with a hint of despair. "I mean, sure, our partners worked well together but who's to say we'd be able to follow in their foot steps? I mean, Shikamaru would likely just say 'how troublesome' ever second sentence and Chouji will be more concerned with stuffing his face!"

Ino rants for a few minutes about Chouji and Shikamaru's bad points. He's kind of sympathetic but mostly annoyed since he considers the pair to be almost friends. They and Kiba would skip classes or sneak out of class if they were bored in one.

"Makes ya hope that Hinata, you, and I end up on the same team, eh? If we did, then we won't have to figure out schedules concerning the continuation of our work creating movies." He sums up and Ino simply sighs.

"Anyway, you get this started while I got purchase the stuff needed for this one." Ino says as she grabs the key for the cash chest. As soon as Ino grabs what she thinks she needs, the blond tosses the key to him and he puts it back on its hook before he moves to sit at this stool surrounding with various screens displaying the upcoming scene in different angles.

Once he's seated, he then forms a single hand sign that cause the tiny clones to act out the scene while he watches viva the multiple cameras. It won't be long before they've got enough raw film to start creating an actually film. _I wonder how much this one will go for? Not as high as Patches of Omissions but certainly higher then Destined for Change._

Most of the money they got from the two earlier movies went to repaying Ino for the miniature models that she bought with her own money and to pay rent upon that warehouse.

If they get the money for Monster City and manage to get a good price for Nerves, they should be able to pay a genin team to demolish the old market district, as that part of the village has been abandoned for years now, and then hire a construction firm to build a large theater, they're going to try to have ten or more sceening rooms in which to show ten different movies at the same time.

He tries not to think about his other project too much since he doesn't want to get his hopes too high up concerning recreating a life size, functioning bike that the lead character, Steel, rides around in.

Ending it here


	107. Maskes: Harry Potter

I don't own Harry Potter

**- o 0 o -**

December 20, 1992

He stares down at the embers of the fireplace, his thoughts lingering upon not only what he learnt from a book containing information about magical animals. He wanted to learn more about phoenixes, he hadn't been prepared for what he read and the conclusions that suddenly hit him. He sighs and after a few minutes of debate, softly calls out, "Dobby?"

A very faint pop and before him stands the house elf that's been hounding him to leave Hogwarts. "Yes great Harry Potter sir?" Dobby asks and he hastes for only a second.

"Dobby, do you still want me to leave Hogwarts?" He asks and the house elf bobs his head rapidly up and done. For a second, Harry wondered if the little guy's head would pop off.

"Ok, good, cause I need you to gather somethings for me." He says. The little magical being perks up as he gives the little elf what he'll need to do so.

_Merlin... I hope this works._ He thinks as the little elf vanishes away and he takes a sip out of the wine that he had Hedwig import. He said it's a gift for a teacher and thus, it's how he got it into the school. It likely helped that he's also a legend among those that live in this world so nobody thought twice about the request.

January 2, 1993

He stands in the abandon classroom not far from a side door that leads out of the castle and then takes out a tiny bottle that contains the Polyjuice potion, it also sports a small collection of hairs from ten different guys, he had made sure to tell Dobby that part. He downs the potion after changing into the close that he asked Dobby for, they were in muggle style as he plans to fade into the muggle world. He even has a plan ticket to head out of the UK, he's heading for Australia as he hopes his accent won't stand out.

Earlier, he had used transfiguration to move his famous scar so it's no longer upon his forehead. He has placed a minor illusion upon his forehead to make it seem as though it's there. None seem to notice the difference, but then, Hermione is still in that cat hybrid form. While he was visiting, he had inquired if the headmaster had offered anything to any of the petrified students or the cat but the man hadn't offered any phoenix tears to bring them out. It kind of appalled him that nobody even thought to ask for those tears since Fawkes does live in Hogwarts and it shouldn't be that hard to get the fire bird to donate a small bottle or two.

_It's not my job to protect Hogwarts. The man has the means to end all of this but it seems as though **he** isn't interested in preforming his job._ He think as the potion finishes altering him, a single glance into a hand held mirror displays his reflection as a twenty something year old man with wavy blue tinted hair and hazel eyes. His eyes seem slightly almond shaped while his skin is ever rather tan.

Pocketing the mirror, he takes out one of the most important items that Dobby stole for him, a Time Turner. As midnight sounds, he turns the hour glass twenty-four times. The magic takes effect and he watches as those that had previously visited this room blur in rewind until, once more, the midnight chiming is happening.

With a grin, he walks over to where he stored the knapsack and hefts it. He had known he went through with this this morning since when he visited, the knapsack was gone. Dobby had only given him the Time Turner a few hours after noon after all. He does up the zipper for his jacket while he shoulders his broom.

Once in the treeline of the Forbidden Forest, he climbs onto the broom. Within seconds, he's zooming southward, looking for the railway tracks to follow. He figures that there are permanent spells upon them to keep them hidden from view of muggles, thus a perfect way to get to London without exposure and getting lost.

He's glad for the muggle attire as his jacket and snow pants keep him rather warm while the single lens goggles allow him to see without feeling the wing sneaking under his glasses. He's got a hat and a scarf protecting his head and face. Gloves covering his hands and nice faux fur lining his boots' inside.

He's done his best to keep any part of himself from being exposed to the cold and he's fairly sure he succeeded in it.

January 4, 1993

He sips from the metal hip flask that contains more of the Polyjuice potion that he needs to drink once an hour. With that done, he quickly reaches for his cola to wash away the foul after flavor while he glances out of the window. _I was expecting to ride in couch... I wonder how Dobby got the pounds to buy the ticket? Heck, I'm more then a little worried about where he get two hundred thousand pounds that I requested along with the ticket._

The house elf also manage to get him not just two extra wands but six. The elf also got him various kinds of jewelry based defenses against mind reading, location & tracking spells(it seems the different between the two is that tracking spells allow one to follow where he's been rather then where he is), and magic resistance boosters, although it also made it slightly harder for him to cast spells but at this moment, he doesn't know many useful spells so it isn't much of a hassle at the moment.

Dobby had also gotten hold of a memory modifier potion that's keyed to make the little elf totally forget about him. The potion only works on eliminating memories of encounters up to a year max, which is just want they needed. It takes about fifteen minutes before the potion begins to affect the drinker so, Dobby had drunk it before him and once ten minutes have passed in which they said their good byes and what not, with five minutes left, the house elf returned to his family.

_Why am I still obsessing with what's been done? I'm finally getting away from the Dursleys! So what if I'm leaving behind Ron and Hermione? I came to the Wizarding World looking to escape the Dursleys but I still ended up returning there and I had to face off with the specter of the man who killed my parents. Sure, I like magic and it's not as though the UK is the only place where one can learn magic, after all, there is a whole world beyond and a good number of those living there had to discover other ways to use it._ He thinks to himself.

He closes his eyes as he leans down upon the leaning back of his seat. His thoughts revolving about defending his position about leaving as he feels so much guilt over this but the actions or the lack of actions on Dumbledore's part remains the core defense for his leaving. He still has the Time Tuner in his possession and knows he needs to train himself up cause it's clear that Voldemort won't rest until he's killed him.

His new watch chimes and he leans up to drink more of the potion. A replacement for his cola arrives as well. In the end, he grabs one of the magazines he bought waiting for the flight to take his mind off of his guilt over leaving.

March 16, 1998

He swirls the liquid in his glass as his thoughts chase each other about in circles. The ICW had, as of one pm, been occupying the UK for about six months. It's only recently that the death toll has been released to the great wide world at large, particularly since the trials are about to begin for not just the Death Eaters but against various politicians, which include Dumbldore, though it's expected that Dumbledore will walk away with a slap upon the wrist, which he just couldn't stomach as the man likely could have prevented the whole war in the UK.

_Maybe I should send that owl..._ He thinks while Hedwig arrives to put a package upon the table. None at the cafe cared since it's got ties to the general magical society. He studies the heavily altered Hedwig, after all, having a snowy owl would have lead everyone straight to him and he couldn't have that.

He has transfigured Hedwig's white plumage to that of a screech owl. He even had to add the traits but over all, most of what he did was cosmetic in nature and is rather easy to reverse. Heck, he's manage to pass off Hedwig's size as a minor potion accident where some growth potion ended up on a mouse and she ate it when it wasn't done growing, thus the effects got transferred onto her.

Hedwig isn't the only one who's had physical work done, he had turned the wand onto himself. His eye color was the first to go, his eyes have been various shades of blue, hazel, and are now a brownish yellow. His hair has been through the various colors humans naturally sport to some that are achieved through using chemicals to dye it to be out of the natural spectrum. At this moment, it's blond with blue streaks running through it.

Body shape, skin tone, teeth, and even his privates have felt the touch of his magic. He's reshaped his face, ears, and added or retracted scars, moles, and pimples. Heck, there was this one time he managed to pass himself off as a woman, it had been rather... arousing when he was growing breasts before a mirror. He hadn't done much to his package beyond shrinking it, altering the pelvis, and forcing hair to grow in that area in case he got stripped searched while going through customs, he had been heading to a war torn country to do a bit of shopping and heard rumors of male tourists getting laid over for weeks for some small reason or other.

He figured traveling there while appearing to be a woman was a good idea, which it was as it turned out some local cult lead by a witch seemed to be busy using mind control spells upon said all of the men that arrived into the country. The witch was busy using them as slave labor to construct guns and other items of interest. He had, of course, found himself entangled in the whole mess since there seemed to be spells set up to detect men about some of the cities the witch controlled. The less said of that the better in his opinion.

There was this other time when he had used a bit of metal that had been melted using Fiendfyre to try and create a magical scar. He had decided to see if it could alter the shape of his scar and when it touch his famous lightning bolt scar the metal didn't seem to harm him as he had expected but it had caused his scar to scream. The scar just vanished under the touch of the still warm metal, nothing remains of either.

_I wonder what was up with the screaming though..._ He muses as he opens the package up. He takes some meat from his half eaten sandwich and gives it to Hedwig before taking out the various broken magical items that he's been commission to fix.

It had kind of shocked him to learn that nobody ever tried fixing a broken or drained artifacts but it gave him a niche to fill. It hadn't been hard to get the right IDs made but it had taken him a bit to pick out a new name for himself as he couldn't go by Harry J. Potter. So he became Daniel 'Rafe' Dashiell, a nineteen year old halfblood from Australia. His parents paid for private tutors so he didn't attend any of the local schools, thus painting that his family had money, pretty much explaining why he's never broke.

_I wonder why nobody ever thought of using an enlarging spell on raw diamonds or transfiguring paper into paper money... My experiments into speeding up chemical reactions in forming crystals and gems are coming along nicely._ He thinks to himself. _Who knows, in a year or two I might have gemstones that will pass through inspection, thus I won't need to worry about people noticing anything fake about those bills... Funny, I would have thought that the magical jewelers I sell those gems to would be the ones spotting oddities to the gems I've sold them, particularly the enlargement charm that I use._

His eyes widen at the sight of a vial with a french label saying that it contains phoenix blood. There is other types of magical liquid that comes from various other beings and beasts but he's never encountered phoenix blood. With a sigh, he takes the various vials containing tears, blood, and pee out of the over all package before removing the fur, feather, scale, and skin samples.

He removes the cloth and studies the layered artifact with interest. Taking out his ash and kitsune fur wand, he casts various information spells and nods thoughtfully as it does explain why such items were sent along. _Looks like they not only want to repair it but upgrade it as well since some of the various samples come from creatures and beings not used during its creation._ He muses, noticing that instead of using paint, runes were etched upon the metal using mild form of acid, likely typical mixture that blacksmiths used back in the day of when they crafted such an item.

It's a complex item and the letter under has information needed to the purpose of this device. It doesn't shock him to learn it was made in Greece or that it came from the time of the Romans as it explains how it got to France. The French is kind of sketchy about what they used it for that caused it to break but the fact that the artifact had something to do with viewing the departed souls of the dead.

_Thus why it possessed crystallized blood from a basilisk as well as a scale. Hmm, feathers and ash from a phoenix, a bone from a dementor, blood and skin from a lethifold, and finally blood, bone, and an eye from a thestral._ He IDs and then he moves onto the various samples that came with the artifact in question.

Most of the samples come from other creatures and beings that represent life and death, or can cause instant death like samples from a nundu and a gorgon or capable of prolonging their life like a hydra. _Hmm... This such might be a bit of an overkill since it might not work right with all these new, foreign creatures as the creators didn't factor them in._ He muses but he could see that the new additions from the previously used creatures will be of greater help in the reconstruction since it'll give him greater insight of the hows, whys, and what-fors of the creation of it.

"Going to need to reforge parts of this. The problem will be seeing if they did anything special during the process of preparing the metal, during the engraving process, or during the setting of the crystals in the metal." He muses out loud while Hedwig just yawns. He smiles as he glances at the owl and chuckles.

"Sorry for boring you. Did you want the rest of this sandwich, girl?" He asks and Hedwig perks up, nodding yes. Once that's done, he returns to studying the artifact that he's to repair or was it reforge?

He was no longer the underfed, frightful boy of twelve but a grown man who is often hailed a genius and something of a free lance defeater of so called Dark Lords and Dark Ladies. The name Harry Potter doesn't mean much to him beyond that it belongs to his past-self. He has at least five other identities beyond Rafe that he masquerades as, often using the Time Turner to do so.

Life is more then enjoyable for him now and perhaps if things work out as he hopes, he will be enjoying centuries upon centuries of it with Hedwig by his side since he wasn't just going to let her die of old age on him. Magic is a very useful tool and it possesses limitless potential as it can be used for anything as long as you can dream about it.

The End


	108. Inherited Power: Harry Potter

I don't own Harry Potter.

**- o 0 o -**

_Where are we going now?_ Harry wonders as the cart jerks sharply to the left. He recalls that they had return to the beginning and Hagrid had been the first to get off, but before he could get up to move out of the cart, the goblin suddenly shifted the lever and the cart went forward with a jerk.

The cart goes down and spirals a few times before it levels out in a very dark and dank floor. The stone seems to be black and sports grooves along its surface. The walls to lack vault faces and then, finally, they come to a stop by a set of stairs that lead up to a stone door.

"Why did you bring me here?" He asks the goblin and the cart driver replies with disdain, "Your great-grandfather had constructed this himself with the help of your grandfather. About three years before he died, your great-grandfather visited this vault with a pack of items and came out without them. Then your grandfather visited this vault a year before he died, although before he died, he contracted the bank to bring his grandchild here."

"Didn't my father visit this place?" He asks as he gets out of the cart, slightly overwhelmed with the idea that two unknown people were not only related to him but seem to await his arrival. "He didn't, but why? Didn't he know about this place?" Harry asks the goblin and the goblin snorts.

"Your grandfather was very specific about who we were to bring here. Now get on with your business here so we can return before that fool of a grounds keeper firecalls the headmaster and tries to bully his way here to retrieve you." The goblin states and he quickly turns to face the stone gate.

As he places a hand upon this circle featuring the outline of a hand, he feels something jolt through him and then pool about his scar. He hears screaming in the air and dimly realizes that he's the source. Then it feels as though something is trying to tear a bit of his brain out of his head through his forehead and he truly wished he could black out but he doesn't.

It feels like eternity as that bit of brain finally begins to give. He gasps and blinks his eyes rapidly. His whole being is sore and yet, oddly enough, his brain feels as if some unknown pressure is gone. It feels as though something had been plugging up his head, like having a stuffy nose only focused in his mind and now, now it's all cleared up and he can breath so much more easier.

As Harry focuses on his surroundings, he finds himself in a minor hall that leads into a large room. He walks down the hall that is light up by these vines of crystals that dance with various colors of light. It's rather soothing and he finds himself relaxing slightly as he stands before the room.

He can see another room and a set of stairs that lead up. The stairwell is, like four feet wide. Suddenly, something happens and his shoes finally fit while his cloths also seem to shrink while brightening up. His glasses vanish from his face but it didn't matter as he continue to see things oh so clearly.

He glances up at the ceiling above him before glancing down. There seems to be clawed feet upon the bottom while heads of felines look down. He glances towards the door and finds that the spot where he's standing is the only placed graced with such additions. He pulls at his now crimson shirt, it feels like silk, before glancing down at the black pants, which feels like cotton. His shoes look new, not torn or worn at all.

He smiles softly as he turns his eyes towards the couch. He glances down at the crystal tiled floor and takes a step. Lights dance under his right foot and when he pulls up his foot, the light dies. With a shake of his head, he steps more into the living room area of the vault. _Now this is what magic should be like._ He decides, sure the alley had been kind of nice, but it had been kind of gouty with how the color clashed all over the place and thrown together as most of the buldings look like they were ready to fall apart with a good, solid shove.

The couch and various chairs all seem to be floating a few inches above the tiled floor. Pictures of magical animals line two of the three walls of the living room as the third wall seems to have a large shelfing unit containing rows upon rows of books, be it leather bound or made out of some other kind of material like stone or metal.

He walks over to the other room and finds it to be a dinning room. He walks through another doorway and finds himself in a kitchen sporting a huge stone fridge. He opens it to find it leading into a huge cold room sporting meat upon meat hooks towards the back while shelves filled with spice jars, fruit, veggies, and flour. He notices crates piled in one of the back corners, he just assumes that it contains eggs before he backs out and closes the door.

He heads back towards the living room and goes up the stairs. After about ten steps, he's on the second level and finds it divided into two large rooms. To his left, he finds a bedroom that also sports a bathroom. He enters to find about two different pools, one looks like a natural hot spring while the other is a pretty good size pool, it's currently empty of water.

He heads for the other room to discover it to be an office. It's fashioned with a white stone desk that sports a metal and crystal goblet upon the desk. Across from the desk is a large mirror that is black in color. He walks over and tabs the mirror to discover that it's make of some kind of black glass. The spot where his finger touches the surface causes a bit of numbness to his finger.

Shaking his hand, he walks over and sits down at the desk. He goes through the drawers and finds a bunch of important looking folders. In another he finds glass vials containing colorful liquid. In the top left he found a note with a minor bit of poetry upon it.

He pulls the little card out and turns it over to find it telling him to look into the mirror for knowledge of his enemies while saying the chant. Feeling a tiny bit foolish, he closes the desk drawer, moves the goblet a bit to get a clearer view of the mirror. Taking in a deep breath, he recites the poetry...

Few Minutes Later . . .

Harry just stares blankly ahead, his mind a whirl of feelings and thoughts concerning everything he just witnessed. He feels like vomiting and curling up to cry, to never step foot out of this strange house like vault. Tears run down his face and he touches his right cheek, his hand seems warmer then his face.

"All those people... They just... How could they? And that man..." He slowly shakes his head as he realizes that not only does he have to deal with Tom Riddle but with Albus Dumbledore as well as the old geezer had plans that dictate his life, heck the guy seems to be leaning on getting him hitched to some girl he didn't know and who doesn't even know him!

_He just let those murders walk free... Didn't even try to put limits on them. Doesn't even think twice about sending the 'light' to their deaths but is sad when the 'dark' are killed? What a psycho, hypocritical bastard!_ He thinks and then he realizes that he doesn't have the skills needed to deal with either Tom or with Ablus.

He blinks as he hears something coming to his left. Blinking, he glances at the goblet to find light playing about the crystal bowl that the metal holds up. He knew what that is, he's seen a few of them while watching events play out from the various visions from the past.

With a frown, he gets up and moves towards the goblet. With nothing to lose, he dunks his head into the oddly green tainted gray liquid. Knowledge rushes into his mind, like how to turn a stone into a beetle, what to do when facing off against an angry gryphon, the correct ward scheme to create the infamous death ward... It just goes on and on.

Finally, his head couldn't take it any more, he pulls himself out of the liquid pool of knowledge and reaches about for the potions he needed to take if he's to integrate all of this knowledge into his own mind. Once the headache subsides, he plunges his head once more into the liquid, this time, absorbing political knowledge concerning the Wizarding World and its laws.

It would be a good four dunks before all of the liquid knowledge has been absorbed. With a full head, he heads for the bedroom, his shoes come off with a bit of effort, and he banishes the blankets to drape over his body wandlessly. And so, he falls asleep upon a bed his forewarned, previous heads of the Potter family and magically crafted for future use.

Six Hours Later . . .

As Harry comes to, he sighs softly before rolling onto his back and stare up at the enchanted ceiling that seems as though he's underwater with silvery light shimmering down at him. As light moves as the water rolls. It's rather soothing and he fights the desire to fall back to sleep.

It's the thought of Albus that finally drives him out of the bed. He heads for the office once more, this time to collect the Time Turner his great grandfather had borrowed. The Time Turner his great grandfather had been about to return had been fake, not that anyone knows as it fell just as it was exchanging hands and his grandfather had banished the broken parts away.

Once the Time Turner is about his neck, he also picks up a ring that will act as a two way Port Key, allowing him to return and leave this place without any trouble. His grandfather had to come down to leave it within this vault. Once the ring is on his finger, the ring seemingly gets absorbed by finger, leaving only a tiny, snarling face that is just a shade or two darker then his own skin tone.

He heads for the kitchen to grab a bit to eat before turning the Time Turner back six time while standing in the kitchen. One quick sandwich made and eaten, he moves the Time Turner out from under his shirt and after using a time spell to check the time, he then flips the hour glass over six time. Time rewinds and as the past him leaves the kitchen, time resumes.

He waits a minute before heading out of the kitchen. As he passes through the one area, his cloths return to their original appearance but not his shoes. His glasses return but before he leaves, he alters the lens until he can see perfectly before enchanting the frames to be durable and the glass lens to see through illusions.

The stone doors pull back to allow him to pass through. "Finally." The goblin murmurs as he walks down the steps to enter into the cart.

The cart had somehow been turned around so they go back the way they came as soon as he's seated. The food in his stomach feels like lead weight within him and he's more then a little relieved for the ride to be over. Hagrid rushes over to greet him while throwing up a fuss over the 'kidnapping' of him done by the goblins.

He smiles slightly at this but reminds the half-giant that they have other things to do then to spend the day at the bank, arguing with goblins. They leave the bank and Harry learns that he's only been gone for about an hour, most of that time likely due to the ride there and back again. Though Hagrid doesn't press deeply, the half-giant does try to learn just where the cart goblin had taken him and he replies, "I'm sorry but it's family business."

He pauses at the sight of one of those villains he observed in the mirror and all of the emotions he had felt hours earlier rush back. He hears the windows of the store next to him begin to rattle before using his new mental skills to control the emotional storm wanting to break into reality. _That... **family** won't live to see September first._ He silently vows to himself.

"Lucius Malfoy. He's one of those that escaped prison by saying he was under the effects of the Imperius Curse." Hagrid says needlessly. "Hog's well-ump in my opinion."

He just nods, not really trusting himself to speak. It also calls to mind that many others who aided Tom were still out and about. _Shouldn't be too hard to get them all in attendance. I've seen how to do that very clearly, although Peter will be harder to get at. The rat hasn't been human for over a decade so the call likely won't reach him._ He thinks to himself.

Hagrid and Harry finally enter into their first store while Harry's busy reviewing ways in which to do all those accomplices in as well as their family in such a way that it baffles the minds of investigating witches and wizards. It wouldn't do to have a trail pointed right at him, especially if a few do manage to escape that little gathering.

Upon being dropped off at Privet Drive, Harry turns on the TV and finds it upon a show detailing the first World War. He witnesses the damage done by bombing and he begins to chuckle before it turns into a full blown laugh. _Just perfect! Just a little bit of magic to amplify the damage as well as a temporary ward scheme set up to keep them all there..._

Two Weeks Later . . .

He watches from a hill top not far from the Riddle Manor using a muggle made telescope that he enchanted to see through the first few walls of the house so that he can see the living room. The entire house sport various kinds of explosives all over like in the walls, floor boards although the place hosting the larger amount is the basement. All of the fuses wrapped up with a special kind of enchanted paper that will all burn if just one of the cut slips is set on fire.

_So glad that I returned pretty much all of that equipment and replaced it with muggle created equipment. Not only is it cheaper but better made. Pencils and ball point pens are fair superior to quills and ink pots._ He thinks, sure he's never used said items but his great grandfather and grandfather had so he knew he wasn't missing out on anything there.

His watch beeps and finally, the guests arrive. He managed to bribe certain officials to get the majority of the Death Eaters from the prison to join this little reunion. Snape appears just seconds after the Malfoy family. With each passing second, all of Tom's followers, marked and unmarked arrive with their families in toe. The werewolf pack that had been hanging about in the graveyard finally enter the house and the last to arrive is Barty Crouch Jr.

Finally, all but Peter are within the manor and he presses a button on this enchanted stick that he carved to look like a muggle trigger. The wards spring into action, not only keeping the guests from leaving but also using an illusion to keep them occupied from noticing. He wandlessly summons fire in the palm of his hand that holds the slip of paper.

The house explodes with half a second after the paper is a flamed. He hadn't seen anyone get forewarned and using his telescope, finds that little to no whole bodies about the flaming wreckage. He sticks around as the fire trucks arrive but so far, no wizards or witches arrive upon the scene.

He soon packs up the telescope and once done, cases illusions upon himself and his broom before flying back to Little Whinging. He feels an odd relief engulf him as he muses over the fact that other then Tom and Peter, all marked, unmarked, and in-training Death Eaters are dead. He also feels giddy at the fact that he also possesses a rather famous, or was that infamous, ring that Tom had made into a Horcrux and feels more then confident in his ability to collect the rest, particularly now that those entrusted with said Horcruxes are dead.

Once he's in the backyard of his aunt and uncle's house, he uses his ring to arrive back at the apartment vault. He leaves his broom and the un-shrunken case containing the telescope by the stairs before he continues up to his room. Before going to bed, he soaks in the hot spring for a bit before crawling under the blankets to get some sleep.

In one night, he managed to avenge the wrongs done to countless muggles, beings, beasts, and magical people. No recollection of those past events will haunt his dreams this night or, perhaps, for the rest of his life.

_I wonder how this changes Albus' plans though..._ Were Harry's last thoughts before sleep over takes him.

September 1, 1991

The crowd of first year students is much, although as Harry gazes over towards the house of serpents, have nearly no students sitting at the table. _Bet ya that anyone can get their own room in that dorm._ He muses thoughtfully as he considers that table thoughtfully. _I doubt many of the students will end up in there as well._

He turns to regard the other tables and notes that yes, the house of eagles seem to have the next lowest number. Which isn't all that surprising as there had been Death Eaters from each of the houses, although those from the house of serpents just happened to be the most mentioned. _Who would have thought I'd wind up with most of the holdings from the deceased Death Eaters? Must be because Sirius is a Black and most 'dark' families leave their fortune to other 'dark' families. I wonder what should I do with my new found political clout?_

Finally it's his turn to get sorted and he approaches the stool where the seemingly ratty hat is resting. He picks up the hat and sits down, it didn't take long before the hat and him have a minor discussion. After a few seconds, the hat declares, "Slytherin!"

He gets up from the stool after he takes the hat off. Placing the hat upon the stool, he walks to the table. He's the first to be sorted to this table, the majority have been sorted into the three other houses. In the end, he's the only first year student to be sorted into the house of serpents, which pretty much means that he'll have his own room.

The other members study him thoughtfully before Albus gets up and says his bit before the food arrives. He doesn't pay it much mind as he's a bit busy studying a certain teacher. He might not know much about Quirrell but the man is on borrowed time even without him 'gunning' for the guy. _I wonder what kind of face Tom will make upon seeing the picture of all of his Horcruxes in it? They'll only going to be around until I manage to 'borrow' a Dementor and have it kiss the items before sending it through the veil. Just one more to collect and I've got a complete collection._

His thoughts drift to the rat he had bought from Ron for only a single Galleon. He had transfigured the rodent into a plastic one before placing the transfigured Peter into his trunk. He had been oh so tempted to transfigure Peter into a clay statue and let it fall upon the floor, breaking apart easily and thus killing the traitor without anyone being the wiser but he needed the rat to clear Sirius' name and to dirty Albus' own.

_Of all of my plans, I hope that my taking of the and passing the N.E.W.T.s will ensure that I'll never have to step foot in Hogwarts as a student once this school year ends._ He thinks as dessert appears. Needless to say, Harry had a lot of plans to pursue this year and is very confident that they'll work out, especially the one to remove Albus Dumbledore permanently from the world.

The end of the night's feast is the singing of the school song and he swore his ears were bleeding at the racket the singers made. When his house-mates get up to leave, a fifth year motions for him to follow. He follows after the older student with a blank expression.

_I wonder if anyone of them plan to ambush me?_ He thinks to himself as he follows the fifth year down to the dungeons. "If you don't mind my asking, but, shouldn't a prefect wear a badge?" He asks the young woman as they arrive at the entrance of the common room.

The teen studies him a moment before replying, "With so many of our house dead and our head of house still to be filled, nobody thought to reassign said positions to the survivors."

"I would have thought that the headmaster would have stepped in to do so in the absence of the head of house, but then, our 'dear' headmaster is rather busy in a different arena that the matter slipped his mind." He says in agreement and the young woman's lips twitch ever so slightly, it's clear that the remark caught her slightly off guard.

"Indeed. Those of us left weren't highly favored by the previous head anyway. As you lack fellow house-mates your own age, I would suggest you watch your back while in class and outside. Some might see your sorting into this house as a 'betrayal'." The fifth year teenager explains and he merely nods.

With that, his guide says the password and the door opens, revealing the common room of the Slytherin house. He heads up the stairs after glancing at a group of guys and up the stairs that are opposite direction then where the guys had pointed in, only to have the stairs flatten and cause him to fall upon his ass. With a sigh, he heads for the one they had pointed and it wasn't long before he found his room.

_I was just asking for it, wasn't I?_ He muses privately to himself as he changes his cloths.

Next Day . . .

Harry woke at six am and heads for the vanishing room. He is sure to think about a storage room as he walks before it three times before the door appears out of the seemingly solid stone wall. It searches through the room, making mental notes of the more interesting items before coming upon the diadem.

He waits until he's out of the room before using his ring to teleport to his vault apartment. He puts it in the office upstairs with the rest of the items before teleporting back to Hogwarts. With that out of the way, he heads outside to visit the lake for a bit to skip a few stones while he waits for the school to come alive.

_Hard to believe that just over a month ago, I had just learnt I was a wizard. I wonder what my life would have been like if my great grandfather and grandfather hadn't visited that seer? Or, more importantly, believe it? That mirror just shows the past, not the present or the future though... I wonder what they saw in it that caused them to believe Albus to be a villain? But why didn't they bring my father, James, onto the secret?_ He wonders to himself before realizing that he could find out the last one if he uses the mirror to see that particular discussion.

He casts a time spell and leaves for the castle. He's got his bag filled with the needed books he's likely going to be needing for whatever class he is to attend today. He also heads inside, making sure to use a cleaning spell upon himself to clean off any mud he might have picked up.

He gets a few glares from the Gryffindors, which he ignores, as he doesn't find them to be very threatening, not with the knowledge his great grandfather and grandfather left behind for him to inherit. He not only feels confident in besting them, he can do things to them that they'd have no defense against. After all, a little memory charm and they won't remember their time together, which kind of sends a minor shiver down his spine at the thought of how the memory charm can be abused, especially as human nature is pretty much the same, muggle or not.

_Hmm, not such a bad method to use if you want your family to survive. Might do the same with my kids, of course I'll need to contribute to the pool of knowledge. Maybe I'll try learning foreign magic... I'm sure there are plenty of schools willing to accept the Boy-Who-Lived if only to try and puzzle out how I survived the Killing Curse. I'm still young enough that they shouldn't have any trouble shuffling me into the school._ He thinks, shying away from such grim thoughts.

He takes a seat at the table that has a plate setting and begins to dig into the meal offered. Before the rest of his house arrives, a small pride of Gryffindors approach him. The leader of the pride is the same boy he bought Peter from.

"I want my rat back." Ron informs him in a 'forceful' tone. He raises an eyebrow before replying, "Do you have that Galleon to return to me?"

Ron jerks his head, which answers that question. "Besides, the price just went up for said rat. He now costs the same as the Black fortune." He replies before tossing in, "You really don't know how to bargain do you? I mean, I talked you out of that rodent for dirt cheap. As they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure."

"I don't care! Give me Scabbers!" Ron growls and he just gives the three a cold shoulder.

"What do you three lions think you're doing?" Asks one of the wizards from his house. "Think you can pick on a single serpent did ya? Think since we lost most of our numbers that we'd be easy pickings, did ya?" A witch asks.

"He has my rat!" Ron snaps but he just knows that the first year Gryffindor isn't feeling as confident as he had been when they arrived.

"You got a gold for it and I've already stated my price tag for it too." He says while glancing at his irked upper year house-mates.

"There, so if you can't match Potter's price then you'll have to make do without your rodent." One of the seventh years snaps. "So run along before you feel how sharp our fangs are."

Ron and his two henchmen gulp and beat a hasty retreat. "I thought you can't with only an owl? What you need a rat for?" One of the witches asks.

"Oh, you know, just going to use the pest to clear my godfather's name so I can make use of the newly expanded fortune." He says and since the truth is rather unbelievable that they'll dismiss it.

"Ah good and here we were wondering if we'd have to take you by the hand to teach you cunning." One of the group muses dryly while the group ranges about him, subtlety showing a united face before the public. "Well, if it doesn't work out for you, maybe you can try assassinating him after getting him to sign a will sighting you as his heir." The same wizard remarks.

With a bemused smile upon his face, he returns to eating his breakfast as he'll likely have a long day today. Conversation was sparse but that was fine with him as the other tables more then made up for the lack at their table.

Christmas Holidays . . .

Most of the morning had been spent flying to the prison. It hadn't been hard to get a Dementor and to herd the thing into an expandable bag. He lands at the shore and teleports to London.

With the Horcruxes in his possession as well as the prettified possessed teacher, he heads for the entrance of the Ministry of Magic. "Mr Potter?" Madam Bones inquires upon stepping out of the way in.

"Madam Bones." He says, "I hope this means that you made the arrangements that I asked for?"

"Indeed." Susan Bones' aunt says and with that, they entered into the building. An elevator ride later find him in the room with the veil and a group of people, particularly a few international reporters in the group and people from the ICW.

"Good day gentlemen and thank you for coming this day." He begins and then continues for a few seconds on that vein for a bit before getting to one of the reasons why he had them met him down here.

"Now then, I believe I have proof that Albus Dumbledore allowed an innocent man, my godfather, rot in prison, thus falsely standing in as my magical guardian. Might I introduce the supposedly dead Peter Pettigrew." He says and takes out the plastic rodent.

He places the transfigured rat down and signaled for them to have their wands at the ready before transfiguring the rodent back into flesh and blood. Madam Bones herself casts the Animagus reversion spell and within seconds, a short rodent featured man is cowering before the group as cameras flash. Before the man could say anything, he summons wands from Peter's person, one of which turns out to be Tom's very own wand.

"A chair if you please." The high ranking ICW man says and one of the international Auror does as asked. A chair appears and sports wrist and feet restrains, which Peter is manhandled to sit into while somebody takes out the most powerful truth potion out there, forcing three drops down Peter's throat.

The Q & A session takes place, they began with the basics before leading into deeper questions, particularly if the man thought that Albus knew of his status as a Death Eater, which Peter answers, "Likely." The questions went on to touch upon Peter's illegal Animagus form and the casting of the Fidelius Charm that had Peter become the Secret Keeper to if Albus knowing who the Secret Keeper was and ideas as to why Albus would want Sirius Black imprisoned. He found those to be very enlightening.

Oddly enough, one of the questions asked was, "Do you believe Albus Dumbledore has modified your memory?" The answer to that was, "Yes."

The questions end and the witnesses discuss this. Even if Albus does get a slap upon the wrist, the public all around the world will have read about this Q & A session before the man could do damage control.

"Now then, Mr Potter. What evidence do you have that Albus Dumbledore allowed this terror war of... Tom Riddle, to last as long as it did." The official asks him and he takes out a toy figure.

Within seconds, Quirrel without his turban is standing stiffly before them. "May I present into evidence the very shade man himself? As you can see, this man is clearly possessed and I'm sorry to say, but he's also the current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year at Hogwarts." He says and then brings out the Horcuxes, noting that Tom's eyes widen at there very sight.

"And the man's Horcruxes." He says and he watches as the spell expert the ICW brought along moves to casts various spells upon them. The man pales and murmurs, "My God... These each have fragments of a human soul... But the process to do this has been lost."

"Tom found the means at Hogwarts and from his head of house at the time. Don't you think it rather odd that Albus Dumbledore, who at the time was employed as the Transfiguration professor, never thought to look for these items when Tom here lost his body? The man was well verse in the metal arts back then and likely, if accidentally, read young Tom's mind on occasion. It wouldn't surprise me if Albus knew that Tom is the one who released Slytherin's monster from the Chamber of Secrets, which to this day as yet to be located and the monster dealt with, even though Albus has Fawkes." He informs the group.

"You seem to be rather knowledgeable about all of this." The important official says.

"I should be, I myself had been Horcrux before my visit with the goblin bank. My scar is where most of the soul had laid while my mother's sacrifice kept its tentacles at bay." He says. "I'm willing to vow an oath as I'm too young for that potion." He throws in.

It takes only a few seconds to made the vow and to prove that he still possesses his magic, which proves that he spoke the truth. "You seem to have it in for your headmaster." The official remarks and he snorts ever so slightly.

"Forgive me, but the man left me in an abusive home, as I'm sure Madam Bones had investigated," Harry nods towards the head of the Aurors in Britain. "Learnt that Ablus Dumbledore had done various questionable things while I lived at my aunt and uncles, like withdraw money from my family's vaults and has kept my father's Invisibility Cloak from me." He explains and takes out the bank statements that confirm said actions.

"Albus Dumbledore also had the Potter Will sealed." Madam Bones says and he's a bit startled by that admission, which seems to cause a few of the witnesses to chuckle. It seems that he just proved there were things he hadn't known, but then, he hadn't investigated that possibility.

With that, somebody created a table and forced Quirrel upon it with Tom's head looking up. The truth potion enter into the mouth before the prettifying spell is lifted. And so, for the first time, people would get to hear Tom Riddle's true reasons for becoming a Dark Lord and get a more accurate picture of what crimes the man had done before creating his army.

Much like himself, Tom did lay a lot of blame for his actions upon Dumbledore's feet. It seems that for a brief time, Tom had tried to earn Albus' approval in place of his father's but it hadn't worked out. The official even allowed a few of the reports to ask their own questions while the high ranking man tries to ward off a headache.

The interrogation goes on well into the evening, with minor breaks for food and for people to use the rest room. But once everyone had got answers for their questions and then some, he asks people to stand back as he's about to bring out the means in which he'll retract the soul bits from the items.

The Dementor's effects quickly occur within seconds of being released. Before the creature could come at him, he uses a Patronus Charm, the beast is that of a fox, to herd the dark creature to the items. It takes a few minutes but the Dementor finally lowers its hood and kisses the journal while Tom murmurs threats against him.

Once all of the items have been kissed, he glances over at the high ranking man. "Can I have it kiss Quirrel?" He asks and after a few seconds, he gets a nod.

With that, he creates another fox and the Dementor more then eagerly moves to kill Quirrel. With that done, he has the Patronus push the magical creature through the veil.

_And thus, the murderer is finally defeated. Now for the enabler._ He thinks to himself before the silence is broken.

Within minutes, everyone was moving away while the chair containing Peter is levitated and set to follow them out of the Department of Mysters. He, though, summons the items and is sure to put them back into the expandable bag he pulled them from.

Epilogue

Harry smiles as his eleven year old son finish downing the potions before dunking his head in the liquid knowledge. Pride fills him and he hears his youngest children sigh in longing. True, he taught them how to weld magic but they got bored with studying and saw this as a way around that.

_They'll learn differently when its their turn._ He thinks while glancing at his two eldest children. He has never married but that didn't stop him from sowing his oats as it were and most of the women he had been with had been non-magic using and hadn't wanted to be tied down with a kid, so he tended to get full custody of his children.

He doubts he'll ever find the right woman to share his life with but in the mean time, he has a house filled with children to look after and educate. He has three sons and five daughters, his youngest are a pair of twins, Casper and Chay, age five with his firstborn, a daughter he named Dorea, in honor of his grandmother, being sixteen.

_Is it any wonder my hair isn't gray yet? I have five girls, at least Dorea doesn't show much interest in guys after what's his name dumped her. Although her relationship with Sakura does make me wonder..._ He muses while his eldest son, Tadhg, finishes absorbing the knowledge upon his fourth dunk.

His eldest son causes a fireworks display to happen in celebration while the rest of the brood charge forth to congratulate Tadhg. Pride flares up within him at the sight of all of his brood bonding together over this event.

He glances over towards a discarded plushie bear. With a shake of his head, he casts spells to repair the beloved Dumbies before summoning the transfigured Albus Dumbledore over to him, tucking the bear under his arm before moving forward to ruffle his son's wild brunet locks.

**The End**


	109. God Sight 2: Ranma

I don't own Ranma 1/2.

**- o 0 o -**

He wanders through the village with a half moon shining down upon the village, himself, and this part of the world. Grass and flowers grown upon the streets of the village. The grass rustles from the mice and other tiny critters moving about it as the wind is rather gentle this night.

The buildings all possess vines climbing up them. He thought he spies thorns upon them but simply sighs. He didn't need to use his magical sight to know that this place is under a spell of some kind.

"Why are we here again, master?" A winged imp asks upon landing upon his shoulder. "This place... it's covered in powerful magics." Vile adds.

"Be at peace, Vile. The magic will not take us so easily." He says, nodding towards a jewelry shop that has been broken into. The robbers rest upon the floor with a blanket of dirt upon them as they sleep, affected by the enchantment the covers the whole of this village like mist.

The imp, Vile, takes to the air and flies through the ruined window to sit before a bag filled with the robbers' loot. "Might we take a few of the sparkles for ourselves, master?" The dark red imp asks while picking up a ring.

"Nay, Vile, we won't. We are here for something much more important then a jewelry or printed paper." He says, he never did get why so much importance is placed upon paper money. He gets the idea behind it, yes, but to place importance upon paper, something easily destroyed, not, he didn't see the point.

A loud screeching scream echos throughout the night, likely a rabbit's death cries as he presses onward, towards the huge tree that engulfs what appears to be a high school. The sound of dogs fighting follow seconds after the scream. Vile flies after him and is likely pouting about not being allowed to take something out of the shop, he could pretty much guess at the direction of his servant's thoughts.

_If only I arrived a few minutes earlier, then Vile wouldn't have been summoned at all. A few minutes later and Vile wouldn't have been bonded to me either._ He muses. _A month more and then the imp will be released so he can return to his home dimension._

The terms of the summoning stated that the imp would bond with the strongest magic user in the room for a year and a day. He had entered just as the deal was finalized and since his possession of the God Sight is the strongest magical ability one can have, the imp and him got bound together, much to the devil lord's bemusement and the warlock's and his own dismay. Vile had cared a heck of a lot since either way, the then, dull brown, non-winged imp was just happy to be in this dimension.

It seems that an imp becoming a servant of a human magic user is a right of passage where Vile comes from. It wasn't unusually for the bonded imp to under go alterations like sprouting wings, spines, horns, or gaining of elemental abilities. The first change to happen to the imp had been his color changing to its current shade after three months of their relationship and the wings sprouting close to two months ago. The devilish being also seems to have picked up the ability to influence plants, which is rather odd from what he's read as imps and other devil types tend to go for fire, earth, or ice. Usually because such elements allow for dishing out massive amounts of damage.

"Vile, if you will." He says, motioning for the still small imp to move before him. "Let's see how you fair in influencing this tree." He adds, he might not like the fact that he's partnered with a devil, even if only temporary, but that didn't mean he wouldn't make use of the imp ever so often, if only to learn just how far along Vile has matured during their time together.

Vile perks at this, more then eager to test out his growing magical influence upon plants as well. The still two inch tall imp lands upon the ground, just a foot away from the gate. Using his second sight, he watches as Vile's own magical senses look for something before touching the tree's own magics. He watches as Vile and the tree's magical energies begin to mix slightly. Minutes later and the tree is mostly under Vile's control.

"Basement is where the book lies but the girl is in the nurse's office. Taken there when the spell finally caused her to sleep. She was there for three hours before the rest of them slumbered. The pair who used it left the book down there." The imp reports.

He nods, he can see that Vile spoke the truth. "The tree won't speak of what became of those two, will it?" He asks and Vile nods unhappily.

"It's only here because of the magic placed upon the girl. As it doesn't want to 'die' it focuses on keeping anyone from reaching her." Vile states with a mighty frown and as the tree's magical energies pick up on Vile's goal, it begins to fight with the imp, which causes the tiny devil to cry out slightly in startlement.

He watches as the imp begins to fight back. He doesn't do anything other then stand back and watch the on going fight. He did notice that the massive tree is trembling and growing not just up but outwards as well. A minor shield keeps the tree's roots from interrupting Vile's mental concentration, it's clear that the imp hasn't yet reached the stage where he can maintain both a mental focus and a physical one at the same time.

Finally, after a good ten minutes, Vile beats back the tree's will and is the tree's master. As the little imp comes to notice his surroundings, Vile causes the tree to move its roots, forming a tunnel into the school building. He picks up the exhausted imp and heads inside, they'll get to the girl before going for the book as if they delay too long, the tree might gather enough energy to challenge Vile's hold over it.

Once they're within the right classroom, he gets a good look at the girl before glancing at the boy who was sitting in the chair next to the bed. He didn't really need his magical sight to see that this is the right boy, the young teen's prince charming. With a slight nod, he causes the sleeping spell to fizz out for a few minutes upon the boy. The boy wakes yawning and stretching. "What a weird dream..."

"Yes, well, if you would be so kind, just a kiss and this will all go away. The ageless sleep will cancel and all shall wake to find a few years have passed, not as much as Rip Van Wrinkle but still enough to give one a better understand of what he went through." He explains as he alters the young man's attire to reflect his role and alters the girl resting upon the bed to reflect her own role in this little fairy-tale made real.

The boy jerks while cheeks reddening. Getting to his feet, the prince leans over the princess, their lips touch but for a second. The spell ends as the girl wakes and then blushes heavily up at the sight of the teen. He's already heading out as the two begin to talk, the boy stuttering and the girl speaking rather shily.

The damage done by the tree's growth is undone as the tree fades into an illusion and then into a mist filled light. He's sure that within an hour, the rest within the school will wake and within the coming of the next day, the whole town plus later comers will wake. Vile falls limply upon his arm and soft snores inform him that the little imp is resting.

Once he retrieved the book, he uses the shadows to take him to the study of the half-fae who hired him. "Your father's gift, sir." He says in slightly flawed English as he holds the book out to the half-fae.

"Excellent." The man takes the leather back volume from his right hand. "Here's your gold." The fae blooded man says after reaching into a desk drawer, a small bag just an inch taller then Vile is tosses to his right hand, he catches it and with a nod, uses the shadows to leave the office and to arrive at his house in the African Congo.

He places Vile upon the doll size bed that rests upon a bookshelf of his office. He lowers his hood before taking off his hooded jacket. He hooks the hood onto a hook next to the open window.

He stretches a bit before taking out the bag. He opens the purse strings and picks out one of the tiny bars. He places it upon the desk and watches as it glows brightly in the sun while expanding to be a good foot in length and a few inches in height. With a satisfied nod, he picks up the bar, he wills the still hanging enchantment to be reapplied, with that he puts the bar back into the bag, and then heads to a painting of a satyr.

With a touch at the frame, the appearance of a vault's surface pokes out. He solves the puzzle around the edge of the turning knob before moving the lever. The metal clicks and then he enters the code number using the turning knob before moving the lever once more. This time the click leads to the door swinging open to reveal two baskets, one saying In and the other saying Out. He places the tiny bag upon the in basket and watches as the bag vanishes. Seconds later, a sheet arrives in the Out basket and upon taking it, he closes the vault door.

The vault's face vanishes while he reads the sheet informing him of the latest bids for his help. For the first time since he left his father four years ago, he spies the name Tendo upon his bid list. He hums thoughtfully as he sides down upon one of the two couches in his office as he muses about said family, one he hadn't thought about since he left Tokyo.

He has a rather good idea of what the Tendos were hiring him to do, either track down himself down or find ways to cure them of their gifts... their curses. He wonders if Genma still resides with the family as he inclines more upon the couch.

A ring catches his attention and he gets up off the couch to get his cell phone from his jacket. "Hello?'

- { = [

He watches as Vile fades from view before the devil lord, too, vanishes, only after studying him for a few seconds though. He knew he'll miss the little guy perched up onto his shoulder but he didn't want to pay the price the devil lord had requested as the price to be bonded with Vile for another year and a day. "Maybe I should try for a faerie next for a familiar..."

It takes him a few seconds to realize that yes, he had thought that but he also spoke it out loud. With a slight chuckle, he turns and leaves the Be-Devil, a pub mostly visited by warlocks who've made deals with devils and demons. It wasn't a 'respectable' establishment as it caters to those who prefer the 'dark' side of magic like chaos and death.

Once outside, he heads down the street while he muses about his life without the winged imp. As his watch beeps, he heads for an alley way to use the shadows of such a place to transport him to Tokyo as he does have a meeting with Nabiki Tendo to sound out what it is they want from him.

He doesn't worry about her recognizing him as he's used various potions to permanently alter his skin color while relying upon illusions to hide his hair and eye's natural color while a simple pendent to alter his voice. The hood will also obscure his facial features.

He finds the ice cream parlor and places a simple order. With said treat in hand, he moves to sit at a booth, waiting for his wanna-be client to arrive. More then a few high schoolers glance in his direction with wary eyes which likely means that the bad karma of the Tendo and Saotome families has come to roost in this ward. _I wonder what kind of things they've witnessed?_

Suddenly, a horde of adult women and older teens thunder after a darting figure in black. He blinks as the horde armed with brooms, hooked poles, and an assortment of kitchen utensils bellow cries of 'there he goes', 'come on girls, we're almost upon him', and 'get that pervert.' As the horde vanishes, people come out of their hiding holes and resume their activities.

With a slight shake of his head, he returns to slowly eating his ice cream, enjoying it as he rarely got it during the trip he had made with his father. Sure, he can buy tubs of it but he rarely goes to the trouble of serving it in fancy ways like making shakes with it or even adding pop to it, he learnt of that from his time in the Americas; Canada and the US. _I wonder if I can find a place that sells Slurpee?_

Needless to say, he's sampled a lot of things since he left his father and has come to enjoy them. As he gets mid way through the sundae, Nabiki and a guy, likely Akane, arrive. He studies the pair using the God Sight while Akane moves to place their orders while Nabiki heads in his direction.

"You must be Vincenz." Nabiki states upon arriving at the table. He nods as he motions for the young woman to take a seat. "I'm Tendo Nabiki and my... brother is Kane." Nabiki informs him with a slight smile tugging at her lips.

"I take it that Kane is short for Akane?" He asks. "I see you have yet to figure out the catch of that spell." He muses before savoring another spoonful of ice cream while Nabiki's eyes light up.

"And what catch is that?" Nabiki asks and he replies, "Why, she just needs to apologize to the party that she strikes out at while angry. Although, it seems she has a lot to apologize for until she'll be allowed to return to her proper gender."

"Is that so... is that so..." Nabiki muses thoughtfully while watching as the currently male Akane arrives to the table with Nabiki and Akane's order. "I don't have to pay for that information, do I?" The middle sister of the Tendo family asks after moving over to allow the male Akane to sit down.

"Consider it a demonstration of my talent." He answers and Akane merely looks between them with a frown. "So then, what does this job that I may take entail?" He asks.

"I suppose you've heard of Kyuuga 'Ranma' Nijito? The one who transforms into a fu dog?" Nabiki inquires and he hums in agreement.

It hadn't been that hard to find somebody so down on his luck that he would do anything to escape their current life. He found one of those and gave them such an out on the condition that they were willing to not only transform into a fu dog but also agreeing to subvert their own memories for those of a stranger. Magic ensured that not only would his substitute be branded with the two names but that their body would posses the fine tuning of his own since the young teen he had approached had not studied the art of the body at all.

The desperate teen did have a few conditions before he would go through with it and they were something he would have added, although not as strongly as his substitute wanted. While he couldn't give the guy the God Sight, he did give his substitute the ability to see the energies of chi and ki. It wasn't that hard and as the magical gift of the God Sight's limits unknown, few people would likely pursue deeper into the matter much once they figure out that his substitute could see chi and ki.

As it was, that gift of seeing those two energies was a very valuable gift in its own right. It would explain the 'magic' of it as well. It's are to say where chi, ki, and magic manipulation ended or began after all.

"Ah yes, the welder of the fabled God Sight." He muses as he turns his bowl so that the remaining ice cream is closer to his body. "That one is touched with chaos and chaos is not something a businessman like myself enjoys dealing with, if you get my drift." He adds.

"He's not that tough." Akane scuffs, clearly still believing to be the top 'dog'. "He's a cheater, if it weren't for this second sight of his, I have wiped the floor with his face over a hundred times!" The girl turn boy growls while Nabiki and himself watches as Akane stab the glass filled with ice cream.

"It seems you have a long history with him then?" He asks and while Akane growls, Nabiki just nods. "Perhaps you can fill me in upon this matter more fully? After all, one doesn't go after a wild card without a very good reason." He adds, he is rather curious about the gifts he left their elder sister and their... parent.

Nabiki tries to extract his reasons for inquiring while Akane didn't need much prompting. The ex-girl talks about the disguising behavior that overtakes their elder sister, one that causes her to be such a pervert! Akane goes on and on about tattoos Kasumi returns home with or about the totally attitude that is so much ruder then her normal behavior, so much so that it caused Soun to cry and... transform.

Before Akane begins to rant and rave about the changes in their parent, Nabiki holds up a hand to stop Akane from speaking. "I think that's enough for now." Nabiki says.

"Yes, I believe so. I'd say that Ranma just activated your karma and the physical transformation aspects might have to do with his curse." He says. "In the end, even if I did manage to over come him and bring Ranma here, he wouldn't be able to do anything. He just planted the seed, if you will, and it seems that those seeds have found very fertile ground in your karma accumulation."

Nabiki's face sours as she finally gets what he's implying. "You mean for us to be cured, we'd have to actively work on doing actions that would undo whatever kinds of karma we've accumulated. Which means for us total shift our current set of values and to 'better' ourselves in the spiritual sense, doesn't it?"

"That sounds about right. Only when you totally shed the behaviors that feed this... sapling growing within your karma, you'll never be rid of these curses. It is rather hard to alter once behavior outside of childhood and even then, it's questionable if the changes go deep enough to replace old tested and true method." He explains and it's rather true, they have their outs, they just need to pursue them.

"So basically, we just wasted time here, chatting with you." Akane states with a hint of anger.

"Oh, I won't say that. You now know why none of your previous efforts to remove them ever worked." He points out. "Besides, I'm not charging you for this meeting, so that's something as well." He adds as he finishes off the rest of his sundae.

With that, he gets up and leaves the ice cream shop. Once in the shadow of a building, he vanishes from Tokyo to get something much more filing then ice cream, likely from this little place he knew in Mexico.

The End . . .


	110. The Company DNA Built: Animorphs

I don't own Animorphs or Naruto.

**- o 0 o -**

_**Fantasy Morphs. The brain child of Leon Gounding, the legendary founder of the rebel group, the Broken. This company offers, as the name suggests, altered DNA to acquire at a set price.**_

_**That's right folks, you can now acquire that unicorn you always wanted or soar through the air as a gryphon. The mythical it seems, is finding a way to break into the real world and through alien gene multiplication from an extinct race called Arn; a race that the Yeerks had killed off during their conquest of the Hork-Bajir homeworld and the creators of the Hork-Bajir race.**_

_**The likely beginning of the company likely began when Leon Gounding had began reviewing Taxxon DNA to see if he could alter their forms so they lack the consent hunger that was characteristic of the race, which lead to them volunteering to serve as controllers. The use of the Escafil device gave the grumbling Taxxons the means in which to acquire the modified DNA. Leon had also created a hunger suppressant for Taxxons; which is still used by Ambassador Arbron.**_

_**With the defeat of the Yeerk Invasion within sight, Leon Gounding began to design a Nothlit form for the Yeerk Peace Movement, which soon became the default Nothlit form for all Yeerks on Earth with the exception being those who chose Earth native animal morphs or those like ex-Visser One, Esplin 9466 Prime, who are serving prison sentences.**_

_**The company formally came together after the Alien Right clause was adding into the Bill of Rights and the Nothlit Yeerks received citizenship within the US. As few were looking to hire their would be conquerors, the founding of Fantasy Morph gave the new alien citizens work and the base of operation started out to be one of the Yeerk orbital ships until which time they manage to appropriate office space.**_

_**By the time they did finally open, they had created the common morphs for mythical beast such as unicorn, dragon, kirin, hippogriff, pegasus, winged lion, and gryphon. For the grand opening, they released humanoid morphs such as trolls, goblins, elf, dwarf, centaur, beast person, tengu, ogre, orc, satyr, faun, minotaur, and lizard folk. A free service they offer is to allow the customer to pick out fur/hair color, length, skin tone, eye color, eye shape, genetic body tattoos, and other little personal touches, living up to their promise of no two morphs sharing the identical DNA. Although there had been grumbling concerning their policy of no gender bending, which would allow men to acquire female morphs or for women to acquire male morphs.**_

_**Fantasy Morphs has a policy concerning creating copy righted morphs based upon popular fictional races that come from movies, games, television, anime, and books. They also have a policy concerning the creation of human morphs. Although there are rumors that Fantasy Morphs are bargaining with various owners concerning the selling of morphs based off of their copy right species.**_

_**Fantasy Morphs do offer private custom morphs for those looking to create a certain race, be it humanoid or animal, particularly one of their own making. Many artist from various art sites have approached the company to create a morph that has all of the appearance and physical abilities of their creation. Fantasy Morphs do save this information and will only allow those with permission from their creator to acquire said morph.**_

_**Although Fantasy Morphs will continue to expand their data banks concerning morphs, the company does seem to be opening a side business by selling engineered plants which is an attempt to counter the pollution that we, humans, have been releasing through using fossil fuels. The company even created a type of tree that is capable of releasing ozone particles.**_

_**It causes one to wonder if soon we'll be seeing a new kind of weed trying to finish what the Yeerks started.**_

Leon snorts softly at the article. They had done decades of research until they finally found a way to make their plants totally dependent upon the simple energy wave their specifically designed plant boxes would radiate with. The energy wave is harmless although they don't plan to release the fact they're using it as they'll likely be targeted by cons.

The twenty looking blond glances up at the kitchen cloak as he finishes eating his pancakes. Once done, Leon piles his plate with his fork and knife, quickly downs his juice; even after two decades he doesn't like coffee in any form. Placing the empty glass upon his plate, he stands up and then picks up the plate, heading for the dish washer.

Once that's done, Leon stands before a mirror. The blond rubs his left cheek with his fingers. Ever since the demon calling it... himself Kyuubi manage to force an episode of morphing-sickness while he was in mid-morph, his whisker like marks upon his face became almost invisible upon his face, although they can be made visible if he allowed himself to tan.

If it hadn't been for the Kyuubi, the Yeerk he voluntarily allowed to crawl into his head wouldn't have died upon first infestation or attempt at taking over his mind. The crimson energy the demon is capable of emanating killed Iniss 213's mind and the Kyuubi made Iniss 213's body a puppet; causing the body to exit and reenter him, he would have likely continue to host a Yeerk until either something happened and he died in a fight or the war ended.

Although Iniss 213 mentally died, the Yeerk's memories became his so he manage to successfully pretend to be Iniss 213. The blond had only been nine when he joined the Sharing. Leon had always felt like an outsider, he had been great at sports as few had his reflexes, speed, strength, or stamina. He had been intelligent and could have skipped ahead but wanted to stay with his age-mates.

_How ironic that my life really did change that day, but not in the way they wanted._ Leon muses as he heads out of his house, being sure to activate the morph helper, it allows for non-skin tight cloths to be stored in the Z-space. Once sure that it's functioning, Leon steps into a screened area to transform into his goshawk morph.

His cloths vanish within a second of his first changes begin to happen. As the morph's instincts arise, Leon moves to stand before the porch before taking off. Leon could have used one of his 'fantasy' morphs to fly to work but enjoyed the lack of drag that comes with more then one set of legs. _I wonder if we shouldn't add a phoenix morph to the list of mythical beasts. We can base the feathers off of a hummingbird's own feathers to give the illusion of being made of fire._

About thirty minutes later, Leon arrives at the office building serving as the main base of Fantasy Morphs. The ex-demon possessed business owner lands upon the flight door. Landing upon perch set up to open the dog size flap, he hops from the perch to the porch before the door. With that done, Leon walks through and once he's on the carpet, the door flap closes.

Leon moves to glance to the right and finds that somebody is occupying that room so he checks to the left. Upon finding it empty, he walks over into it and pressing this button using his beak. The door closes behind Leon and with a minor glide, he moves from the porch by the small door to the floor. With that, Leon de-morphs and before leaving the room, he flips the switch to allow the tiny to open.

As Leon gets a foot or two away, a customer's eyes light up at the sight of the room and enters into the room. The light above the door goes from green to red, signaling that somebody is using it. Ever since morphing became available to the public, most have taken to flying into work instead of driving to, which is how the morphing helper became a common house hold item.

_"Leon, we have another asking for the chick special."_ Estril 465 says as the blond is about to enter into his office. Leon glances over at the Nothlit Yeerk, one of Estril's five eyes have risen up from its usual position upon the large, flat skull.

Like all Yeerks stranded upon Earth, Estril 465's Nothlit stands seven feet in height, sporting five eyes, two positioned where a human's is, another pair of eyes are more to the side of the head and up a few inches while the last is positioned at the top of the head. Along the bottom of the jaw are heat sensing glands and the upper jaw sport a series of six nostrils about an inch round.

Leon designed their Nothlit form to possess an array of senses from the basics like sight and smell to heat sensing pits and a gel throughout their body to allow them to detect electric impulses while submerged in water. Leon had even gifted them with gills upon their backs to prolong their time underwater.

Leon had also given them the ability to switch genders between male, female, and neuter which is neither, at last once every two years. The minimum amount of offspring they can have is five with the maximum being twelve. It had been rather troublesome to ensure that each Yeerk acquired unique DNA, the Chee had helped by creating a program that altered one of the 'parent' chromosomes, which kind of gives a Yeerk two half siblings at the most. The same program is in use today to ensure their policy of everyone getting a unique set of genetics for their morphs.

"Another one, huh? That's the third this week." Leon muses while Estril 645 merely nods while finishing filing some documents before returning to his own office.

A chick special is an elderly client looking to create a young, practically a babe, morph in which to restart their life. It's not that surprising actually as the elderly always wanting a way to recapture their youth. Not long after the discovery of the old acquiring young, beautiful and becoming Nothlits, did it the first law suits began concerning the legality of DNA ownership.

The first case of an elderly person coming to Fantasy Morphs had been two weeks after the first series of advertisements for the company began show up in sci-fi and fantasy magazines. As the DNA they possess doesn't have actual, living members, it wasn't a crime to acquire young members of these fictional species. The person had been rich and slowly dying from cancer, but hadn't felt ready to give up on life.

After a lot of wheeling and dealing, they settled upon not only the new age of the morph but how long the creature would live. It had been trying but doable and so, this person settled upon an unicorn base morph, as the person did plan on breeding, as they manage to get a few other people on board for this, they had to pay more special mind to the internal systems, which they then applied to the basic unicorn design that they sell.

They would go onto applying that same dedication to detail to the rest of their morphs that they are selling now and in the future. As they hadn't sold many morphs before this particular client, so they hadn't needed to do a recall as it were.

_Make you wonder how many Yeerks thought to make use of Arn technology to create specialized hosts._ Leon muses as he enters into his office, ready to face this client, thoughts of other business pushed aside.

"Tobias." Leon says, nodding towards the young blond teen, the co-founder of Xanadu, a 'retirement' resort. "How's Allen?" The blond asks as he closes the door before glancing over at the group consisting of an elderly couple with likely their lawyers.

"He's doing fine, Rachel hopes to have him potty trained by Halloween." Tobias replies before moving on to introducing the couple. It's not as though they need to met face to face or have lawyers present but, then, it likely gave the clients a feeling of security; not that it would do much good since the majority of those in the office are war-veterans and if they don't already possess the physical means to tear a man apart, then they can morph into something that can.

And thus, the meeting began.

- o -

_**The Broken. The Animorphs. The two seem so interchangeable but back then, they each had started at different times and with different founders. The Broken began a few years before the Andilites fleet arrived and though it had possessed very few members and lack the ability to morph, it didn't mean that they didn't have a presence before the Animorphs formed and began their notable raids.**_

_**Leon Gounding, posing as Iniss 213, began the Broken by placing minor counter ads and ominous warnings concerning the Sharing. These minor ads were rarely given much mind, even by the Yeerks as most believed it was the ramblings of a crazy person looking for some organization to pin conspiracies to but we now know that they were in actuality warning against the Sharing and trying to warn people off from becoming full members. Those that joined typically were bore, anti-social teens looking for something to do in their spare time.**_

_**With the aid of these teens, Leon began to make minor changes to Yeerk feeding schedules, targeting particularly cruel but minor Yeerks and arrange for their abduction upon the day they needed to return to the Yeerk pool to feed. Within twenty-four hours, those teen who thought it just a prank soon learnt otherwise when something crawled out of the, then, controller's head and the person suddenly began thanking them for holding them hostage.**_

_**With a small number of freed human controllers, the groups activities truly began as the ex-host possessed their Yeerk's memories and as none of the entrances possessed screening technology, the free hosts were able to gain entrance to the Yeerk pool to liberate weapons and items as it was too risky to attempt to free anyone from the cages. Once they had the items they needed, the humans would exit out of the Yeerk pool, make one last stop at the bank before vanishing off both the human radar and the Yeerk's own.**_

_**Since Leon targeted not just Yeerks in control of non-voluntary hosts, but those possessing semi-specialized skills, those newly freed humans began to make use of those skills to create the necessary items to help create bases and looking for ways to hack into the Yeerk data banks. Leon would also smuggle out spare parts and drop them off at pre-arranged spots, since none of the Broken; it continued to allow for Leon's identity and goals remain secret, even if the Yeerks did begin hunting the Broken down.**_

_**As the demon that resided in Leon's body continued to use the mindless body of Iniss 213 as a puppet, Leon had to tread carefully as Leon could not afford for Iniss to get promoted out of him and into a more 'suitable' hose less his condition be revealed and likely killed upon discovery but also had to remain high enough in rank to access more restrictive files. It should be noted that whie Leon no longer hosts the demon known as Kyuubi, he does continue to be immune to the energies that the Kyuubi welds and that the demon had used to kill Iniss' mind and allowed the demon to control the dead Yeerk's body.**_

_**Upon the defeat of the Andilite fleet above Earth at the hands of the Visser Three and Elfangor's last moments upon our world, the Broken still consisted of thirty ex-human controllers and twenty members who hadn't been controllers. The Broken had been getting ready to begin taking bolder actions against the Yeerks when the Animorphs began their first, clumsy raids against the Yeerks. While the first raid of the Animorphs did free a large group of human controllers, the Broken hadn't been able to keep more then five from being recaptured as the arrival of the 'Andilitie Bandits' came as a surprise.**_

_**It wouldn't take long before the Broken began to take a different course of action then they had originally planned to take. Instead of starting to raid the Yeerks head on, they began to watch and wait to see how this new fraction would act and react while only stepping up upon placing warning ads concerning the Sharing. After a year, Leon decided to do something concerning the blood samples the 'Andilite Bandits' leave behind and one simple DNA test revealed the truth of the 'Andilite Bandits'.**_

_**Leon tries to piece together what it could mean as he deleted his test results. Leon would also go on to authorize the use of DNA eliminating chemicals, using a few cases concerning where a reporter would find some blood pool that their people within the police force often missed. Leon, as Iniss, suggested spraying these chemicals at the sites they can't easily close off or control the access of. It soon every human controller possessed a bottle concerning a chemical compound to be used encase of emergencies.**_

_**With that delaying the unveiling of the truth, Leon then had the Broken keep an eye upon the construction site Elfangor had landed upon and died at. They were to keep an eye out for any alien technology that the Yeerk clean up crew could have missed. This proved to be a brilliant idea as a young teen name David discovered the Escafil device and a member of the Broken paid the boy for finding their 'lost' sculpture, the member paid David forty dollars as a reward.**_

_**And so, the Broken gain possession of the Escafil device with each member but Leon gaining the ability to morph. The Escafil device also brought the two rebel groups together as the Animorphs raid one of their bases to get the Escafil device, the Broken would hand the device over to the Animorphs as Leon had ordered them to do if they ever came face to face with the 'Andilite Bandits'. Because of this standing order, the Animorphs revealed who and what they truly were. Through this, the Broken and the Animorphs began to work together as the Animorphs, being expert morphers, taught the members of Broken the 'art' of morphing.**_

_**While the two groups would go on missions together, they remain separate as the Animorphs continued to live their lives with their family while the Broken remain apart from human society for their safety. It would be until the arrival of a Black Ops team of Andilites would Leon be exposed as Leon had witnessed select members de-morphing but they hadn't had the time to do much other then escape while Leon said that the 'Andilite Bandits' had escape in human morphs. A few days later, Leon would appear in the base and members of both groups wanted to imprison him but manage to convince both that he was indeed the founder of the Broken like he claimed.**_

_**Both were highly skeptical concerning Leon's claim concerning being possessed by a demon and that it had killed his Yeerk's consciousness while using the Yeerk's body as a puppet. Upon examining the body and finding something seriously wrong with it did either groups believe Leon's claim, although they seem to be more convinced that Leon just has some kind of mutation to explain what happen to the Yeerk. Leon would then be up front with the groups and bring up the idea that they need to acquire Andilitie morphs to throw off any future DNA tests the Yeerk could do to unspoiled samples of their blood, using how he discovered that the 'Andilite Bandits' being humans posing as Andilites.**_

_**It is believed that after a few days of thinking it over, Leon revealed blood samples of Andilites that the Yeerks possessed and they used the Frolis Maneuver to create unique Andilite morphs. Other then morphing into Andilites just to see what they appear to be, neither the Broken or the Animorphs have made any use of their Andilite morphs.**_

_**As both groups come to terms with Leon's presence in their respective pasts, they offered to allow Leon to pick up the ability to morph but Leon declines, not thinking it a wise idea. Considering what happened concerning the Kyuubi's release from Leon, it was likely a wise choice, although the groups tried to change Leon's mind while they tried to keep the Escafil device out of Yeerk hands.**_

_**As the Yeerks go after the Escafil device, Leon and the Yeerk pool played host to a pair of unusual humans, one of which is said to sport blue skin and sports certain features that suggests a shark. While their origin is unknown, what is known is that the pair caused massive amounts of damage trying to get at Leon. Eye witnesses and filmed records show the blue skinned some how manipulating water to floor specific areas while the young, unassuming one calls forth fire, the majority of which seems the basic kind but also this strange black flames that consume anything, including stone and metal.**_

_**The pool area was evacuated as best as they could, more then a few hosts managing to escape in the chaos while Visser Three and his warriors try to fend the pair off. After about three hours, the pair vanish as suddenly as they arrived. It would take weeks before the pool to be repaired.**_

_**It would be three months before the pair would reappear and this time, at Leon and the Animorphs' school. The area became blanketed with thick mist and they once more, try for Leon but Leon manages to make it to the parking lot where he hot wiring a car before leading the pair away from the school. Jake had been given a note telling the Animorphs to stay at school but Rachel disobeyed and went after the three.**_

_**Leon lead the pair about the city, disobeying various traffic laws and it wasn't long before a news helicopter also got involved in the chase. The chase ended when Leon managed to run the ruby eyed, fire welding man over, causing him to vanish in a puff of smoke. Gun fire from the near by police station, likely one of the controllers on the force, caued the blue skinned one to vanish in another puff of smoke.**_

_**Before a third occurrence could happen, Visser Three sent Leon up onto one of the orbiting ships under the pretense of Leon being pulled out of school. While the Yeerks would examine Leon for a month, they would only find that Leon's brain activity different ever so slightly from most humans, bones denser, muscles denser, above average reflexes, and as a very tiny variation genetic difference from other humans, not enough to get him classified as another species but still is rather noticable. None of these tests revealed the demon, Kyuubi's presence within Leon.**_

_**While Leon was bored upon the ship, he began to toy with a genetic sequencer that the Arn created. Leon would take different blood samples from races the Yeerks encountered and began running them through. In time, Leon would focus upon the Taxxon DNA, looking for the markers that characterized their eternal hunger. When asked what he was doing with either, Leon claimed to be developing hunger suppressant for the Taxxons as humans did come up with the same thing.**_

_**While Leon was up on the orbiting ship and the two rebel groups dealing with other things, the pair that seem focus upon capturing Leon made contact with Visser Three. They came to some agreement that involved turning over Iniss' host body over to them upon the condition that they allow Visser Three acquire their DNA. Leon hadn't been happy to hear but it would be the Kyuubi that would give Leon the distraction that he needed to flee.**_

_**The Kyuubi had altered Iniss' body enough to cause it to explode and to wash its energies over an area. As Leon proved immune to the energy and the others weren't, Leon managed to get away before anyone managed to chase after him. Leon would arrive at a Broken safe house possessing the altered Taxxon DNA and the only copy of the Taxxon hunger suppressant.**_

_**Without much of an excuse not to accept the ability to morph, Leon would acquire the ability and would acquire a male goshawk, a crow, a barn owl, a Hork-Bajir, a dog, a fox, a coyote, an elk, leopard, hyena, a python, a dolphin, a river otter, and a rino before the Kyuubi would make use of these DNA sample to create its current body.**_

_**During the arrival of Visser Two, Arbron would make contact with the two groups. And as we all know, the Taxxons would all rebel from the Yeerks while the Visser Two was on Earth. As the Broken had reproduced the Escafil device, the majority of Taxxons upon Earth had quickly gained the ability to morph and acquired the altered DNA that Leon supplied.**_

_**With the Taxxons now fighting to stop the rebellion and the Hork-Bajir pressing to free more of their people, the Yeerks stopped with their cover war and came out into the open. The Animorphs would further cause fraction within the Yeerk forces by allowing them to take the reconstructed box version of the Escafil device and the Yeerk Peace Movement would capitalize upon its appearance to open their fellow Yeerk's mind concerning why should they continue to infest when they can gain their own bodies through becoming Nothlits.**_

_**Visser Three tries to squash this movement by starving the morph capable Yeerks, the movement applied to both human groups and once more, it would be Leon that would construct the Yeerk's Nothlit form. With help from those Yeerks sympathetic to their fellow Yeerk's suffering, they would allow the lab upon one of the newly landed ships to be 'captured' for Leon's use. By the end of the first day, Leon had come up with the morph the Yeerks would live as for the rest of their life in.**_

_**The Andilite fleet would appear two weeks after the Yeerks surrendered and open diplomatic relations with Earth's many nations. Much to their chagrin, the secrets of the Escafil device had been figured out. By the end of the year, alien scientists would begin to create the morph helper as morphing would become something that the common man, woman, and child get and use.**_

_How did something that simple get so complicated?_ Leon wonders as the group finally leaves while Tobias remains. "You sure they're not with any government organization? They seem to like asking a lot of questions, particularly after we showed them that storyboard."

"Jake hasn't mentioned anything concerning an investigation targeting either of us. Although it's been a while since any of us has spoken with Cassie." Tobias says. "But that's likely because she's been out of the country doing that tour for the pass four months."

"Marco is rather busy with his book tour." Leon adds thoughtfully. "The Kyuubi hasn't messaged me in the last two years. Ax is visiting his folks with Estrid."

Tobias hums while Leon finishes putting on this dimensional location bracelet that he keeps in his desk encase that dimensional group decides to pluck him from this world to theirs. The blond had almost forgotten about it in all of the hustle with the five hour long meeting. Tobias had taken breaks to de-morph while he had some drinks delivered to the office for everyone.

"I should head home. Rachel likely can do with a break." Tobais says as they head for the door.

As Leon is about to respond, the blond feels unbalanced. "What..." Leon murmurs while reach out for the wall to lean on.

"You ok?" Tobias asks and as something seems to jerk Leon, Tobias begins to curse. As the teen appearing ex-Animorph reaches out to grab Leon but the hand is shocked back upon touching the twenty year old blond ex-Broken.

Leon vanish in a puff of smoke, leaving Tobias alone by the open door for a few seconds before the seemingly younger blond heads back to Leon's desk to use the phone.

To be continued . . . ?


	111. Cursing Using Fairy Tales 1

I don't own Harry Potter or the fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast.

**- o 0 o -**

The spell book costed him a fortune but then, the money he used to purchase it had been stolen from the goblin bank. He had used a time turn to do so but it had been well worth the effort. _Here's hoping that the enchanted gold won't be noticed until the spell runs out._

He doesn't feel an ounce of guilt about the thief as the goblins clearly weren't neutral in this silent war going on between Draco and his own. Ever since he had cured himself of a certain love potion's effect and spent a solid two years in the 'muggle' world, he has found few allies among European Wizarding Society. It didn't help matters that he got engaged to a woman who's family comes from a long line of magical priests and priestesses from Central America.

His wife's family could trace their linage back before the founding of the Aztec empire. He's lucky to have had the chance to met her, let alone be engaged to her, but that, of course, didn't mean much since the majority of the European magical communities just saw her skin color and her slight accent. _But then, what can you expect from a society stuck in the age just before the Victorian age?_

A dog barking causes him to glance up and come out of his thoughts. If he was going to do this, he best get on with it, particularly as the make up and other effects were becoming uncomfortable. No magic went into the creation of his disguise, although the fairy tale concerning this spell about to be casted clearly stated that the sorceress had used magic to alter her appearance. _Perhaps Liz is right and she used an illusion spell to appear beautiful before applying the curse._

Leaning slightly heavily upon the cane, he finally arrives at Draco Malfoy's manor, one that his father had given him a month after the war trails were over. He had a vague idea of who was in attendance as he walks up to the door of the house. Coughing slightly, he raps his knuckle upon the door.

A house elf appears seconds after such an action. "Jolly is under orders to only allow those with invites into the house." The fragile being says.

"I am a poor fellow down upon his luck. I hope to ask the owner of this fine manor for a room for the night." He says in a soft voice that he hopes will keep anyone from identifying himself upon hearing him.

"Jolly will fetch master then." The house elf states and pops away.

He waits at the door for thirty minutes before rapping his knuckles upon the door once more. Again, the house elf appears. "Master says that yous got to leave the property or else." Jolly the house elf says.

He smiles inwardly upon hearing this. "Perhaps he'll be interested in purchasing this rose for a few coins? With the coins, I can at least purchase a room at an inn. This night is fairly chilly for someone like me." He tells Jolly, holding out a rose stem as thick as any wand, sporting a bud that sparkles like fire in the light of the porch light.

Jolly stares in wonderment at the rose and remains so for close to two minutes before popping away. _With that, the trap is baited._ He thinks to himself as he moves the rose back into his sleeve.

The door jerks open within the next four minutes to reveal a very disgruntled Draco Malfoy. "My elf says you are selling a pretty rose. Well? Get on with it! I don't have all night!"

The rose sparkles magnificently in the light supplied within the hall. Draco's face displays awe for a few seconds before a sneer gets fixated upon his face. "Might I see it? The light here is rather poor." His old rival asks as politely as a Malfoy could.

"I better get my coin if you, my good sir, finds the rose to your liking." He murmurs before handing the rose over. Malfoy steps back from the door and holds it to one of the torches and it's clear that Draco enjoys how it sparkles like fire within the light provided by said torch.

"My coin, good sir? This night is not getting any warmer." He says after three minutes.

That stirs Malfoy out of his admiration and the man merely sneers and with a wave of his hand, the door slams shut upon his face. "Then you shouldn't have let me hold it, you fool." Draco replies.

He waits a few seconds as he feels magic surge about him before it rushes into the house. As all of the lights get blown out and Draco begins to scream, he finally allows himself to chuckle under his breath before it becomes full blown laughter.

"I had hoped you enjoyed what seeing your reflection one last time, Draco! For I doubt after this night you'll find it as appealing as you once did. You should have remember your manners or given thought of entering into verbal contracts! Enjoy your new perspective on things, for I believe you'll have the rest of your life to get use to them!" He calls out while Draco's screams become that of kelling beast.

Once he's out of the gate, Draco howls in rage while a chorus of other screams ring through the night. He turns about and watches as the curse's magic transforms the wall and the gate, causing it to take on a more sinister appearance. In time, the human screams die off, he wonders what fate those guests of Draco's were but doesn't care, be they become enchanted furniture or take on ghostly attributes, they're fate was decided when they attended Draco's party.

With a soft crack, he vanishes from the cursed manor and appears at his home. "And?" Liz asks as he begins to take off his outer wear.

"Like a charm. We shall see who missing in the morning or later. For now though, I hope you're willing to help me in a little venture concerning restoring my good looks to me." He says to his wife, their wedding had happened earlier that day. It had sadden him to find so few people at their wedding.

"Of course, my husband, I wouldn't want to be seen in our wedding bed with a man clearly not my husband." Liz says as she moves to aid him in taking off the layers of rags that he put on to add to his disguise.

**Four Days Later . . .**

"Huh, I never would have guessed..." He murmurs as he catches sight of a head line concerning a list of absentee government workers, their families, and other such people which, sadly enough, included certain branches of the Weasley family.

"Master Harry, there are some people here to speak with you." Kreacher says with a sniff of disdain. It's clear that the old house elf didn't particularly like his visitors.

"Thank you Kreacher. I take it they're in the dining room?" He asks the house elf and Kreacher nods.

"Could you inform my wife of this, please? I rather not want her to stumble in on this meeting without at least having a cup of tea or coffee." He says to Kreacher.

With a pop, Kreacher vanishes after nodding in understanding. One transfiguration later and he's sitting in the dining hall with Neville Longbottom and Susan Bones. "I take it you've heard about what happened at Draco's party?" Susan finally asks after a few minutes of silence upon their finishing their greetings.

"What about his party?" He asks, wondering what part of it they're inquiring about. "My wife and I began our honey moon activities that night." He remarks and the two flush slightly, likely knowing just what they had been up to then.

"He became a beast and the party goers began ghostly." Neville says. "So, congratulations, Harry. You manage to recreate a spell everyone thought was destroyed." His ex-dorm-mate says.

"So, am I under arrest?" He asks and the two shake their head.

"Did you know there's a law concerning how to define an Animagus and a beast?" Susan asks him and he shakes his head, frowning slightly as he gets the feeling it's one of those anti-werewolf laws.

"It's that if an Animagus can return to their human form within thirty seconds, then they're a being but if one can't..." Susan trails off with a slight mischievous look upon her face.

"They're a beast and thus, can not claim rights of a being, even if they are capable of speech. After all, any animals can mimic speech." Neville says.

"So, since Draco can't regain human form within thirty seconds after the transformation, he lost his status as a wizard." He summarizes and the two nod with smirks.

"Then he lost that status in our fourth year." He remarks and the two look slightly confused before they snort in amusement. "After all, he was a ferret for at least a full minute and I'm sure he really would have liked to be human instead of a ferret at the time."

"Yes, I see what you mean. It would be such a shame for such a law to remain with that loop, wouldn't it? So many people could take advantage of it and we wouldn't want that now would we?" Susan muses.

"But, a last, without a Minister of Magic or a full meeting of the Wizengamet with thirteen members or more, we can't fix that law, can we?" Neville says with fake sympathy.

"And being that we have less then nine members, it will take time to find people to fill those seats and then to elect a new Minister of Magic. That is, unless we approach the Queen and appeal for her to give the changes to the law for her to review and approve." He muses, rather stunned at how that simple mission to apply that fairy tale curse could have such far reaching effects.

"It's so sad that so many survivors from Tom's second terror war attended Draco's party. Sadder still that they'll never get a chance to pass this new law in the council chambers." Neville says, placing a folded bill upon the table. "They had just finish signing it at that party too, darn it."

He gives the two a questioning look but they didn't seem to mind so he pulls the bill over and begins to read it. If he were a canine Animagus(unsurprisingly he's a bat Animagus), he would be growling at the contents of this bill. To summarize, they just made it illegal for a mix couple to marry unless they get approval from the Ministry of Magic and that it notes his name at the top of a list of those in violation of this new law.

_Oh, Liz is just going to love that. I almost pity those that signed this._ He thinks to himself, her family has special methods concerning death and benefiting from it or even controlling lingering spirits.

"Honey? What's got you so riled up?" Liz asks upon entering into the dinning hall. He hands the unfinished bill over to his wife and it wasn't long before she's cursing up a storm in Spanish, Portuguese, Latin, English, and her family's native tongue.

"That's rather... colorful." Susan murmurs an observation. Neville nods while looking rather pale.

"Liz is fluent in over ten languages. Give her time and you'll hear her curse in Hebrew and Chinese." He says before calling for Kreacher and has the house elf to bring them all some tea.

"I hadn't known she spoke so many." Neville says as Liz finally stops cursing and seems to gaze out at some random point in the room. It's more then likely she's reviewing her spell lists to find ones to use.

"I take it that as Draco's guests sport ghostly attributes that they are considered dead?" He asks, he assumes that they've gone the ghostly route or else he'd hear about who became what as the curse took effect.

"What was the other opinion?" Neville asks while pouring some tea that Kreacher made.

"Getting transformed into enchanted items, like an animated candle stick or a coat rack." He answers. "Oddly enough, Disney had a film featuring that opinion." He adds.

"Huh, might have to see that one, sounds fairly interesting." Neville confesses while Susan merely hums her agreement as she drinks from her cup.

_I wonder what kind of a future we'll be building now? And how will we come up with ways to keep the rot out of this new government? So many things to plan. So many mistakes to avoid._ He thinks to himself before wondering if Liz would want to hold off on the honey moon in order to properly curse the signers of that bill.

The End


	112. 2 Year, Cold and Kanga Go To Hogwarts

**I don't own Harry Potter nor do I own Dimars! Dimars are (c) to Dee Dreslough!**

- o 0 o -

He sets the little wooden puppet down and then withdrew his hand. Within seconds, the wooden snake shakes itself before moving across the counter's surface. Between the wooden segments a orange light escapes while the wooden snake's red tinted eyes glow. He built the wooden snake puppet using what their summer tutors had taught them while at the community learning center.

As the wooden snake puppet moves along the edge of the counter, trying to find a way off without falling off, its magically charged batteries die. The orange glow is gone and the crimson gaze of the snake's eyes die. Taking of the wooden ring that would feed the puppet some of his magic to recharge its batteries, he picks up the two inch long snake puppet with a frown fixated upon his face, after all, the puppet wasn't suppose to move unless it received orders from him.

_Back to the drawing board it seems._ He thinks as he pockets the puppet. He heads for the fridge and grabs a bottle of apple juice. Closing it, he glances up to find his mom making a bee line for the coffee maker.

"Harry dear, could you bring a plate of pancakes over to the table?" His mom asks him after taking that first sip of coffee. "Sure, mom." He says as he puts down his juice bottle to grab one of the plates with a glass cover.

He takes the whole of it over and then pulls the enchanted glass that sports a stasis spell upon it away. His mom hums and relying upon her necklace foci to summon a fork and other condiments. He returns to drinking his juice while he stares at the calender with a frown.

Today is Neville's birthday, which means that they'll be using a Port Key to return to Britain and remain there for the rest of today, tomorrow, and then return to this hotel room to finish off their summer vacation. He, personally, see the point in celebrating their twelfth birthday in Britain or for doing what they did last year either.

"Morning!" Colin chirps upon arriving in the kitchen unit of the apartment style hotel room. He glances at Colin's wrist to see those tiny rune that have been painted on like a tattoo. He had given his elder brother tips on which runes to use but ultimately, the rune design that Colin had painted on using specialized temporary tattoo ink is his own.

He had tested Colin's design and found that on a bright day, alters slightly to keep Colin from getting the full blunt of sunlight. He applauds his brother's forethought and creativity on the matter of painting the rune scheme directly on a part of him, but didn't like the idea that anyone can see it and thus duplicate it. _It's Colin's problem not mine. I have other things to occupy my time with._

"Morning honey." Their mother says while Colin pulls out a bottle of orange juice. With a shrug, he finishes his bottle and puts it by the sink as Colin grabs a plate with waffles on it before walking over to the table.

He grabs another bottle of apple juice and then moves over to the plates with prepared dishes. After a few seconds thought, he grabs one that sports scrambled eyes, bacon, and hash-browns. Unlike the two at the table, he balances his un-open bottle onto of the glass covering in order to grab a fork and knife.

As he takes the enchanted glass off his plate, the fourth member of the Potter family shows up. He might not see the rune scheme upon his dad's body, it doesn't mean that it isn't there, just means that his dad likely put the stencil of Colin's some place like his shoulder or chest. It's likely that if it's on their dad's shoulder then their mom likely helped by painting the ink upon it.

Like Lilly, James makes a bee line for the coffee maker but unlike Lilly, their dad wakes after drinking his first cup. "Just think, our boys will be twelve tomorrow." Their dad says and he shares a look with Colin, it seems that this is about to turn into a mushy family moment.

"You think Sirius and May will tear themselves away from each other to attend our party tomorrow?" Colin wonders, trying to change the topic. After all, it had come as something of a surprise when, seemingly out of the blue, Uncle Padfoot not only arrives over with a woman, but declares that she's his wife within days of their summer holidays just getting started.

May Grace Vila nee Black is a spell researcher who accidentally used an ancient stone known for bringing soul-mates together, although it had a range of five hundred kilometers. Well, May kind of used this stone while it was on a magical recharger. Next thing Sirius or May knew, May had teleported into Sirius' room and, well, as a bonus of the stone teleporting May to Sirius, it also kind of super charged some, they ended up, well, doing things.

Then, during a breather, still a little drunk on the extra bit of magic done to her from the stone but trying to fight it, May says that they've got to end it as she feels as though they should marry before continuing such activities. Well, with that, Sirius pops the question which lead to them finding a nice chapel, some random guy off the street to serve as witness to their marriage, a few charms, a priest, and one bit of paper later, they were married and they teleported back to Sirius' room to continue with their activities.

Even with that magic worn off, neither Sirius or May seem incline of getting a divorce but they were taking the time to grow use to each other. Oddly enough, May does sport one canine animagus form, she has a total of five, but the canine one is an Akita Inu, which could likely explain they're not considering that option as they're both loyal.

Although he does recall Colin asking permission to do research into bedroom actives and considering their parents' reactions to it, he plans to steer clear of that until he has to bring up the topic. Colin is wearing some kind of charm that keeps him from seeing that kind of information, be it from books, TV, and accidentally hearing about it or walking into the act, although the charm will fade when Colin is fourteen years old. And he's not going to get into trouble trying to satisfy his brother's curiosity on the matter.

Even so, he's been researching how to break said charm just encase his parents thought to cast it on him before they return to Hogwarts. He thinks he's got a rune scheme that could absorb the magic, so making it look as though was successfully cast on him when in fact, it hadn't. It would be a bit before he finds a rune scheme capable of neutralizing all kinds of spells being send in one's direction.

He becomes absorbed in his thoughts that he doesn't really pay much mind to the conversation taking place between his parents and his brother. He cleans off his plate and then goes on to finish his second bottle of apple juice. With that done, he excuses himself from the table to take the empty bottle and plate over to the sink.

With that done, he heads for his room to take a shower before they leave. He's sure to take out his snake puppet and the ring to charge its battery. He won't be taking it with him as he won't have the time to himself to work on it and he rather not let his parents know about his experiments since they believe he's only learning the theory behind golems, after all, few magi have any real understanding of that fine art and it's more typical to enchant something to move as directed then to create something that's much more capable of taking orders and carrying them out without you being around.

_And yet, that's what make golems so dangerous._ He thinks as he undresses until only his boxers and leather bracelets remain. With that, he heads out of the room to shower in the bathroom.

**- [ T ] -**

"So this is where you two are holding up in." Fred muses while holding the yurt's cloth door while George pokes his head in under Fred's arm. "Is that TV working?" Fred asks with a hint of awe while finally walking into the yurt.

"What? No happy birthday Kanga?" Neville asks the pair, beating him to say it. He snorts while un-muting the sound, the commercials are still running, although he could have fast forward the tape, he hadn't since Neville and him often continued their conversations while they're playing.

He had bought the recorder by the end of Christmas holidays and managed to set it up, only he hadn't set it to record anything. He did leave Flare with the instructions and the house elf has used it to record daytime shows that Flare wanted to watch but often finds himself too busy with his duties.

Before he left Hogwarts, he had installed another recorder with that entertainment center to record certain programs with certain words in the title. He won't know if it had until they returned for the new school year. He's rather hopeful that it had worked and the memory space isn't much of a problem as the memory is enchanted to expand as needed.

"Oh, right." George says. "Happy birthday Kanga!" The twins chime in together before they move to sit upon one of the bean bags that rest around the center of the yurt while their eyes never leaving the TV screen.

Neville and him share a look as the movie, The Guyver. They are watching the part where the hero, Sean, is battling the Zoanoids in a warehouse. "Is this real?" Fred asks and for a moment, he forgot that the twins have never seen a movie before.

"Think live theater only every moment of it captured on a painting. This is entitled The Guyver." He answers while the twins only hum in acknowledgment, likely not really listening to him.

He had given Neville books concerning television, films, and special movie effects so most of Neville's questions likely had been answered during Neville's reading of the books. It wouldn't have surprised him if Neville had also owled Hermione to learn more or to answer his questions. _I wonder if Neville will be using the TV at my other yurt..._

As the movie comes to an end, the door opens to reveal Colin. His elder brother pauses and about before his brother's gaze landing upon the TV. "So this is where you set yourself up in, Harry... Kanga." Colin says, using his preferred name then his birth one upon him sending a hooded look his brother's way.

"So... How is it that the TV works?" Colin asks as his fellow birthday boy comes to rest upon his bench bed while he returns his attention to stopping the recorder.

"Ward's are the thinnest at this point of the property. Don't worry, Flare's set up other kinds of wards, ones that won't interfere with receiving a TV signal." He answer while mentally adding, _Of course the signal receiver is a good mile off the property anyway thus the wards don't interfere with the signal that gets sent from it to the TV set through a matching set of a rune scheme._

"What are we going to watch next, Kanga?" Neville asks while Fred and George read the titles of what has been recorded. He hums before grinning at seeing a certain movie that Flare had recorded.

Moving the highlight down until it covers the name, he presses the enter button on the remote and within a few seconds, the recording begins. The theme for Star Wars begins and he hears Fred wonder, "How can stars have wars?"

"Interesting choice, little brother." Colin says and he sighs, but doesn't raise to the bait as the only time Colin ever use the term little brother is when Colin wants to have an argument. He does wonder who riled up his usually calm and level headed sibling that drove Colin not only to search for him but with the desire to pick a fight.

**- [ T ] -**

"Have you seen your brother?" Hermione asks upon arriving opening the door of the compartment. Neville and himself glance up from watching their illusionary fighters battling it out on this cardboard mat that's hovering between Neville and himself to look at the still bookish witch.

"Haven't seen him after Ron dragged him off to the side for a chit chat." He replies. "And I thought you out grew your fascination concerning Cold."

His winged wolf howls in pain and he glances to find Neville's spine boar chopping down on the wolf's tail. The winged wolf snarls while moving to attack the boar's face, teeth managing to grip the boar's eyebrow. The boar bellows in out rage, allowing the winged wolf to leap away from the spine covered boar.

"What kind of game is that? It's rather violent isn't it?" Hermione asks as though just seeing the hovering board and it likely is that it just registered in her mind as well.

"Just a way to 'flex' one's magic. Cold and I used it to create our own cities and then had them fight. That's a little complicated so I thought this way, Leander gets the feel for using the board while also entertaining us during our train trip to Hogwarts." He explains to Hermione. "You want to give it a go, Kyden?"

Hermione shakes her head while backing out of the compartment. "I think I'll continue my search. I believe the Weasley twins are trying to prank some Slytherins." Hermione says, it's clear that Hermione planned to tell somebody about Fred and George's plans.

The door closes before Hermione walks away. "She really needs to loosen up." Neville remarks and he nods in agreement.

Neville and him return to watching the two mutated beast duke it out. The two beasties had back away from each other and had been standing still. Feeding the board magic, the two beasts once more engage in combat, his wolf being nimble and often taking to the air to evade the charges from the boar.

Upon one of the beast losing, they vanish while Neville and himself think of their next set of fighters, causing silver fire to float at the ends closest to their side of the board. Neville creates a feline sporting a mane of fire while his creation is a hovering weasel sporting a white glow about its form. The two wait there for a few seconds before they charge each other with either a growl or a snarl.

**- [ T ] -**

Hermione scowls while glancing between Fred and George to Neville and himself as, unlike every other student, they weren't wearing their school robes. _Yea, like I want to be another ram in the flock._ He thinks to himself, he guesses that it might have been a bad idea to gift that ritual to Hermione since she seems to feel much more vindicated concerning her attendance in the United Kingdom's Wizarding Community.

_Although, it could be because we've brought our own food for the sorting..._ He thinks as he sips hot chocolate from his space enchanted thermos while eating some gummy crabs from Mexico, their flavor is crab apple. Neville is eating some mini donuts that he placed between them.

He vaguely notices that Colin and Ron weren't sitting at the table, which causes him to wonder where they are. _Ron must be holding him up._ He concludes while studying the latest defense professor. _What an idiot. Talk about a male version of a Goldilocks._

Finally, the doors open and the new group of students arrive. He watches as awe settle upon their faces at the sight of the ceiling. And then the hat sings its song, he rolls his eyes while chewing on a mini doughnut that's covered in brown sugar. _If you're looking for school unity, you'd expect the house of badgers to be the glue to bind us all together. After all, loyalty is key when it comes to creating friendships._

The last student gets sorted and Dumblies begins his speech. With the coming of fried food, he collects his gummies and donuts before putting the thermos into the bag sitting under the bench. Flipping about to have his legs under the table, he waits for the food to arrive.

As the feasting is over, he heads to speak with his head of house. "Professor? Professor! Have you seen Ron or my brother? They seem to have missed out on the feast." He asks Minerva McGonagall just as she heads out of a side door with the headmaster.

"We're just about to speak with them now." Professor McGonagall says. "Now, run along, I'll be sure to send to send him along."

He frowns as he watches as the staff head off. He pats his pocket and feels his shrunken trunk. He uses an illusion to hide himself. Once it's clear, he takes the trunk out and expands it. It takes a few seconds to find the tiny golem that's capable of flight. Putting on the headband over his eyes and feeding it magic, the golem activates and takes to the air while he sees through its eyes.

He then activates the tracking enchantments and it flies after McGonagall. He feels his stomach flop as the golem just zooms through the air until it catches sight the McGonagall. The dagonfly golem lands on the professor's hat and after a few minutes, the golem is in the headmaster's office, where he activates its listening charms, he catches the bit about Snape saying something about expelling the pair for flying the Weasley's magical car about London uncloaked.

He has the dragonfly golem fly to one of the book shelves and stay there, even when everyone leaves. Dumblies sits for a few extra minutes before consulting with one of the silver instruments. "So he did send it along. Good good, I almost thought he wouldn't." He hears Dumblies murmur out loud before the paintings of the previous headmasters and headmistresses begin to dig into the still living headmaster about how fatal allowing the Basilisk to haunt the halls once more.

"And why allow that diary in when that Diadem is just sitting in the Come and Go Room?" One of the Ravenclaw headmasters asks. _Oh, this is just so juicy..._ He thinks and in the end, all he learnt about was that Voldie made a bunch of Horcruxes, which is why the Dork Lord is still hanging about and that, as of now, there are three Horcruxes within the school.

He has the dragonfly golem hide in a cloud of dust that's resting on top of the books. With that done, he stops feeding magic to the golem and then takes off the headband, drops it down in the open trunk before packing it up. One charm later and he's heading out of the castle, he can only hope that Dumblies doesn't find that tiny golem any time soon.

_What's a Horcrux and what spells would one use to ID them?_ He wonders to himself. He'll spend time writing a letter and focusing upon those memories to send to his mother, he's fairly sure that she'll be interest in this as it does effect the family.

**- [ T ] -**

"Young Master Kanga! Mistress Lilly wanted Is to give yous this in person." Flare says upon him arriving in his yurt. It's been close to a month since school started and he's more then a little relieved to see that his mom didn't trust any kind of bird to deliver her reply.

"Thank you, Flare. I hope this isn't interfering with your free time." He says as he takes the letter Flare is holding out to him.

"Its Is job to serve the Potters, Young Master Kanga." Flare says before popping away, leaving him alone within the yurt. It wasn't long before the letter in his hand is opened and he's rereading what his mom had wrote as a reply.

"Shouldn't be too hard to summon these using a ritual. Might take a bit to get the proper stones prepared but do able before November." He muses out loud. He walks over and puts the letter in one of this Fidelius hidden chests, he has seven of them and he's the secret keeper for all seven.

Once the letter is in one, he begins to undress to have his shower. He wants to check on his cameras that he placed about the forest. Two weeks into September, a certain bushy haired witch informed him that he needs a more constructive hobby then hunting giant spiders, gathering herbs, or just generally hanging out with Neville so he decided to try creating a documentary about unicorns. He had been rather surprised to find that cameras with tracking charms on them often lose the unicorn herd so he decided to create a network of cameras throughout the forest in hopes of capturing their comings and goings.

He couldn't funnel the raw footage to his yurt, he really didn't want Dumblies to pick up on the feed and turn it into something else, so he took a map and sectioned off various areas. Each section has its own memory box hidden in a semi-dimensional pocket that he has the 'keys' to. He hasn't told anyone of what he's doing as Gred and Forge seem to be creating some kind of arcade in one of the abandoned classrooms, Hermione is busy helping the first years with their homework(although the smart first years of the house paid the ten galleons to get the outlines for first year's course work, homework assignments, and what questions are typically used on tests), and Neville is busy with his portable glass house. He doesn't pay much mind to what the others are up to, he does know that Colin is finally trying his hand at pranks though.

Once he's dressed and brings out the flight frame, it's got all the enchantments that one can find on a flight broom. Actually, the wooden bike like frame has a few extra spells on it to keep it hovering in the air for up to thirty minutes without anyone on it. He's engraved weather control schemes upon the inside panels to keep the temperature at a comfortable degree. Another enchantment he has on it is this map feature that allows him to navigate throughout the Forbidden Forest and, of course, there are a lot more useful enchantments upon it.

As he gets within sight of Hagrid's hut, he finds a young Ravenclaw stroking thin air, until something blows in the blond's hair. "Thestral?" He asks the witch who seems a bit startled from hearing his voice.

"You seem them too?" The young blond, who he finally IDs as Luna Lovegood. He shakes his head while he lowers the wooden flight frame down in order to approach the blond.

He notices where Luna's hands were and slowly feels about in that area. It didn't take long before he feels something warm under his hand. "I know they're living in the forest from using detection spells." He then adds as he strokes the leathery feeling horse, "I know they're what pull the carriages. Not many place that can boast a herd of trained Thestrals."

"They're not as pretty as unicorns though." Luna says wistfully and he snorts softly, which seems to cause the Thestral to give its own snort in reply to his own.

"Few things in the world are or ever will be as beautiful as a wild unicorn." He says. "Even capturing them on film doesn't do them justice."

Luna turns to study him before saying, "I didn't know you have a camera on your person." He doesn't say much while moving to see if he couldn't find the Thestral's neck to pet.

"I'm actually on my way to collect the film. It's a muggle technique. You leave the camera at the angle you want and then set up this triggering pad so that when the animal steps on it, the camera snaps its picture." He explains to Luna, it's just a little white lie about what kind of camera he set up or about what kind of film he's going to collect.

"That is a rather good tactic to capture those that don't like people." Luna admits. "I'll have to mention this method to daddy, I'm sure he would be thrilled to use it for our paper."

They don't say much else for a few minutes. Then, with a sigh, he gives the Thestral one last pat upon its neck before pulling away. "I should go collect it while there's still light out. I won't be that stealthy if I need a light to light my path for me." He says and glances over to Luna. "It's nice seeing you again, Luna. Perhaps when I'm done with this project, I'll invite you to be among the first to view it." He muses before adding, "As long as it doesn't alter your schedule too much, after all, you are a hard nose reporter, aren't you? You're likely busy writing about how Snape's role as Potions Teacher is affecting the number of graduate looking to become Healers or about the bullying going on between houses, how the point system is encouraging the students to have little to no contact with students from other houses."

Luna blinks as her expression turns thoughtful. "I doubt daddy would want such trivial matter to be in his paper. Sounds more like something the Daily Prophet would sport." Luna says and he nods his head at Luna.

"Well, I'm not really connected to the media the way you are. Still, it's a shame that nobody thought to write about those facts. But then, maybe that's because we don't have a school paper. Muggle schools have such things, although most of those schools are high schools so they likely stick to newsletters." He says. "Still, you would think that Hogwarts students would like to have their voices heard, or is that printed?"

He notices Luna smile. They then say good bye to each other and he heads over to pick up his flight frame. Once he's in the trees does he activate it, it hovers low enough for him to walk into it, and then he lowers it before sitting upon the seat. Once his hands touch the steering wheel, the sides of the frame suddenly sprout doors and a floor 'grows' under foot just after the flight frame raises another two feet in the air.

He shifts the lever from park to flight one. The steering wheel's dash panel comes alive to show a map while the steering wheel suddenly extends itself, allowing him to lean into the back of the seat. He turns a dial and the cloaking spells take effect. With that done, he pulls down upon the steering wheel, causing the flight frame to raise into the air. Once he's about twenty feet in the air, his right foot lightly touches the pedal that appeared when the floor did, causing the flight frame to move forward. He based the controls off of a go kart.

It's not long before he's once more gets a feel for the controls and flies to retrieve the first of the raw film from a recording box. Shielding charms upon the flight frame ensures that nothing can hit the frame from any angle. It also protects him from wind coming right up to his face or the weather to hit either him or the wooden flight frame.

Sure, it wasn't a broom or riding a winged animal, but he created it and thus its something he values. _I am so going to pass my driving test the first time around._ He thinks as he has the flight frame park itself next to the massive branch so that he can climb out to get the film from the recording box.

It's close to nine when he's collected from the last box and is prepared to head home. He does notice, once again, the lack of spider webs about the forest, which is likely due in no small part of what happened last winter. It's very likely that the centaurs have also been destroying what egg sacks remain in the forest as the sacks lack adult protectors.

He doesn't feel an ounce of guilt about destroying the Forbidden Forest's colony of Acromantula. That particular spider race just isn't native to the UK and had been killing native species. It wouldn't surprise him that, in time, mundane animals become a much more common sight within this forest. He's pretty sure that the centaurs will like to have more meat in their diet.

**- [ T ] -**

"Happy Halloween!" He groans and gets up onto his elbows to glare at Neville. Then he blinks at what Neville is wearing.

"We brought you your costume!" Colin adds and he glances over to see what his brother is holding. He slowly blinks before sighing.

He sits up and then swings his body to the side. He ignores them as he heads for his potions cupboard. It unlocks upon him touching it and within seconds, he has three potions. He studies the symbols for a seconds before downing the one that seems to featuring a bear paw. As black fur sprouts about his body, he downs the one featuring an open mouth. He feels his teeth alter and then downs the third, this one featuring a rainbow of blue shades. The last alters the black fur to adopt a blue shine.

He glances at his hands to find them sporting claw shaped nails, then at his feet to see them sporting a four toes with the big one kind of riding up his leg. With his tongue, he checks his teeth. With a hum, he finds another potion bottle featuring an open mouth and this one causes his skull to alter while his hands and feet get finished.

He moves to stand before his mirror and sighs at the still unfinished sight of his ears, muzzle, and tail. He goes back and downs another potion with the open mouth symbol upon it. He stands once more before the mirror and then hums in satisfaction at the 'werewolf' staring back.

He picks up a leather necklace sporting tiny brown, black, and red wooden beads and a painted skull of a raven. Once it's on, he turns to this two 'guests' and says, "Now this is a costume." His speaking is unhindered by the muzzle.

"I would have thought you'd go another root." Neville, dressed as a druid, muses while looking a tad envious of his altered appearance, the jester costume resting on his bed now. He flickers his ears while turning to glance at his knight of a bother.

He studies the two before sighing. He moves back to the cupboard and after a few seconds, takes out two. "Here, drink these. One will elongate your ears while causing them to end with a point. The other will get rid of that spare tire." He says as he hands the two over to Neville.

He studies Neville as the potions take effect. With a nod, he takes another two and hand them over to Neville. "One will sharpen your features and the other will add a tan to your skin." He says and once they take effect, he nods and motions for Neville to stand before the mirror.

Neville gasps and touches his own ears and cheek. "An elf, nice." Colin says while Neville glances questioningly over to them. "Cosplay potions. You brewed them yourself, didn't you?" Colin asks and he nods as he turns to glance at his potion collect for a few seconds.

"Huh?" Neville grunts but he's already studying his bother with a critical eye. He hums as he walks around his brother, trying to think of what race would suit. "What's Cosplay?" Neville asks while he being to take a few potions from the cupboard.

"Cosplay is role playing, err... acting. You've seen muggle movies right?" Colin asks Neville.

"Oh! You mean, instead of being casted in a role by somebody else, you create your own character!" Neville exclaims.

"Yea, that's pretty much it. Although, with Cosplay, you can dress up as your favorite character from movies, games, shows, manga, and novels." Colin adds and he sees Neville nodding as he hands the first potion to Colin.

"So, what do I get to be?" Colin asks and he replies, "Undead."

"Undead huh? Cool, err... it won't hurt, will it? The potions I mean." Colin asks and he replies, "Do you think I'd hear the end of it if I endangered your life? Mostly they'll pale your skin, cause a slight odor, and, of course, cause parts of you to become transparent, like your ribs, arms, and ribs. You know, pretty much make it seem as though you're a walking death knight."

"Oh, ok then." Colin says and downs the first. It takes a good five of the transparency potions to get the right effect, leaving Colin's face and back untouched. He watches as Colin touches his arms and mid-section. "I can still feel my stomach being there." Colin says.

He snorts and closes the cupboard before walking over to pick up the camera. After ten minutes of posing for the camera, they leave the yurt. He has his book bag hanging over his left shoulder, it carries not only his wand but also cloths for when the potions wear off in about four hours.

A lot of people would stop and stare at them. Many were pointing at Colin while a few girls would blush and look away from Neville. He merely grins at their reactions, his tail waging lazily behind him. He does note that none of the other houses were dressed up for Halloween, but then, that's not much of a surprise as the Weasley twins were the ones to put in the request.

As they enter into the dinning hall, almost everyone stops to look in their direction. A new murmur engulfs the student body as they approach their house's table. "Neville? Colin? Harry?" Hermione, dressed up as a nun, asks as they sit down and begin to eat.

"Yes Hermione?" Colin replies politely. "Is something the matter?"

"Your bones are showing." Hermione replies faintly, she looks a bit green. "How can you be alive?" He hears her murmur but is rather busy carefully eating his breakfast.

"It's a little thing called magic, Hermione, M-A-G-I-C." Seamus says while rolling her eyes. He's unmoved by Hermione's plight as the witch hasn't grown as much as she should have since the incident with the troll.

While everyone at the table is questioning Colin and Neville about their additions, he's busy thinking about the results of that summoning. _At least I don't have that scar any more... But why did I have the soul bit? Could it be that I'm the one that Voldie tried to kill that night?_ He thinks to himself but, in the end, decides to remain silent about it, as it no longer matters.

_I wonder what mom is doing with those items... Hopefully they won't be damage, after all, most of those are historical items._ He thinks to himself as he is slowly chewing what's in his mouth as best as he can since he's unfamiliar with eating with a muzzle.

Soon, breakfast is over and they file out to spend attend the grand opening of the Weasley's arcade. They watch as the Weasley twins lead a parade through the halls with Gryffindors doing their part. The music for the parade is Hungry Like the Wolf, with him at the semi head position as he is dressed up as a werewolf.

The few professors that were in attendance clearly didn't like the noise or the decor. He didn't care as he moves to use the pool table that's by the drink bar, it serves not only butterbeer but also different flavors of soda, likely from mundane sources. He doesn't see a menu so he guesses they just serve drinks.

"How do you play this?" Luna asks while he's selecting a pool table que. He explains the rule while playing, he makes sure to mention how two players can play, so he's not that surprised when Luna asks, "Can I play a few games with you?"

He nods and helps her pick a que. Over time, Neville appears as does his elder brother. They take turns playing each other, although Neville did need to have the rules explained. As he plays against Colin for the second time, he notices that George is standing behind the drink bar.

"Hey Forge! Could we get four butterbeers over here, please?" He calls out and George nods, it wasn't long before they each have their own mug of butterbeer. It wasn't long before George finds himself busy serving drink, Lee Jordan soon gets recruited to help behind the bar.

Four hours later and he heads out to change before the potions wear off as he was nude when he drank them, once in his cloths he heads for lunch which everyone leaves to eat. Upon returning to the arcade, they play a few of the games but return to the pool table when more and more of the students return to play the game. Very few seem interested in playing pool, they seem to be more interested in watching then anything else.

When supper comes, they head for the Great Hall but after wards, he mentions watching some movies back at his yurt. He even goes so far as to invite Luna, seeing as she seems rather reluctant to return to the arcade without them. Ron almost singles Colin out but Fred grabs a hold of Ron's shoulder and speaks with him.

"So, what movie are we going to watch?" Neville asks while Luna looks rather interested in the TV. Colin digs about his veggie and fruit crate as he replies, "How about The Monster Squad?"

"Why not some cartoon? Like It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown?" Colin asks. "Or some comedy like Teen Wolf?" Colin adds while finally pulling out some carrot sticks and walks over to take a seat.

"Teen Wolf good with you, Leander? Luna?" He asks and they just shrug while Luna sits down.

By ten o'cloak, Luna looks like she's about to curl up and fall asleep while Neville looks rather jumpy as they watch Predator. They continued to eat and drink from what he has stocked up in the yurt. _Guess they're going to be spending the night._ He thinks as he doubts that Neville will have recovered enough to venture out in the darkness.

"Luna, you can have my bed. It's got some charms on it to tune out the TV." He says, he had added them when he began getting visitors only interested in watching the TV set during the weekends.

Luna jerks awake and shakes her head. "No, I'm fine." Luna says and he frowns. He summons a blanket and puts it over Luna's shoulders. "There you go." He says and Luna blushes but wraps it more about her body.

"Thanks." Luna says. It wasn't long before Neville and Colin summon their own blankets, it seems that it's getting rather cool in the yurt, not that he notices. _Or perhaps they're just getting tired and want to sleep._ He mentally muses as Colin yawn and gives himself a shake to wake himself up.

He sighs and continues to read Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. He's already got a book lined up to read after he's done with this one and it's Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. _Huh, I wonder if there aren't rituals so we can view the lives of the dead using only a bone that belonged to subject of the vision._

**- [ T ] -**

"Looks like Kyden has been spurred by the girls again." He says as he notices the slight puffiness upon Hermione's face. Hermione hasn't spent much time with him this year but then, it's likely that Hermione's previous beliefs got reinforced since she learnt about some old family whom's vault she inherited and, likely, feeling very vindicated about her place in this community by that.

"She really is all over the place this year." Neville observes. "You really didn't do her any favors when it came to that Christmas present." Neville remarks and he merely sighs.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time... I thought she could use the confidence boost." He defenses himself. "She's such a teacher's pet. You'd think she would have gotten over it seeing as it hasn't done her any good."

"Some people just don't want to be saved from their mistakes." Neville sums up and he nods in agreement. "Hey Luna." Neville says and he glance to find the young blond behind him.

"Hey Luna." He says and Luna responds by greeting them, "Hello Leander. Kanga."

"Have you manage to catch any of those dimensionally displaced creatures on film yet?" He asks curiously and Luna replies, "It is rather hard to get them to stand still long enough to get a clear focus on it before it moves."

"The light waves aren't helping either, are they?" Neville asks and Luna nods in agreement. "Perhaps you should try using a fairy wing to filter the image. After all, they're more then able to alter space and time." Neville suggests.

"Such messy business concerning how they constructed Time Turners. So many lives wasted, all they had to do was brush some of the powder from their wings, give them a drop of healing potion before setting them free." He muses with a shake of his head.

"Perhaps I will try using using a thin strip of Thestral wing." Luna says but before they can continue their conversation, something happens to Luna that causes her to become a rabbit. He glances around and upon spying a group of giggling Ravenclaw students, he marches over.

"Undo it." He says in a very cold tone. "Or I will do worst to you." He threatens and the girls glance around, gaining confidence that there's too many people about for him to follow through with his threat.

"No. Loony makes such a nice rabbit, doesn't she?" The leader of the clique says.

He smiles and three spells later, he moves away from them and returns to Neville. Neville has picked up Luna the rabbit from the ground. Sudden screams of terror and murder echo about the platform just as the whistle in the distance sounds.

"Now what's going on here?" Demands Hagrid and the clique point in his direction while exclaiming, "Harry Potter did this to us! He and that Loony Lovegood!"

As the train arrives and McGonagall comes over. "I don't know what these girls are so hysterical about, I never used my wand on them! Check my wand if you don't believe me!" He says as his head of house comes near him.

"And they transfigured Luna Lovegood into a rabbit though! See?" Neville says and after McGonagall does indeed check his wand, finding the last few spells to be a shrinking charm, a light charm, and a hovering charm.

Then McGonagall checks on the rabbit. "Please put Miss Lovegood on the ground, Mr Longbottom and everyone step away." The Transfiguration Professor says.

Once Luna is back to normal does McGonagall herd the clique of Ravenclaws towards the castle. "I believe a talk with your parents are in order." McGonagall says, not bothering to listen to their cries.

With that over with, they head onto the train. He's sure to place a protective arm around Luna's shoulders, guiding her to a compartment. Once they're in, he asks, "Are you ok, Luna?"

"You didn't have to do that for me. It'll only cause them to be meaner the next time they do something like that." Luna says and he scowls.

"Are you saying that you've spoken with Professor Flitwick about being bullied?" Neville asks and Luna nods. "And they only got worst?" Neville asks once more, with a touch more anger then before.

"They think I'm loony." Luna says as though that explains everything. He sighs, he's rather frustrated about a head of house not being able to stop the bullying going on in Luna's life.

"There's nothing wrong with you." He says ferociously. "Don't let anyone tell you differently! And if you're bully in Ravenclaw dorms then get your father to buy you a magic tent and live outside of the castle! None of the professors seem to notice that I'm not living in the Gryffindor's dorms." He says.

"I'm sure Kanga won't mind if you use his bathroom cabinet." Neville pipes in and he nods, although he's already drawing up a list of things that would make Luna's tent more bearable. "That way you're only in their company during classes and meals." Neville says.

Luna nods and then Ginny arrives. "Luna! I just heard! Are you ok?" The youngest Weasley says, giving Luna a hug.

"Thanks for standing up for her, Harry." Ginny says, nodding to Neville. "See you guys!" The red haired witch says while pulling Luna along behind her, leaving Neville and him alone.

"Good to see that Luna has at least one girl friend." Neville observes and he nods with a sigh. "So... We going to, you know?"

With a snort, he grins while bringing out the shrunken board. It wasn't long before they're building their own settlements at opposite ends of the board, War Fog hiding each settlement from each other. He's not sure what species Neville has created but he's using beast people. The peons are rodents, grunts being badgers, scouts being canines, range units being reptilian, shock troops being rhinos, and flight units being bats.

**- [ T ] -**

"Wow... He looks almost solid..." Colin says as they stare at the reconstructed soul of Voldie. The soul glares balefully at them but the soul can't do anything as the various rune schemes keep the soul hovering in a secure place. "So that's what dad and our uncles were hinting about when they mentioned finally getting rid of him for good..."

"Actually, we're bringing in a few specialists to examine him. This is a rare opportunity to examine a soul. We do know where the rest of him is though. We might collect him later but for now, we'll leave what out there alone." Uncle Moony says and he nods in understanding.

"So... how did you find all of the bits, Kanga?" Colin asks and he merely gives his elder brother a grin. "Do you really want me to answer something so obvious, Cold?" He asks his brother who just rolls his eyes.

"Now, now, boys, is that the holiday spirit you're suppose to be having?" Moony asks in a teasing tone. Colin and him share a look.

"You know, we were just acting like brothers. Nobody ever said family has to get along, right Uncle Padfoot?" He says, glancing over to Sirius, who just arrived with a cup of hot butterbeer.

"Eh? Ah, yea, families don't always get along I guess." Sirius says. Remus stares at Sirius, which causes Sirius to wonder, "What did I do wrong _this_ time?"

Colin chuckles while he heads off to work on the few projects he left behind. He does wonder if his parents got any new information concerning what Dumblies is up to, after all, his mother had wanted the headset to control that dragonfly golem stationed in the office.

_Hopefully I'm not in trouble for creating that little golem..._ He thinks to himself before musing, _I wonder if I shouldn't practice flying in my Dimar form... I haven't transformed into it since school started._

In the end, a few feet from leaving the basement, he transforms into his Dimar form. The base color of his fur is a bright teal with silver stripes. The under fur is black in color while his mane is a dark silver, his coloration for his wing membrane is a deep purple. His horns are dark crimson color, the red shows up when the light hits it. His eyes remain the same color.

With his wings folded, he trots through the manor, heading to the room he claimed as a work room. His claws click upon the floor, he moves out of the way of May and his parents. "Perhaps we should get a bell for you to wear if you're going to be spending a lot of time as a Dimar." His dad says as they turn to look at him.

"A Dimar? I've never heard of somebody with that as one of their animagus forms." May says while admiring him in his current form.

He shifts his weight back and forth but does stretch his wings so that May can get a better look at them. "Colin is still human when I left the room." He says as he closes his wings and they each head off to different points in the house.

**- [ T ] -**

"... I can't believe it!"

"I know but..."

"... to Fawkes before they..."

He sighs, it wasn't that surprising that everyone is talking about Dumblies getting arrested by the ICW. Of course they had to force a burning day on Fawkes to keep the phoenix from teleporting the headmaster out of their custody. They even confiscated the man's pensive along with all of the silver instruments.

The reports of the silver instruments reveals that a lot of them are illegally keyed to Colin and a few other people. They also managed to break the charms upon Fawkes. They had also located the Chamber of Secrets and have teleported the huge Basilisk away into the care of some country's zoo. It's unlikely that anyone cares about the giant serpent, not when Dumblies is still in custody and will be getting a trail, although it's unlikely that anyone knows what the trail is going to be about.

_I wonder when the ICW will start rounding up ex-Corpse Eaters and other members of the Ministry and the Wizengamot using the evidence in Dumblies' pensive and testimony..._ He thinks to himself. _Hopefully before they get wind of their arrests._

"Guess you've heard about Dumbledore getting arrested, huh?" Neville asks upon walking over to Colin and him. "Heard they killed Fawkes too."

He rolls his eyes while Colin sighs. "You can't kill a phoenix that easily. Besides, they likely only forced a burning day to keep Fawkes from teleporting Dumbledore away from their custody." His brother explains.

"But why did he get arrested?" Neville wonders out loud but neither Colin and himself were willing to answer that, after all, it's not their play to gossip about such things, so he replies, "Must have done an audit or something. You know how it is, governments are very money driven."

Those listening in quickly move to circulate a new rumor using that tidbit of information. _I'll make it up to him later, when we're in a secure location and after the hype dies down._ He decides as they get around to boarding the train.

"I wonder what school will be like, now that he's gone?" Colin wonders to him before Ron pulls Colin away from Neville and him. _Likely the same old stuff until the end of the year._

Ending the Chapter Here


	113. Theory of Werewolf Magic: Harry Potter

I don't own Harry Potter

**- o 0 o -**

Harry studies Greyback as the werewolf tries to wriggle out of the chains keeping the furry bastard from moving. The chains and bindings had adjusted to fit the more beastly looking version of Greyback. The flumes of the puddle made out of a potion he made sure to pour upon the floor just a foot from the infamous werewolf.

"He sure makes me look like a saint, doesn't he?" Harry muses out loud. The two adults couldn't reply as he casted a spell to keep them quiet. "I doubt he's house broken though..." The twenty-one year old says.

Turning to the pair, Harry grins wolfishly. "When I put out that reward bit over three years now, instead of bringing me Greyback's head, they brought me the most infamous werewolf to me alive." The very much changed Potter explains.

"I wanted to skin him alive, particular since he bite Remus, causing so many of Moony's problems but then, it dawned on me of the research benefits studying him could reap!" Harry says, grinning. "The irony it would be if because of Greyback, I could come up with a cure for this ancient, magical curse!"

"It wasn't hard to contact others around the world to see what they've learnt concerning this curse. Sure, it was fragmented, particularly as they each research was only interested in different parts of the curse and guarded each of their research rather jealously." Harry continues on to say.

"Of course, if you have enough money, you can buy just about anything." Harry remarks. The wizard pauses, reminiscing about everything that's happened since he toured the mine.

"Once I had the majority of their research, I began to compare it and slowly, I learnt not only to delay the transformation but how to sped it up like I just did." Harry says finally, nodding towards the struggling werewolf. "I recently came up with a theory about something but I didn't know how to test it out."

He pauses before looking over to the silenced pair, Harry notes the wet stain upon their underwear. The raven haired wizard is sure that if they could, they would have fainted from the moment Greyback's limbs started to pop and crack. Their braces keep the pair from being anything but conscious and memorizing everything he's saying.

"Then I recall some bank statements made out to the pair of you for my... keep." Under his emerald gaze the pair paled even more. "As you've already been paid for a task, yet you didn't fulfill your side, I figured that I'm within my legal right to call you on your debt to me. So you're going to help me with my research. I've already submitted forms to formalize my collection of this debt, making you two my legal, indented servants for the next sixteen years, of course, I doubt you'll survive to see the end of your indented serves."

"Oh, don't worry, nobody will miss you, after all, you've been legally dead since two am yesterday morning. It seems that Vernon here had a little too much to drink and drove right into a gun shop. Huge explosion as the fat idiot flickered a cigarette onto a bin of bullets. Shame that his wife was sleeping in the back, drunk too and sleeping it off." Harry says, savoring those memories of using a pair of mice to aid in 'killing' his 'loving' family.

Harry moves two feet from his perch, being sure to bring the stool along with him. Touching something within a pouch hanging from his jeans, bars suddenly shimmer into existence. 'Bite them once, no killing.' Harry says in a mid African dialect.

With a howl, the chain give and Greyback charges forth. Greyback paces between the two before taking a mouthful of Vernon's belly. Greyback licks the wound after swallowing the chunk of belly from Vernon. Harry watches as Greyback bites Petunia upon her inner thigh.

"Moon or no moon, the curse should be passed onto you two." Harry says lightly while Greyback rages against the bars, not touching them, likely sensing what they were. Before Greyback could return his attention upon the two bitten members of the Dursley family, bars appear and this causes the beastly Greyback to howl in outrage.

Harry's watch beeps and the effects of the potion flumes causes Greyback to take on his human appearance. With all of his lab 'rats' human, the emerald eyed wizard touches his watch upon his left hand and the three vanish with a soft pop. Touching the item within his belt pouch, the silver bars shimmer out of existence and with a wave of his wand, everything gets cleaned up, nothing remains, not even the stool the former Boy-Who-Lived had sat upon.

Glancing about the suddenly smaller basement, Harry vanish without a sound. _If this works as I theorized, the 'worlds' will never be divided ever again._

Three Months Later

"The collars, Master Harry, they be active." The elderly Kreacher informs Harry upon arriving with Harry's breakfast. Harry sinks back into his chair as he considers this turn of event.

"Only took three transformations to install a core, huh? I would have thought it would take more, all things considered." The raven haired head of the Potter family murmurs to himself out loud.

"Shall Is give them cloths?" Kreacher asks the twenty three year old. Harry shakes his head and Kreacher nods before popping away to do other duties, likely to over see the other house elves at the other properties that he's regained, those forcefully taken from him by the previous members of the United Kingdom's magical community.

After the dust had settled, it became well known that he's the reward postings and it wasn't long before everything that had been stolen from him had been returned. Harry had finally gotten to honor Hedwig and to put her body to 'rest'. Sure Harry didn't get his monies back or the stuff sold to international buyers, but with the mine back in operation, money isn't a problem any more.

Harry glances over at one of the files from his own bank, he got back at the goblins by opening and funding his own bank as he has just so much money that he rather see it used rather then sitting around, gathering dust. It helps that his loans didn't have the same 'bite' as the goblins and the terms being much more agreeable. The goblins had been rather slow in reacting to his appearance upon, what used to be a goblin only scene, and thus, weren't quick enough to keep a lot of accounts from switching over to his bank.

While he doesn't know the first thing about running a bank personally, it wasn't hard to find mundanes with some thin connections to the magical community to hire to run it in his stead. Harry knew that his bank manager is have the time of her life molding the bank into her own image and is slowly becoming something very different then either the mundane run banks and the goblin ones. After all, Harry is still feeding the bank gold, thus the bank won't be running out of money any time soon.

_And now, if only I can speed up the process of installing magic inside of a mundane before their first transformation by moonlight, then I'll be able to sell magic to a much wider market._ Harry thinks to himself before recalling that he's got breakfast in front of him and he begins to eat it before it become totally cold.

The raven haired wizard mentally files to use feed the two permanent polyjuice potions to cure the pair of being a werewolf. If they keep their magic, well, at least he knew that his theory pays off but he would need a new mundanes to work with to learn how to speed up the causing magic to bloom within them. It also means that he won't need the Dursleys any more, which kind of suck until Harry wonders if he couldn't alter the wolf base of the curse to some other animal.

As Harry finishes his meal, the wizard feels the hairs on the back of his neck raise up. With a sigh, the twenty-three year old teleports to the mine. "It seems you lot have yet to learn your lesson." Harry muses while standing in the shadows of a earthen ledge, staring down at the team of goblins and magi.

With a grin, Harry touches the fire ruby upon his wooden pendent and those goblins that survived Greyback's attack suddenly begin to wriggle about on the ground. Five months ago, he fed a special potion to Greyback before releasing the werewolf upon the previous group of raiders, he had ordered the werewolf to be sure to bite each goblin, knowing that they would be sent on a future attempt to learn the secrets of the panned out mine.

The humans among the raiding party look on in bewilderment as changes begin to be wrot upon their tiny employers. Their leather armor strains under the pressure the changes to their body are undergoing. Some goblins grew scales instead of fur, a few grow horns or spines, the cursed goblins become mutant wolves, some might even go to say hell hounds.

Once the wolven goblins have shaken themselves, they soon attack each other and the humans among them. The wards prevents them from fleeing from the mine. Harry watches the carnage from the safety of his prepared look out, just one of many located throughout the mine in case invaders every make it pass this area.

The goblin-wolves raise up upon their back legs and howl their victory over the humans before they begin to feed upon the bodies, they shove each other about as they fight over the choice parts. As they're about to turn on each other in an all out bawl, Harry pulls his hand away from the fire ruby and with that, the spell of the curse fades but the memory likely remains every clear in their minds.

"I told you lot to shove off but yet, here you are once more." Harry says, his voice echos through this part of the mine. "You might not change viva the lunar cycle but you do suffer from the curse and I have the key to activate it."

"Tell your masters that I have found a way to pass the curse onto your race. Tell them to leave the affairs of Harry James Potter be and I won't curse more of your race." Harry states before banishing the goblins away.

Seconds later, a pair of house elves arrive to collect the equipment while Harry doubts that this will be the end of things between the goblins and himself. _Perhaps its time for a counter offensive? I grew tired of always defending little over three years ago and here I am, following that same pattern once more._

Harry sighs and massages the bridge of his nose as he recalls the relic he found in the mine back during his first visit. It's hard to forget as it caused his eyesight to be corrected and that it seems to have numbed his emotions, even now, Harry struggles to feel anything but shades of emotions. Even after looking through any records he has that once belonged to the Black family, Harry still doesn't know what the energy ball is nor what it is capable of doing.

He wonders if the device has changed since he last saw it before putting it in that repaired vault but Harry refuses to go check as he rather keeps his exposure to it at a minimum. Harry doubts anything he has can protect him from the devices' effects. "I really need to widen my search for the answer..." Harry murmurs out loud before vanishing back to his previous location to continue through his mail before heading for the underground lab to see the results of using the permanent polyjuice potion to return the Dursleys back to their previous genus and solve the answer as to whether or not doing so will rob them of their 'seed' of magic.

Five Years Later

Harry sighs and wonders just how it was that he got into this particular mess concerning him becoming the true power behind the Ministry for a brief moment before snorting at the thought and laid the blame squarely where it belonged, upon the previous generations of United Kingdom magi and focused upon the results of the last year, particularly after the incident with that raiding party where he forced those goblins bitten by Greyback to transform within the mine.

Sure, the Britain has been quarantined due to an out break of a deadly case of rabies. Of course, the magical communities around the world isolated Britain because of a reporting of a altered werewolf curse, one reported by the goblins, as this new version of the werewolf curse, that it effects non-humans now as well.

_Sadly, the only thing that potion did was increase the power a werewolf's infect bite so that instead of a one in twenty chance of their bite affecting a non-human to a hundred percent, same as a human when the werewolf is transformed._ The now ruler of Britain thinks to himself while watching the news upon the still experimental, organic television that consists of a wooden frame with cotton cloth stretched over the frame.

Any day now, Harry expects some team from the outside to arrive to check on the situation, not that it matters much as they now have a much more secure and safe way to 'install' magic into mundanes. It didn't take long for those few intellectuals that got left behind to research and experiment with their new found abilities, particularly when they got their hands on text books talking about transfiguration and runes.

As all of magi native to Britain fled, refusing to be left behind with the werewolf epidemic, and as they were in a rush, they didn't take everything with them. Which he easily handed over for examination and dismemberment as Harry had been the only one of the magi to remain behind, thus granting him rights of everything left behind by those fleeing to escape the 'epidemic'.

"And yet, despite the number of more qualified people, I got voted to lead... Or is it because I'm the one that had the needed resources and contacts with those races left behind?" The raven haired twenty-eight year old wonders out loud, after all, the house elves weren't ordered to follow their masters out of Britain and, being the only natural wizard among the population that got left behind, it seems to be the reason why they looked to him out of all of the humans left. It likely helped that he's famous for being the Boy-Who-Lived and Kreacher quickly began ordering them about.

Sure, those that remained resented the fact that he's the cause of the quarantine but they sure loved the ability to preform magic that the curse granted them. It also didn't hurt that there is an easy cure for the lycanthrope cure too, with or without the permanent polyjuice potion. Actually, that potion is likely the reason why those that had once been over fifty are once more in their twenties or thirties(typically whatever age the hair used for the potion was cut at), thus granting a path to immortality as the potion can be safely used again after the drinker took it ten years ago. It also didn't remove their ability to use magic so it's a very valid route, not that it looks like he'll be needing it.

Harry's left hand goes to the center of his chest, to where the device's key component resides now. While he doesn't know what its really capable of, it had granted him the ability to polymorph into any living being as well as to alter parts of his body, similar to a Metamorphmagus but at the same time, not the same. Primary though, the core of the device seems to grant him the ability to take the form of a spectral humanoid sporting unearthly beauty while glowing a silvery blue light.

Harry's unsure if this hosting the core within his body will affect his ability to have children as he has yet to find somebody to marry. Soon Harry scowls and glances at the clock, not particularly happy that his mind has wondered down memory lane for as long as it had as there is a future to build and a world to be ready to face when the lands beyond Britain finally decide to visit to see how they've dealt with the out brake of rabies.

**The End**

To Readers: This is a kind of sequel to Heart of the Mine.**  
**


	114. Wilderness Shadows 1

I don't own Naruto.

**- o 0 o -**

The newly turned seven year old turns the package this way and that, rather reluctant to ripe the gift wrap for fear of triggering some kind of trap. Finally, Naruto does so, his curiosity getting the better of various lessens upon caution on strange gifts left before his door. Upon seeing the image upon the box, the young blond forgets to breath for a good thirty seconds.

Shaking his head, Naruto narrows his eyes at the box containing the most popular game of the year, although it did come out just after last year's school year. _Better not get your hopes up, there's likely nothing good in it._ The wanna-be ninja thinks, preparing himself for the disappointment he's about to suffer. Even if there is something within the box, it's likely a trap of some kind.

Naruto holds the box as far away as possible while using one hand to opening the box. It doesn't escape the blond's notice that somebody had already slit the tape to keep the lid closed either. Slowly, the blond uses an old chop stick to open the lid of the box.

The young blond flinches as the lid fully opens but then, not thing happens, which causes the child to frown. Slowly, the blond pokes the contains using the chop stick and yet, still nothing. Naruto walks over and puts the box onto the couch before moving to take a look.

The blond just stares at the undamaged game and game system. The birthday boy drops the chop stick to pick up the stuff still in its plastic wrapping. Seconds tick away as Naruto turns the game system this way and that while it's still in its wrapping. He then lowers it down onto the ratty couch to take out the cardboard that held the game system in place.

After about an hour of looking at everything without taking anything out of the plastic. Naruto couldn't make heads nor tails of the booklet that came with everything, which only causes his inability to read the printed word all the more irritating and depressing as it means he didn't know how to get the game system to work or how to play the game.

_Not that it'll stop me, just slow me down._ The birthday boy thinks to himself, focusing on other emotions then those that have always haunt him, that fuel nightmares. It takes a few minutes to get everything connected, Naruto's just glad that only certain plugs could fit in the right places or else it would be a big long guessing game.

Placing the head piece onto his head, the ear pieces slide over his ears while a something with a padded ball rests next to his mouth. Some words flash before his eyes and then, with a, 'oh yea', the blond puts in the game. This action causes the words to vanish, leaving a white area to engulf his vision, a strange lighten grips his senses.

Suddenly, images play before him and seemingly around him, as no matter where he turns his head, he sees images of canines, felines, and other beasts done up in crazy pattern of unrealistic colors. All those within the images are four legged ranging from small foxes and cats to huge bears. A few seconds and words hang before his eyes, without thinking, he reaches out to touch the words, which causes a flash to erupt, taking him somewhere that seems to be a clearing but at the same time, it wasn't as there's this big flat rock platform at the heart of the clearing.

"Welcome to Wilderness Shadows! Please say name of an animal to begin." A woman's voice says from almost nowhere and yet everywhere.

"Ah... crow?" Naruto asks and suddenly, a gray blob in the shape of a crow appears. This time, a board featuring colors, patterns, and a scroll with a brush hovering over it.

A few touches of the panels shows that they affect the crow model hovering over the rocks with slightly out stretched wing. Slowly, Naruto learns how to alter colors independently. He comes up with an all orange crow and was ready to go for it but pauses as that would be advertising who he really was in life, which means, he won't use orange as a color and he also erased Ramen from the scroll.

With a sigh, Naruto begins to alter the eyes, changing them from blue to purple. The beak to a black and then worked on the layers of feathers. Upon having a rainbow colored crow, the seven year old snorts and once more makes changes. Upon his seventh design which features the tips of his primaries, secondaries, tertials and tail feathers sporting bright crimson colors while the rest is a dull yellow. The whole back and back of the head are also the same yellow. The under side of the head, chest, and under wing feathers are white. Eyes are green with the beak and legs being a stormy gray.

Naruto puts Hikage, Sun Shade, which he thought was a good name as the crow certainly got enough yellow on it. Rolling up the scroll, two round spheres appear, one is green with this circle in it and the other is red with two intersecting lines. The child touches the green orb and suddenly, he's being pulled towards the crow model.

* * * * *

Blackness greets him and when Hikage opens his eyes, the crow finds himself in a tree. Getting to his feet, Hikage first studies himself before studying his surroundings. Moving out from under the main part of the trunk, the fire style crow gets a better view of the meadow about the tree.

"New?" And the crow looks down to finds a cheetah sporting a royal blue coat with purple stripes. The cheetah's silver eyes peer up at Hikage.

"Guess I am." The crow says while studying the cheetah with his green eyes. "You waiting for somebody? Or are you just trying to nap?" Hikage asks the cheetah.

"Mostly here to greet new comers, like yourself." Then goes on to add, "My name is Indigo."

"Hikage." He says to the cheetah named Indigo. Indigo chuckles softly.

"Sounds like you've got ties with ninja." Indigo says and the crow shrugs his shoulders. "Could be but I've never heard of a village called Hidden Sun, have you?" Hikage asks Indigo.

"Might have been at one time. The wars likely wiped it out." Indigo muses darkly and Hikage didn't say anything, after all, it's not like he can read any history books to prove or disprove that statement that the other guy has made.

"You got something against ninjas?" Hikage asks after a few seconds. Indigo looks away from the crow.

"I'm not thrilled about them." Hikage admits. "Only reason why I want to be one is so I can protect myself from them."

"Yea?" Indigo says, looking up at the crow with new interest. "Guess I never thought of what it would be like, growing up in a ninja village. Never visited one either." The cheetah says thoughtfully.

"I got a lot of pressure to become one. The old-man use to talk about the good that ninjas did. Not that a ninja's ever been helpful to me... I guess you'd have to be part of their forces to be accepted." Hikage continues to explain.

"F'eh, guess if it don't work, you could always go Missing Nin." Indigo adds, likely trying to lighten Hikage's mood. That does cause Hikage to considers it what little he knows of rogue nin.

"So, mind showing me around?" The crow asks the cheetah. "I might as well get to try these wings out, right?" Hikage says, spreading them wide.

Indigo laughs before moving from his sitting pose. "Sure, why not!" To which Hikage launches himself from the tree branch, it takes a few flaps for the crow to raise up into the air while following after the loping feline.

_Now this will take getting use to!_ Hikage thinks as he flies after the blue and purple cheetah. "Anyway, this meadow is call the Welcoming Meadow, the tree you were perched on is often referred to as the Greeting Tree."

* * * * *

Gaara stares blankly down at the box, at age eight, the youngest son of the Kazekage has been the target for assassination plots since he was six. And yet, since that period began, the young red head kind of misses getting gifts. Sure, the shop owner toss the strange game at him, begging Gaara to accept it instead of his life, but it counts.

The eight year old recalls that his elder siblings possess the same game, which causes him to pull the box to his chest as he walks to the house that contains the majority of his possessions. The voice of the demon he houses has moved on from scolding him about allowing the man to live to ranting and raving about what a poor 'son' he was to it. Gaara's use to the noise of the chakra demon, it had grown louder since that day...

Gaara suddenly picks up his pace, hoping to leave the street before he gives into the thing's rants and kills some random person. Although, lately, the red haired child hasn't had much of a problem with that behavior...

Leaning upon the door of his house, Gaara sighs and looks up at the ceiling, allowing his head to touch the door. Then, Gaara mentally shoves the blood thirsty thing within him into a corner, it was only a temporary measure but it'll allow him to concentrate upon playing the game he now owns. His chance to finally have a friend, even if they never met in the real world, it was still better then the existence he's living now.

Gaara heads for his room, eager to give Wilderness Shadows a try. Sitting upon his bed, the eight year old uses his sand to slice the tape so that he can open the box up. His hand trembles while holding just one piece of the device but a few breaths help calm his emotions while steely ignoring the presence of the chakra beast within him.

It wasn't long before everything is connected and he's read the booklet. Once everything is ready, he engages the power of the system and suddenly, Gaara feels like something is suddenly missing while the various image panels show scenes. He comes out of his thoughts when the menu shows up.

Once selecting the only option and a greeting is given to him, Gaara is trying to decide which animal to pick. _Hm... I could always go with a feline... Nay, nor a canine. Weasel? No badger either... How about a bear?_ "Bear."

It wasn't long before a gray model of a bear hovers at the center of the clearing, over the big, flat stone. With a sigh, Gaara says out loud, "Otter." And the sleek, muscular body of that beast hovers where the bear had been.

"Status of species?" Gaara asks and the female voice answers, "Twenty-four otter avatars exist within game."

Gaara goes through most of the large breeds, be they feline or canine, before going into the herbivores. The red head sighs, there wasn't many impressive creatures to chose from that would stand out, that would turn heads and get people to be interested in him. "Vulture." Gaara says before adding, "Status of species?" He didn't recall if birds were forbidden as avatars or not.

"Zero vulture avatars exist within game." The voice says and so Gaara names a bunch of other bird species, the answer remains the same until he said crow. "One crow avatars exist within game."

At that, Gaara blinks. "Names and activity status of crow avatars." The red head says and the game replies, "Hikage. One year and eight months."

_So, not a recently created avatar._ Gaara muses but, still, it would suit his purposes as it means that means people did know of a crow avatar. It didn't take long for him to put Karasu as his name and to have the crow avatar done up with the wings and back being a copper, the head and tail being primarily brass in color. The beak is red while the legs being the typical black. The eyes, Gaara decide, would be a standard blue.

Trying to submit the avatar, Gaara couldn't as it seems that Karasu was taken. With a roll of his eyes and wrote Aragane. That gets accepted but then, with the board out of the way, something causes the avatar to move and suddenly, Gaara is pulled right into the body.

* * * * *

Aragane wakes within the branches of a tree. The metal colored crow stretches his wings and then angles them this way and that before moving from the main trunk. Aragane glances around the meadow to find a pair of wrestling beasts, one of which seems to be a white leopard with red spots and the other is a gray fox with neon green socks with the back of the ears and tail tip being bright red.

Sure, the fox isn't as large as the leopard but being smaller, the fox seems to be able to dart out of the leopard's reach. Aragane watches this for a few minutes but is startled when the crow realizes that a certain voice is absent. The crow is struck dumb for a few seconds before Aragane decides to experiment with his wings, pushing that matter out of mind for now.

With wings and shoulders hunched, the crow's body tenses and once leaping into the air, Aragane keeps flapping his wings while jerking about. It takes Aragane a few seconds to right himself and for the crow to circle about the meadow, allowing Aragane to spot at least three other pairs about the place.

Then, Aragane catches sight of some kind of billboard and the crow lands down upon the ground in order to read the notices. A few of them seem to be recruitment notices for packs and prides with a few being messages for certain people. But what catches his attention is the notice for an anti-ninja meeting being hosted by Hikage and Hydra, it seems to be held in the neutral valley that is called Waterfall Cliffs.

_**Ninjas, think the only good one is a dead one? Then this is the meeting for you! Come and find good reasons to hate these mercenary forces hidden throughout the Elemental Countries. Newcomer or not, all are welcome! Co-Organizers are Hikage and Hydra**_

"Interesting..." Aragane muses out loud. The crow turns to study the map that's at the bottom, trying to figure out whether to fly there or to just teleport there using the mushroom ring.

"Which one?" Asks a voice and the crow glances around to find the fox and leopard sitting behind him. Aragane blinks before answering, "The anti-ninja one."

Both wrinkle their noses at the mention of that post. "Oh please, it's just hate propaganda. Not every hidden village is terrible." The fox states and the leopard nods in agreement.

"It doesn't tell you of all the good things ninja do either." The leopard remarks. "They do escort and guard missions, even been known to be rescue parties." The feline adds but Aragane mentally snorts, it's clear they want to ignore the assassinations, sabotage, and thieving missions.

Aragane tunes them out, it's clear that they're as pro-ninja as the poster is anti-ninja. The crow wouldn't mind finding others reasons for hating ninjas and the best place seems to be this meeting being hosted by Hikage and Hydra. Finally, Aragane manages to get away from the pair and takes to the air, heading for the mushroom ring to teleport to Waterfall Cliffs, thinking that maybe there are a few early arrivals at that meeting point.

"Wow... A feathered brother." Aragane hears someone say and turns to find another crow to his left, this one yellow with red tipped wing and tail feathers, although the belly and part of the lower head is white. _Ah... I get the sun part at least._ The metal hue crow thinks.

"Nice to meet you, Hikage." Aragane says and the other crow chuckles softly.

"Guess I am rather famous, aren't I? Up until you showed up, I was the only crow in the game. As you know my name, could you be kind and give me yours?" Hikage asks.

"Aragane, my name that is." Aragane replies and Hikage nods. They move out of the mushroom ring before they continue their conversation.

"So, how did ninja ruin your life?" Hikage asks and Aragane takes a few seconds to organize his thoughts.

"My mother died because the Kaz... because the leader of our village wanted to seal something into a babe." Aragane says, wondering if it matters to hide his village's name since he let a big clue slip. "Then there's these almost daily assassination attempts going on in the village... It's not pretty and it's like I don't have a say in what direction my future is going! They are all pushing me to be a monster and I never wanted to be one!" The metal hue crow rants while Hikage nods, likely in sympathy.

"Yea, most of the core group shares that out look." Hikage puases before continuing on to say, "My old man signed me up for the academy, only reason I never complain is the fact that I doubt I'll ever get taken on as an apprentice in an actual trade." Now it's Aragane's turn to nod in sympathy.

"If you're having trouble with some branch of jutsu, just show up a few hours before the actual meeting and there will be people around willing to help. Although, a lot of those around are from some new village that's seems to be settling upon the name Hidden Sound and, well, they do specialize in sound base jutsus, so, just beware of that when you're practicing in real life." Hikage says and then spreads his wings. "Come on, I'll give you an aerial tour of the valley."

Aragane spreads his own wings and leaps up after Hikage. The metal hue crow's mind is a whirl of what it would be like to preform an actual jutsu instead of him just mentally controlling his sand without any real effort on his part. Aragane notes the way Hikage flies and begins to mimic the other crow's movements, which does actually help steady him in the air. _Must be all that practice he's had._ Aragane muses while following Hikage in banking right, heading for one of the waterfalls that pour into the valley.

Enjoy

**Readers:** Ok, so maybe I've been spending a little too much time role playing on the BlackBlood Alliance Forum... Although, to be fair, I only got three characters there, 2 of which are sabers(Nardo and Stormcoat) and 1 is a wolverine(Anang).


	115. The Looping Soul P1: Buffy

I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

**- o 0 o -**

_"Oh this is so going to rile up the Slayer, you know."_ The possessed weasel/ferret puppet muses, none but Casper could hear. The greater spirit residing within the wooden doll moves from the mage's left shoulder to the right before leaping off onto the book case. _"I'm going to find a better vantage point for this."_

Casper watches as the possessed puppet races and climbs, leaving the sixteen year old alone. The dirty blond teen merely sighs while finishing setting the the trip wire. The hair growth potion waiting up high, waiting to pour down. It was only the ten minute version, so hair growth will be shed faster then the standard version of the potion which typically lasts for three to eight days.

Once everything is set, the time looping soul retreats out of the library, leaving the possessed doll behind, but Casper knows that destroying the puppet won't harm the spirit that's 'riding' it. Besides, Casper's many experiences during this time period, the mage knew that nothing important is going on with the slayer and her gang, so, no harm done really.

About twenty minutes later, Casper feels some get triggered and touches the stone in his jacket pocket. The stone is slightly warm and stroking the rune carved upon the stone, the heat vanishes. _You know, one of these days I'm going to figure out how to clean this whole town of demonic energies without causing a massive explosion._ He thinks to himself as some demon got lured into his trap that he created to weed out certain types of demons.

As the mage leaves the school gates, the dirty blond feels the trigger in the library activating. Casper begins to whistle a tune while he walks off to clean of trap of bloody remains of a demon.

First Time Loop

Nick, although to use the name from his last life, Xander, couldn't help but stare about the class of kindergartners. Particularly at the younger version of Xander Harris. That really drove it home that he can't really be Alexander Harris as there already is an Alexander Harris.

_Then why do I still sport memories of **being** Xander Harris? And where does this leave me?_ Nick/Xander wonders to himself as he returns to the drawing he has been working on since the teacher left, likely to go for a smoke. _And why put me in some other body other then Xander? What's the point of me relieving my childhood if I'm not me?_

Nick/Xander is at a lost of what to do in the mean time. Sure, Nick/Xander plans to do what he can to change things for the better but that's years away. _I wonder if it's time to see if some of my more, unconventional ideas about slaying demons and vampires to work?_

Turning the sheet over, Nick/Xander begins to make a list of things he'll need to construct that pencil launcher. It's child's play to get a water gun and to get a priest to bless some water, so there's other projects that the time looping soul could work on.

Current Loop

Casper wipes the back of his hand against his forehead. The hyena puppet's back is finally repaired. The mage places his tools down upon the bench before taking some sand paper to take the roughness off of the wooden body of the hyena puppet.

The hairs along the back of Casper's neck raises up and he says out loud, "Just let me put some polish on the spot and then you can use it." Out of the corner of Casper's eye, a ghostly image of a snake can be seen.

_"The legs... I am not terribly familiar with them."_ The nature spirit says. _"Although, I do confess, it was a unique experience. I'm glad I came to this plane, even if it's too close to the fell dimensions."_

"You would be surprise how many of your fellows try out serpent puppets." Casper says, rather relieved that the snake spirit seems to be in a good mood. "Water dwellers enjoy flying types while the flying types enjoy the puppets based off of water dwellers..."

_"Having wings seems like a lot of work. I believe I shall wait a while before giving them a try."_ The spirit replies. _"It is rather curious as to why a young human such as yourself, has come to own so much land, particularly considering what lies within the ring of properties."_

Casper presses his lips together, it's not often that he's been asked about how he's acquiring the land around Sunnyhell and he think over a few answers before finally saying, "I wanted to become a farmer, once. I mean, it would be rather easy for me to use those aging spells on plants, good money to be had."

"As you've noticed, Sunnyhell being what it is, the land around the town doesn't have clear owners. It took a bit of time but I found the various deeds, most of the owners are dead but the papers themselves are being held in old lockboxes that some how, found their ways into various pawn shops." Casper explains. "Those that I didn't purchase that route came from making private deals with their owners."

"As I have tried to house anything about the properties, certain parties of the world have noticed my acquisition of said land." The dirty blond says while mentally adding, _Of course a certain Mayor likely notices but doesn't seem to care as long as I don't use them for training camps for, well, anything._

_"And thus, why you let us have the run of the properties."_ The snake, a rattler if Casper manages to glimpse the details right, muses.

"It's good for raising wood to make these puppets." Casper points out. "Although, I should work on using magic to make them look a bit more... eye pleasing."

The snake doesn't reply, which likely means that the spirit is done chatting him up. Likely due to the fact that he just finished putting the polish on the back. A second later, the hyena puppet's eyes gain color and as it raises up, the puppet quickly becomes organic, with fur sprouting while lungs grow.

The possessed puppet giggles as an ordinary hyena does before walking about the room. As the spirit gains confidence in moving the puppet about, the hyena breaks into a lope, the spirit gets tripped up but gets up and try again.

As Casper puts stuff away, the snake spirit takes the hyena puppet out of the workshop and out into the night through the ramp that leads out of the basement workshop. Hazel green eyes glance along the rows of wooden heads, he sales them as fake head trophies, pictures of living representatives of said trophies resting next to each. It brings to his mind the early loop where he managed to make it into teen-hood.

Casper muses for a few minutes upon those early loops, they had to be a good solid sixty something loops in which he died just by trying to give early training to the trio consisting of Jesse, Willow, and the other Xander. Those memories not only help Casper to recall why he picked the name Casper and came to conclude that he had to give up his previous role of protector of 'his' girls, leaving it to the other Xander.

_Enough! Reminiscing of the past won't do me any good, I have research to continue. Particularly in the realm involving space and time._ Casper thinks to himself while heading for a special room that's a few levels down from his carving workshop.

The three levels before that room consist of illusions really. The one right under the puppet workshop sports a miniature town. Tiny people go about their business, mimicking their real counterparts. The illusion magic updates every half a second from the visual tracking wards Casper had created to animate the small town.

The second level sports illusions of various breeds of demons he has encountered during his loops, hovering about these illusions are orbs containing memories of those encounters. Those sporting a red glowing base means that he doesn't know much about them beyond the dead bodies he's examined/cut into. Yellow base means that he's got more information about them beyond their physical nature. Blue base means that he knows pretty much everything there is to know about the breed.

The third level sports illusions of weapons that Casper himself have either made or used in the past. The labels next to those not designed by the teen himself typically have the name of the current owner as well as the location. The same tracking wards used for the small, illusionary town are used to display the labels.

Finally, the fourth level under the puppet workshop is the one that he wants to use. The room contains a chair that's tilted back with a foot rest, not unlike the chars one encounters at the dentist office. _Guess I won't be making it to school for the rest of the week._ Casper muses as he walks through the various paper walls sporting Asian paper spells painted upon their surfaces, certain cultures often got attracted to certain magic types and the spiritual magics were what the teen uses to progress his understandings of space and time.

Before Casper activates the spells, the young teen creates a body clone and then places a temporary tattoo upon the clone's body. The clone lacks a mind and the tattoo grants the clone a copy of his mind. The tattoo also links the clone's mind up to a memory orb so that Casper can learn what the clone has done during his absence. When the tattoo vanishes, the clone's mind will as well.

Once the clone has exited out of the room, the clone's awareness will occur once the clone has arrived at his current body's parent's house. The clone doesn't sport any particular memories beyond that he has programed the spell to grant the clone. Casper rather not have a copy try and kill him in thinking that such an action would make them real.

It take taken the time looping soul ages to find the original cloning spell. The original just clones the body perfectly, it doesn't grant the clone a mind of its own or becomes a house to a soul, unless that soul use to be housed in the original body. True, the clone body won't last very long without somebody programing it to breath or for it to under a stasis spell to be used at a later date, which is why nobody in the world uses the original spell as the produce can't function without somebody monitoring it. Mostly, Casper figured that the clone body is rather perfect for harvesting organs and other such gruesome things.

_Although, if I can hook them up to a computer and have the computer be their brains, I'd have a rather effective labor force at my command._ Casper muses to himself as he sinks into the chair. _At least it's Wednesday night instead of Sunday night, I doubt that the programing will pass inspection for a whole week, a few days yes, but not for a week._

The enchantments upon the chair awake as Casper feeds it magic. Slowly, almost sluggishly, the rice paper walls that exist within the room begin to float in the air while beginning to rotate around the chair. Suddenly, the magical wards no longer need to be fed as they now take from his magical reserve directly, without him needing to consciously feed them.

Soon Casper feels heavy then, suddenly, his whole being is light before being dragged through this shimmering portal that could only be seen in astral form. Then the looping soul lands inside of a body, a demonic looking one that does sport trace amounts of his current body's blood. It hadn't been that difficult to create this demonic body nor to send it into other dimension.

Nose wrinkles at the smell of dung and as Casper opens his new eyes, all five of them, to find that a battle had taken place recently. The paper spells become ashes as soon as he woke up within this body. Grasping the pack that's acting as a pillow, Casper gets to his cloven feet.

Where ever Casper looks there are young demons feasting upon the bodies of the dead. The mother of the brood is circling lazily over head. It wouldn't surprise Casper that the mother had been a late comer to the battle and killed the weaken victor.

With a thought, a tail grows from his rear end and at its tip is a formidable bone blade. Casper takes out a wooden disk that is rather thick and places it over his chest. Bracing himself, Casper hits the center of the wooden disk to his chest and suddenly, like in a certain anime/manga that he had seen once upon a time, the wood seemingly melts and engulfs Casper's whole body before hardening into actual armor.

As Casper moves to exit from his position, the brood of demonlings notice him and the bold among them decide that he's a better meal then the dead flesh all about them. Casper kills at least seventeen before the demonlings decide they're better off with the cold, dead flesh then the living flesh in their mist. The mother of the demonlings never gave any signs of coming down to deal with him, likely due to the fact that the brood consists of over a two hundred demonlings so such a small number of seventeen dead doesn't stir the mother into action.

The enchantments upon the wooden armor allows him to move unhindered out of the range of the dead demons and the demonlings that are eating the dead bodies. The feather light spells work just as well as the air filtering spells as Casper finds a few lingering spots of poisonous mist and the few demonlings that ventured into said spots.

After putting kilometers between demonlings and himself, Casper focuses upon dismissing the wooden armor. Soon the wooden disk has reformed before his chest and falls to the ground while his vision swims. As the effects fade and he mentally vows to work on the spells upon wooden Guyvers. The problem was, the armor is either covering him or in its disk form, unbonded from him, allowing pretty much anyone to use it.

Once the wooden Guyver is back within his pack, Casper takes out a stone with a simple location spell upon it. "Guide me to the closest master of magic." Casper states out loud in one of the common demonic tongues. His current body isn't well equipped to speak most human languages, it likely has to do with the fact he has a beak...

Casper had drained what resources he could in learning magic in his home dimension as the paths that he hasn't explored to be rather... scarring in a different sense, as in scarring the soul and the memories. Casper isn't prepare to sell his soul either as is all he is in the end, just a ghost moving from one body to another, haunted by his past in a vastly different sense then just mentally.

Casper has a good three months in which to seek out whatever magic users he can find and convince them to teach him. _One way or another._ Casper thinks to himself as he heads off in the direction the stone floats towards.

One Hundred and Fifty-second Loop

The current African-American teenager studies a certain Halloween store. The youth walks up to the store hoping that what he's about to do will wake at least one of the three up to the dangers of the world in which they're now living in. _And hopefully, this minor change will be over looked._ The soul who would one day settle upon the name Casper muses to himself as he enters into the store.

The owner wasn't around, which is why he picked this time to enter into the store. His right hand enters into the pocket holding the slips of paper with minor descriptions, one of which has the name of a slayer who had lived in the same time period that Buffy's costume typically has her transforming into. What little he had gathered upon this particular slayer, he hopes, will help Buffy deal with what's coming, particularly with a certain right of passage that the Watchers arrange.

One of the slips will be places within the toy gun a certain member of the Scooby gang picks up without failure every loop unless he buys it. The few times he did that, well, he learnt that somebody among the 'higher ups' want Xander to have the knowledge of a soldier and not whatever else the other Xander finds within that bin. _Just how did they manage to arrange those stampedes?_

The final slip goes into a certain ghost costume. That slip is meant to give Willow certain poltergeist abilities. It wouldn't surprise him if it also causes her to develop a bit of a temper or something while the spell is in effect.

He knew from other experiments that putting little information slips and hiding them upon generic costumes does effect how the spell is applied. The only problem is, he's never tried for any specific person before. Sure, he's caused those dressed up as magic users to be more talented in a specific type of magic or a soldier to have more specific set of skills, but never taking the generic costumes and turning them into persona ready costumes.

With the slips in place, he purchases a few costumes, he had won a bet that allowed him to pick their costumes, and left the store. He, of course, would be wearing some other costume that didn't come from Ethan's, not because he fears that the magic will mess with his memories but because the effects of him wearing a costume typically remains(AKA powers, skills, knowledge, and looks) with him for the rest of the loop, which often draws way too much attention from the 'higher ups'. _That and I've grown bored with the selection of super heros that I can dress up as without anyone asking for details._

It's rough whenever he decides to dress up as fictional characters whom's series haven't been released yet. Although, he did enjoy the powers and the looks he got from dressing up as Sephiroth or Cloud from Final Fantasy VII, Nora from Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom, or Obito Uchiha from Naruto. Upon experiencing and using chakra, he found himself interested in Asian magics and he's been studying how to craft their paper spells as they seem rather easy to undo compared to most of the magics he's come across during the time loops.

_It'll be interesting to see the results of the slips of papers cause._ The current African-American thinks to himself before mentally reviewing that slips of papers to put on the costumes that he bought for his 'crew'. He purchased five knight costumes, one priest, and one wizard. _Looks like I'll be reviewing those table top role playing books for ideas. Wouldn't be the first time I've used cheap make up and paint to active a desired effect._ He had spent at least three loops working in on movies, learning a bit of how to make his own masks, fitting teeth, and some knowledge concerning how to use make up to paint the masks up so they look real.

Although, he did wonder how much effort Ethan goes to for this single event. Not that the time looper has any plans to learn magic beyond paper spells. He's has too many bad experiences with magic to want to learn it out side of knowing how to counter certain spells.

Halloween

Flexing his toes, he shifts his weight from one leg to another. The home made stilts seem fine even with the modification he had done to switch out one set of goat furry leggings for a cheetah pattern with four toes at the end. He created the tail and has it connected to a very simple computer that causes it to move the tip of the tail as well as have it swish side to side. The motor that powers these actions is long and thin, allowing him to wear it like a belt around his waist.

The stilts add about a foot and a half to his over all height. A rather simple mask, one that had been inspired by the Lion King the Broadway musical. Considering what's about to run rampage this Halloween, he figured at least this way, the 'heroes' won't attack him as they can see that he's human.

Once his costume is all done up, he heads to the meeting place. The necklaces and such clink and clanked as he walked out of the house. Unsurprisingly, he's the first one to arrive. And so, he turns off the belt motor so that he can sit down without his tail moving around, getting in the way.

"Yo, Even!" Cries one of his crew and 'Even' turns to look over at the approaching knights. Each sports a furry face with markings belonging to either a badger or a raccoon. "Nice shaman get up! Funny looking way to wear a mask though." Rus adds as the lead badger takes a few second studying him.

"You're tails are look like they're about to fall off." He remarks as he stares at one of the raccoon tails that fell onto the ground. Rus and Cassie decided to be a badger while the other three picked raccoons.

Soon the remaining two arrive, both had decided to be foxes. Crissie picked the priestess robes while Vincent found himself being the magus. Crissie's coloration is white while Vincent's coloration is rusty red. Vincent sports a wand and while Crissie is the one with the staff that he had carved when he was like, nine years old in this loop.

"Nice legs, bro." Vincent remarks upon giving him a thoughtful look. "How did you get that effect with your legs?"

"Professional secret." 'Even' sums up. He then glances up at the sky, trying to judge just how much time they had until the spell takes hold.

As they head for some grocery store to load up on eggs and toilet tissue, the spell causes his crew to become rather dazed for a second or three before they straighten up to glance around in bewilderment. Soon the seven murmur among themselves before those dressed as monsters begin to attack the group.

He manages to sneak away, leaving the group to deal with what's about to go down until the spell is ended. 'Even' has another group to watch this evening and he's fairly sure that his crew will do fine. After all, with a mage and a priestess among them, they'll stay healthy and be able to deal with whatever strange magic that gets released this night viva those that dressed up as witches and mages.

It didn't take long before he arrives at the Summer's house and finds a spot to observe it comfortably. It takes about two hours but the four he's been expecting arrives. Willow's body being carry by Buffy instead of Xander. Willow soon exits out of the house a few minutes later, likely to go find Giles.

_I wonder if Angel will visit?_ 'Even' wonders and sure enough, cries of vampire echo out of the house. He is rather surprised to see Angel getting thrown out of the window and then the en-scrolled Buffy yells out threats as Angel runs away.

_I'm going to remember this night fondly for years to come._ He decides after a few minutes of recovering from what he just witnessed. Sure, he knew it was the costume talking but it had always been a dream of his to witness this.

He then glances around but nothing seems to be wrong, which means that there might not be anything out to kill him for causing Buffy to act like that to Angel. He knew that there were certain things that typically cause those on another plane to off him in rage of 'interfering' with their plans.

_One of these loops I'll turn the tables on the one who keeps offing me..._ He mentally vows to himself as he watches the house, waiting for the spell to end so it's safe to return home.

Months Later

'Even' jerks his head as something overhead ripples. He doesn't even get the chance to cry out as a vortex opens up over his bed. As he's pulled up into the vortex along with a few other items, a voice thunders, the time looping soul quickly realizes just who's voice it was as well.

**"You worm! Do you know what you've done? Angel is dead because of you! Enjoy your stay in a hell plane!"** Jasmine's works echo as he travels through the vortex.

Landing upon a large rib cage, he holds his breath while looking around at his new surroundings. He manages to grab a binder that holds a few art supplies. Quickly opening it and using the brush, he crafts a paper spell for barrier upon it.

Slamming it down, a energy barrier springs to life about ten foot sphere. Expelling the breath he's been holding as soon as he finishes writing an air purifying spell, he breaths easier. He sighs, knowing that he only has so many blank pages.

Then an idea strikes him and he takes off his shirt. Painting another paper spell upon another page, he then take it and presses it onto his chest. This one is to purify the air, hopefully, it'll allow him to breath the air without any trouble.

After ten minutes, he takes the page off his chest and discovers that the spell seems to be fused with his skin. He pokes at the spot but nothing rubs off. While confused, he shakes his head as he puts the brush away before putting his shirt on.

He then tries to locate more stuff that got sucked into the vortex. He flinches as it suddenly begins to rain down glowing lights. The tiny lights didn't hurt or anything, they just seem to get absorbed within his body. _Huh... How strange, I feel a bit more energetic though._ He muses as he drops down to the ground.

He sighs in relief that a few of his daggers had passed through. It didn't take long before he has placed them upon his body. Now armed, he looks around for other things that he can make use of. He is sure not to let his thoughts drift to imagining how bit the demon had been when it was alive as such thoughts would serve no purpose.

_At least I finally have an idea of who to blame for all my previous deaths..._ He thinks as he finally gets ready to move away from the skeleton. He's unsure if he'll make back to Sunnyhell be it by resurrecting once more in the body of another babe or in his current body.

Current Loop

Casper growls at the sight of a very familiar face, the only name he's able to use is Tai'Jynn. Unsurprisingly, Tai'Jynn doesn't spot any of the scars of their last encounter, heck, Tai'Jynn actually sports both wings! The demon seems rather taken back by his reaction for a second before the twenty foot winged demon grins in a feral fashion, mandibles clicking against each other in excitement.

Tightening his grip upon the bone handle of his newly forged sword, he take up a defensive stance while Tai'Jynn takes out only one pair of swords, leaving the other half of the set of swords in their sheaths. Casper mentally smiles at this overconfidence, the last time they faced off, he came out on top and that's when Tai'Jynn was in his prime as a mercenary.

He never did learn just how old Tai'Jynn was during their previous encounters but all of the other times had Tai'Jynn missing a wing. Tai'Jynn had been the demon that sent him to his death when Jasmine first sent him into a hell plane. He managed to live to the 'ripe' old age of thirty-one when Tai'Jynn hunted him down and brought him to that meat dealer who sold him to be feasted upon alive.

_Why do I always come up against him whenever I'm in a hell dimension?_ Casper wonders while a few money lenders start a betting ring about who's going to kill who. The time looping soul is rather use to this behavior but Tai'Jynn typically glares at those that put money on Casper instead of Tai'Jynn.

He manages to keep his tail from twitching from side to side. As the betting dies down, a ticked off Tai'Jynn finally gives his total focus upon Casper. _Let's see if I can manage to kill you again._ He thinks as he struggles to keep himself from moving from his position, trying to keep his limbs loose and yet ready to take a blow from Tai'Jynn's swords.

Tai'Jynn makes the first move and he hurries to block while using his tail to cause Tai'Jynn to bleed. It wasn't long before Tai'Jynn tries to use his wings to baffle Casper, not that it works as he could make out Tai'Jynn's movements in his sleep. Although his blade's edge continues to find their marks upon Tai'Jynn's body while he also deals with the few scores that his opponent manages to get in.

He manages to get behind Tai'Jynn and he slices along Tai'Jynn's spine, causing the other to scream in pain. Casper winces at how high pitched it was compared to their previous encounter. While Casper is pushed back by the wings, the human within a demon's body manages to get to the right side and beheads Tai'Jynn while Tai'Jynn tries to bring out his other set of swords.

With the death of the younger Tai'Jynn, the demons move to collect their winnings while Casper wonders if this wasn't a hollow victory since this particular Tai'Jynn just didn't have the same experiences as the previous incarnations. With a flick of his tail and a shrug from his shoulders, he moves to preform the traditional looting of one's opponent. It likely won't be long before Tai'Jynn's body gets taken away and sold by a meat dealer.

_You would think that after so many encounters with him, I would be thrilled to know that I could win in a straight out fight against him. And yet... yea, not much sanctification in killing Tai'Jynn at such a young age._ Casper muses to himself as he finally leaves the body alone, he has taken Tai'Jynn's swords and various hidden pouches, including the two that Tai'Jynn put within his actual body.

_Hopefully our next encounter, he will be older and more experienced and then we'll know which one of us is the stronger._ Casper mentally thinks before trying to figure out how much time he has in his current body before he's called back to his human one located in Sunnyhell.

**To Be Continued**


	116. Wilderness Shadows 2

I don't own Naruto.

**- o 0 o -**

_Not bad, could be better but it works._ The eight year old blond commonly known as Naruto or to use his other name, Hikage. A yellow circle ringed by spikes point outward while the yin-yang image is within the circle upon this red vest. The blond uses his index finger to trace the sown pieces before putting the vest on over his washed out orange T-Shirt sporting a red painted swirl on he front.

While orange is his favorite color, him wearing red causes fearful reactions among those living in Hidden Leaf. At least when he's wearing the color. The response had caught him off guard during the supposed one time Naruto was to wear it but the boy found he privately enjoyed that reaction so has taken to wearing it more often. It also helps that yellow and orange also go with red, so at least the child got to wear those colors too.

_Maybe I should continue to practice sowing... I'm sure it's easier to get cloth then getting actual made cloths from the shops._ The blond thinks while turning to study what the group of water clones have been preforming in their own attempts at sowing the sun symbol upon the other jackets, hoodies, and upon certain types of pants.

_Perhaps I should paint it on my shirts too?_ Naruto wonders as he glances at the pile of untouched shirts. With a slight hum, the blond takes out this pocket watch, he took it off a dead Uchiha while they were taking the bodies out of the Uchiha district to check the time.

The blond closes it and with a thought causes the done water clones to head for this apartment's bathroom to dispel. Naruto waits for the few remaining clones to finish up with their tasks before sending them to follow the others. The blond glances around this apartment, once again wonders why the building wasn't condemned or under repair as while this apartment wasn't as bad as his actual one, it still has its issues.

_Hmmm, if I didn't have that one plan concern faking my death, I'd give burning this place down in the hopes of getting a better place in a second._ The blond thinks to himself. _It would be something to see the Third actually do something to improve my situation instead of sitting back and watching the abuse hemp up on itself._

_Is it any surprise I help found that anti-ninja group in Wilderness Shadows? Or contribute jutsus typical of used by Leaf ninja?_ Naruto thinks to himself. _It wouldn't be right learning what they had without adding my own jutsus to the group._

Soon the remaining water clones finish their job and with a mental command, they head for the bathroom to dispel. With the water clones gone, Naruto heads out of the apartment and down the stairs to the main level in order to leave. He's got two hours to kill and with the system on him, Naruto knew just how he wants to spend them, but not before he's within the academy.

* * * * *

Hikage shakes his wings before moving from his nest in Waterfall Cliffs. The brightly colored crow moves out of the center of the next to the stone ledge. With wings half spread, Hikage falls off the ledge and as the water comes rushing up, Hikage snaps open his wings to their full length and comes out of the dive.

The crow then begins to flap his wings to raise higher into the air while heading for the usual meeting place. Hikage croaks in delight, one of his legs drops down for a second before returning to its usual spot. The crow, once high enough in the air, begins to do aerial stunts just for the fun of it.

Hikage notices movement down below and angles his body to get a closer look. As the crow gets a better view, Hikage finds a shy looking doe sporting autumn colors. The doe's head turns to face the crow, allowing Hikage to notice the bright blue eyes, the light hits them in such a way that seems to cause them to appear to appear white.

Hikage calls out, "Nice scenery, isn't it?" The crow circles the doe, deciding not to land as the doe is a stranger and there could be any number of reasons why the doe would come here. The group lives in fear that somebody would learn what they were doing and they'd all face persecution, particularly those who live in the village that discovers them.

"Breath taking." The doe replies before add, "I hadn't known bird avatars were an option." The autumn coated doe's ears twist while the head stays in one place, likely due to the doe's eyes being on either side of the head.

"It was the first animal that came to my mind." Hikage admits. "Just about three months ago, another made a crow too." The crow adds as an after thought.

"I see." The doe replies calmly. "This whole game... It's not what I was expecting." The doe admits as the autumn colored doe moving to stand close to the ledge. "It's as though I can smell the water coming from the waterfalls..."

"I wouldn't know, crows don't have much in the way of smelling things or taste." Hikage admits before adding, "You'd be surprise at how a lot of newbies jump into the water thinking that they won't sink into it. Of course, their struggles to get out of it isn't much of a joke, particularly when the shore line is a few miles away from their spot."

The doe reacts by turning to looking to the left with ears going backward. "Do they drown?" The doe asks and the crow replies, "No."

"I see." The doe murmurs before leaning her head over the ledge, moving it towards the mists raising up from the waterfall. Hikage lands upon the ground, to the doe's right while cocking his head so he can watch the doe's reaction.

The doe giggles a bit, causing the doe to seem younger then her previous manner had portrayed her as. A beeping rings out and the crow sighs but before taking to the air, Hikage says to the doe, "Perhaps I'll see you around at a later date."

An ear flickers towards the crow and with that, Hikage takes to the air, heading back to the nest before logging out of the game.

* * * * *

Konoha-Aki follows the crow's flight path for a few minutes until the unusually colorful crow is out of sight. _Perhaps this game won't be a waste of time after all._ The doe muses before beginning to walk along the edge of the land island.

This land is only the third place Konoha-Aki has visited upon registering with the game. The doe had read an old notice about an anti-ninja meeting and had been curious about the place that is their meeting. The crow had been the ninth other avatar that Konoha-AKi met since entering into this game world. The crow also had been the only one to withhold their name, but then, the doe hadn't offered a name either.

_It shouldn't be too hard to learn his name if what he said about there only being two crow avatars in this game._ The doe muses thoughtfully to herself. Konoha-Aki's tail flickers back and forth as the doe wonders what it would be feel like to run while within this avatar body.

Finally, the doe's tail holds still just a few seconds before Konoha-Aki rears up while twisting so that the front hooves are facing towards the other end of the meadow. With ears against the skull and heart seemingly pounding, Konoha-Aki sprints forth as quick as the doe can.

It wasn't long before the doe trips and lands upon the ground in an indulgent fashion. The doe begins to laugh while moving to bring wayward legs under the doe's body. Minutes pass until the laughter dies down, leaving Konoha-Aki feeling only slightly drained and yet, in high spirits.

"When was the last time I laughed like that?" The autumn colored doe murmurs out loud. The doe sighs before getting up off the ground. There were other lands to visit and other people to get to know, so with a flick of a tail, the doe walks over to the mushroom ring to teleport to another location.

Konoha-Aki shrugs off the thoughts of shying upon this anti-ninja group. After all, the doe reasons, there are likely just a bunch of civis needing to release their negativity in regards to ninja and their 'carefree' life style. _Besides, the Kages likely already have spies among the ranks._ Konoha-Aki thinks as the ring activates.

* * * * *

Gaara stares at the orb of water. The skin of the orb is the red head's chakra. The water frightens the child's demon, which Gaara comes to view as unsurprised as sand turns into mud when wet, which is really difficult to manipulate. Not that Gaara is worried about falling in, not when he knows how to walk upon it and is slowly coming to get the 'feel' of the water.

Gaara unknowingly sticks out his tongue as he pours chakra over the orb in order to create two smaller orbs. The eight year old has been at the beach for close to three weeks now and while progress has been slow in regards to him getting comfortable using water, he's enjoying the new scenery and the fact that few of the people around the port seem to be overly interested in him. As he doesn't wear a headband, none of the people knew he's capable of using chakra or that he's killed over twenty assassins.

They saw the eight year old red head as a street urchin and not their concern. Considering the usual reaction he causes back in Hidden Sand, their attitude come as something of a welcome relief. It helps that the demon within him is more interested in getting away from the ocean then in having him kill somebody.

Gaara scowls at having two uneven orbs of water but is rather relieved that he managed to keep the water together instead of splashing about like his previous efforts result in. The red head gives the two orbs a thoughtful look and then decides to see if he can't merge them together once more. The result has the smaller orb floating around within the larger one, much to his amusement.

"Wonder if I can repeat this effect?" Gaara wonders out loud while using his other hand to brush his bangs from his face. _Or substitute using water for paint... I'm sure Hikage will love to know if this control exercise could be applied to other kinds of liquids._

In the few months that Gaara has know Hikage while being Aragane, the eight year old learnt that Hikage's got a pranking streak over a kilometer wide. The only thing that dwarfs that streak is Hikage's creativity when it comes to applying jutsus to every day use. _Which reminds me..._

A few handsigns later and a small army of water clones march into the ocean to bring back clams, oysters, and eatable kelp. He wants a change of pace then fish, lobster, and crab that he usually has his clones retrieve. With that done, Gaara heads off to go collect drift wood for a campfire, retracting what chakra he can from the two water orbs. The water orb splashes all over but Gaara didn't care.

Although, the wayward third child of the Kazekage does check this watch to see what time it is. Skeleton has something to share with the group tonight and he doesn't want to be late to learn what Skeleton has to say or think of as news.

* * * * *

Skeleton blinks and raises up from the ground, heading out of the earthen den. The coyote's white and black coat is slightly dirty, more from inactivity then from the den's dirt. Skeleton heads for the small pond just a few feet from the current lair that Skeleton constructed less then a month ago.

Once the dip in the water clears the dirt from Skeleton's coat, the coyote heads for the mushroom ring to head to Waterfall Cliffs. Unsurprisingly, Skeleton arrives to find Hyrda and Hyorinmaru waiting for the coyote. "Hydra. Hyorinmaru."

Skeleton nods towards the brown and green genet known as Hydra before nodding towards the water hued otter known as Hyorinmaru. "Skeleton." Hydra states as the forest coated genet flickers their tail before walking into the mushroom ring, the otter follows a second or two behind Hydra.

From what Skeleton has managed to gather from conversations with either, the coyote comes to conclude that the pair know each other outside of the game and were close. Their names has caused Skeleton to also conclude that the pair are ninja from Hidden Mist, but then, considering certain policies, it's not that odd that Mist ninja weren't happy with their village, much less who's running it.

Typically, the two switch concerning lending their knowledge of chakra control exercise, tips concerning taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu. They did seem rather interested in the current research concerning using the standard storage seal to see if one can seal a living thing using it and then release it without the being in question suffering from being sealed. _Concerning the sentiments of ninja attending these extra group activities, is it any wonder that most are looking for ways to fake their deaths?_ The coyote muses as they walk out of the ring upon arriving at their destination.

_I wonder how many Kages would have a heart attack if they knew that most of their genin and academy students are looking to escape military service?_ Skeleton muses as Hikage comes hopping towards them. Skeleton could only guess what Hikage's real position is in their village, the coyote highly doubts somebody as charismatic, sneaky, and bright as Hikage is to be a mere academy student.

_Might be from a lesser village._ Skeleton muses while turning to watch Hikage greet Hydra. The coyote smiles as best as a coyote can as the crow uses a wing to alter the genet's direction, heading off to some secluded area to speak about how to manage tonight's members. Hyorinmaru soon gets called over by a group of sabers and leopard for help about some argument.

"You don't mind if I land on you're back, do you Skeleton?" The coyote looks up and within a few seconds, spies the second crow of the group, Aragane, circling over head. With a shake of a head and a few seconds later, the metallic hued crow lands upon Skeleton's back.

"So, how have you been, Aragane?" Skeleton asks as the crow leaps off of the coyote's back and lands upon the ground. Skeleton has grown rather fond the shyer of the two crow avatars as Aragane brings to the coyote's mind a certain younger sibling.

Skeleton knew that said sibling had long since erased the avatar they had used before what happened to cause their partying, but that doesn't mean that Skeleton doesn't hope to encounter them within this game. "Been good, though water is still giving me trouble. It's so difficult to get it to do what I want it to." Aragane admits.

"That might be because you're leaning towards Earth for your element." Skeleton says upon sitting down. "Have you tried any earth based jutsus?" The coyote asks and the crow shakes their head.

"I think I want to continue giving water a try before I move onto another element. It's not like I have anything better to do in the meantime." Aragane remarks before some group arrives to ask for Skeleton's help in regards to using a genjutsu to improve one's smell when they haven't bathed in a week or two.

Two hours later and those that weren't ninja or studying to be ninja begin to show up. A half an hour after everyone is settled, Hikage and Hydra greet the group. The meeting goes onto have those in attendance to tell their latest stories about why they hate ninja before calling on certain members to share their current findings about kidnappings going on concerning goods, children, or of power shifts going on within their country.

Once all of these have been addressed, Hikage calls upon Skeleton to address the 'assembly'. Many heads turn towards the black and white coyote as said avatar moves from laying down to sitting up. "The news might surprise and horrify many of you, but what I'm about to say is true." Skeleton says slowly.

"I'm sure some of you know of the nine demons?" Skeleton asks and a few pipe in answers about the one tail and the most famous, the nine tail. "During my travels, I heard of a group looking to capture those hosting the demons."

A lot of those in attendance explode, most tossing out certain villages they don't particularly like as culprits. It takes a few minutes for Hikage and Hydra to get everyone to be silent so that the coyote could continue. "I don't know much about this group. I only heard a few Rain ninja mention this group but they seem to believe that there is a host for the nine tail demon commonly referred to as Kyuubi."

That announcement causes a lot of chaos, especially since many of those gathered still held Hidden Leaf in high regard. It takes much longer before the coyote can continue, after all, it stands to reason that some of the demon hosts manage to get their hands on this game and game system. As they have more then enough reason to hate ninjas, it stands to reason that a few were likely part of this group.

_Now they've been warned. Hopefully, they will prepare for what's to come. If not, well, I'm sure the Kages will try to keep a closer eye upon their 'weapons'._ Skeleton thinks while saying, "I did not get any more information from these ninja as I was more focused upon evading detection. Whether or not Hidden Rain is behind this movement doesn't matter, what does is that Hidden Leaf has lied about how the Kyuubi was defeated and can't help but wonder what else they've lied about."

Ok, so maybe Skeleton is a 'bit' sore about the order to kill his clan and the treatment of said demon container. _The boy's parents are likely regretting every sacrifice they've ever made in regards to Hidden Leaf. Their son is considered scum, not even worth being taught any way to control his massive reserve of chakra. It's doubtful the boy's education could be salvaged now or ever._ Thinks Skeleton as while envisioning Minato and Kushina with looks of contempt at Hidden Leaf.

Enjoy


	117. Hidden Societies: Naruto

I don't own Naruto.

**- o 0 o -**

Two Weeks After Wave Mission

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Naruto pauses to glance towards the owner of the voice. The young genin points to himself while this talking cat steps out of an alleyway.

"Yes, you! Get over here before somebody sees you!" The gray pelted cat snaps who's wearing a ratty brown vest. The blond genin hurries over to the feline.

"And drop that Henge! You won't fit otherwise!" The old tom says and Naruto stiffens slightly, mind racing but it's clear from the look in the old tom's eyes is he can't spend any more time and so, Naruto transforms into the first thing that comes to mind.

The tom cat gives him just nods before turning back into the alleyway with Naruto current transformed as a off white fox sporting two tails, the usual black markings are light blue and wears an orange vest sporting the leaf symbol in white upon the back. Naruto blinks as the tom cat stands up and places his paw upon this red spot upon this stone wall.

To the genin's amazement, a portal opens in what Naruto had thought was a solid wall. Without needing much encouraging, Naruto darts through the opening, relieved that he managed to fit through and then slips upon something, causing him to slide down. The old tom come sliding down after the two tailed fox.

Just as the slide comes to an end, Naruto finds himself to be at the beginnings of some kind of under-city, only for animals then for humans. Naruto manages to get out of the way before the old tom cat bumps into him. The current fox shaped genin stands by the rail to gaze around at the lower levels of this strange place.

"Well, well, handsome. You can grace my den anytime." A silky voice says and Naruto glances to find a black furred vixen who's also sporting twin tails with gray socks and tail tips.

"Please keep your mind out of the gutter, Akiko. This one was strolling down the street without a care in the world." The old tom says while grabbing a belt with a few small pouches.

"I'm just passing through." Naruto protests, his team is only here to grab some package then they're heading back to Hidden Leaf. Naruto's ears flicker backward as the old tom glares at Naruto.

"Then you should hurry on your way out! Haven't you noticed the lack of crows or pigeons around here? That should have been the only warning you needed!" The old tom snaps at the current genin posing as a white two tailed fox.

"Don't mind old Takahiro here. He over dramatizes things." Akiko pipes in while one of her tails brush against Naruto's noses, causing to the twelve year old to sneeze slightly. "Some new restaurant rolled into town and instead of buying their meat, they've been trapping any small beast to use for their meat dishes."

"They are serving crows?" Naruto asks in alarm and feels suddenly ill as he recalls that Sakura wanted to try the latest restaurant for tonight's supper. "How could they live with themselves?"

"Likely by keeping their hand on the money." The old tom, Takahiro remarks dryly. "Perhaps you'd like to give a tour to..."

"Ah... the humans call me Naruto but Tatsuya is what I use among my own kind." The genin says, after all, if he'd ever met up with another demon container, he just might ask for them to call him Tatsuya so it's not a lie per say.

And so, another one of Akiko's tails rub along his jaw line while the black furred vixen sways her hips while walking down the ramp. Feeling rather embarrassed, Naruto follows after the vixen. The disguised genin cocks his head to the side as he follows the vixen, wondering if she's just being a teasing or being serious.

_Ah well, at least I'll get to see sights that the others won't. Maybe I might even find a Ramen vendor down here..._ Naruto licks his lips at the thought as Kakashi has been trying to break him of his 'addiction'. "So, how many foxes are in these parts?" Naruto asks, deciding to make conversation with the vixen, being sure to pick up his pace as he notices a few squirrels eyeing him from what looks to be a bar.

Mission: Paw Encyclopedia!

Naruto eyes the cat ears being offered. _I'm sure they'll be willing to let a fox in._ The blond genin thinks to himself before putting them on, he'll make a shadow clone once he's alone before heading to the fortress in the disguised as the two tailed white fox Tatsuya.

The blond does create a clone and then uses the replacement jutsu to appear in the surrounding forest. With a sight puff of smoke, Naruto transforms into his fox disguise but instead of wearing an orange vest with the leaf symbol, he's wearing a black vest with an image of a blue flame on the back. With a flicker of his twin tails, Tatsuya heads off towards the trail of cat scents.

The guards keep Tatsuya from entering ahead of other cats so the disguised genin is around to see his clone and team-mates approach the bridge. "Hey now! Am I going to be let in or not?" The disguised Naruto asks the guards as the last pair of cats enter.

"Ah fox?" Tatsuya hears Sakura murmurs to the others. The guards glance over at Tatsuya before waving him in, much to his relief. Standing up, Tatsuya bows to the two guards before walking pass them.

A few minutes later, alarms sound and guards rush the gate. Tatsuya watches as Sakura and Sasuke manage to get pass the rush while his clone is held at point. Tatsuya couldn't help but feel a slight headache come on at the fact that the guards continue to mistake Sakura and Sasuke for cats. _Unless this is all a set up..._ Tatsuya muses while a guard frisks him.

Then, as soon as Sakura and Sasuke leave the courtyard, the cat guards apologizes to Tatsuya about his treatment, which, Tatsuya accepts. And so, Tatsuya finds his way to the mini market. "Welcome good sir! Perhaps you'd like a tour of our fair market?"

Tatsuya glances up to find a bat hanging from the welcome sign. "A generous offer but I'm merely here to say that I've visited this famous fortress." Tatsuya explains but the silver furred bat sporting brown kanji for guide upon, sniff, his font.

"Ah! But that doesn't mean you can't get the lay out of the market!" The bat says upon letting go and taking to the air. The disguised genin bobs his head while the bat bobs up and down in the air before him. "Besides, it's a free tour, although tips are appreciated!"

Tatsuya sighs before waving one of his forearms while saying, "Well then, honored bat, lead the way if you will." The bat chuckles, which is rather high pitch clicking.

"My name, honored fox, is Naoto." Naoto the bat replies. "My name is Tatsuya." The two tailed fox replies and with that, Naoto begins to take point while Tatsuya drops to all fours before following after his flying guide.

A large boom causes everyone in the market to pause, glancing in the direction of the sound. "Sounds like Itachi's younger brother is having a blast." Somebody says dryly.

"I was wondering why the guards would let humans in while they were wearing such flimsy disguises. Are you saying that it was all set up for this younger sibling of this Itachi?" Tatsuya asks while Naoto drops to the ground.

"Aliyah! Of course! You think we can't sniff a human out if we put half a mind to it? Just because we're not famed for our noses doesn't mean we can't smell the differences between a human and one of our own!" Grumbles one of the cats around Tatsuya.

_Well, you learn something new everyday. If Itachi set this up years ago for Sasuke, then, does this mean that Itachi never meant to kill Sasuke? If Itachi cared back then about Sasuke, then what changed?_ The transformed Naruto wonders to himself as Naoto is in the air once more and everybody returns to their business.

Soon, Naoto begins to point out the various sights and Tatsuya puts the mission out of his mind, confident that his shadow clone has fulfilled his position until he gets out of the fortress.

After Kazekage Rescue Arc

"How did you talk me into this?" Gaara wonders while Naruto just rolls his eyes. "Particularly, how do you expect them not to realize that you left a shadow clone as my replacement?" The red head asks the blond as Naruto pulls Gaara into an abandon building.

"Shh!" The blond hisses at the Kazekage of Hidden Sand. "You do know how to do a Henge jutsu, don't you?" Naruto asks after a moment's thought and then narrows his eyes at Gaara gives him a blank look.

"Oh for the love of... Just do these hand signs while thinking of an animal!" The blond genin from Hidden Leaf says and does the Henge jutsu handsigns slowly to give Gaara an idea of what signs to make before a puff of smoke erupts and vanishes to reveal Naruto in his fox disguise, Tatsuya.

Gaara stares down at the white furred fox for a few seconds before preforming said jutsu. Tatsuya's ears go back at the sight of a primary red furred tanuki sporting green markings and a mini gourd upon the back. "Ok, just follow my lead. By the way, call me Tatsuya too." Tatsuya says before heading to the next building's basement.

The basement smells overwhelmingly of feline and bird. Slipping through the window, Tatsuya waits for the tanuki to come down before heading for the secret gate. Standing upon his back legs, Tatsuya presses three seemingly random spots and the brick wall begins to moving inwards before parting.

Beckoning the tanuki forward, Tatsuya waits until Gaara is pass him before entering as well. Gaara stops before the ramp leading down and gives Tatsuya a look before heading down the ramp. Tatsuya shakes his head and pats the pouch upon the belt around his waist to be sure that he's got money for the bar the disguised genin is taking the Kazekage to.

Dropping down upon all fours, Tatsuya walks about two feet behind the red tanuki with green markings. Twin tails move up and down independently of each other. About ten feet down into the ground, the ramp opens up to reveal the tops of buildings and another five feet before the ramp comes to an end.

"Pretty neat set up, huh?" Tatsuya asks his companion. "The bar isn't far from this entrance." The disguised genin adds while taking point. A bewildered Gaara follows after after a few seconds.

About three blocks from that entrance stands the Man-Eater, a bar run by a weasel. Behind the counter is a black furred squirrel while the four waitresses are a ferret, ground squirrel, and a cat. "Are all the back rooms filled up?" Tatsuya asks as he places a coin upon the counter.

The bartender signals for one of the waitresses to attend to them after taking the coin from the counter. "This way, gentle beasts." The ground squirrel says, motioning for them to follow.

Once they're in a room, Gaara the tanuki asks, "What is this place?" Tatsuya takes a seat upon one of the couches instead of answering.

"I wondered that myself, actually, a few years back. Some old tom hissed for me to come to him and then told me to drop my Henge. Not knowing what else to do, I Henged into the first animal that came to mind." Tatsuya says while picking up one of the menus.

"You know how animals sometimes teach themselves how to use chakra and to speak human?" Tatsuya asks while looking at the lists for beverages. "Well, a lot more animals do so then what show themselves to humans. And guess what? Some of those pair off with others who did so and their children could follow in their parents' paw prints and so on until you got countless generations do so."

"So they build places like this under the noses of humans?" Gaara muses and Tatsuya nods. "Just how many places are there like this?" Gaara asks.

"It depends more upon how the country. Fire Country has two thirds of their cities and towns sporting these kind of places while in some countries, maybe one eight of the cities and towns sporting them. The more proven to civil war a country is, the less you'll find refuges like this." Tatsuya answers.

"And you generally use this particular disguise to walk among these places?" Gaara asks and the fox nods with a shrug. "Why not? I mean, they do have members who go around pretending to be human, so why not a human pretending to be one of them? Of course, you really got to watch out, these women are very different then human women."

"Meaning...?" Gaara asks and Tatsuya lowers his menu to give the disguised Kazekage a fox equivalent to a raised eyebrow. "..."

"They got fangs and claws, they're not shy about using them if they don't like your pursue. Although, they can be very persistent when it comes to a male they like." Tatsuya finally explains.

The waitress arrives with a grilled fish appetizer and takes their drink orders. Tatsuya places a few coins to ensure that they keep their privacy before picking up one of the wooden skewers that has diced fish and veggies speared upon it. Gaara follows suit after seeing Tatsuya taking a few bites from his.

"You know, I've never visited a bar before." Gaara admits after the waitress brings them their drink orders. "Oh, I've been in them to grab wayward ninja, but never really to sit down and relax in one before." Gaara explains. "I kind of like this."

"Yea, well, bars like this one typically have up to fifteen back rooms. Considering their senses, can't really blame them. The most human bars have is one, three if they're owners are rich enough." Tatsuya admits. "I should know, Pervy Sage spent a lot of time in them."

"At least you got trained." Gaara murmurs while picking up his fourth skewer. "All I know how to use my chakra for is to control sand."

"Bummer. You know, I'm sure I can teach you the shadow clone jutsu. We both have more chakra then some kage level ninja out there. Maybe that way, you'll be able to spend time looking through jutsu scrolls and practicing them." Tatsuya muses. "I sure as hell plan to use them when I become Hokage." The disguised genin pauses before saying in a low voice, "Although, I've been working on a seal array that's suppose to mimic the brain part of shadow clone jutsu. If it works out properly then this brain array will not only read and sign the stuff, but send it to where it needs to go."

"That sounds like it could be very useful seal array, for office work at least." Gaara admits and Tatsuya's ears flicker backward. Tatsuya takes a sip from his clay cup before continuing.

"Don't you mean it could be useful in spying upon an enemy's office. I mean, I've figured out how to get it to copy what's in its box, but it's getting the seal array to think about what it's looking at that's the problem. Sure I can have it on sign, but then, it doesn't really read what its signing, which is rather useless as the document could be some sneaky law about cutting the influence of your office upon the village or it could be some clan looking to block out a rival family from some business." Tatsuya says.

"Heck, do you really think about any of the paperwork that passes through your office? It must get fairly tiring work, reading scroll after scroll. A lot of it likely blurs together." Tatsuya muses. "Privately, if you got enemies within the village, what better way to keep you busy then generating paperwork for you to go through? They then know where you are and what you're doing, they might as well chain you to the desk!"

The tanuki slowly nods while taking a sip out of his own clay cup. The waitress comes back with another plate of fish skewers. With more food upon the table, they change the topic to something, less personal and threatening. They spoke of policies of their respected countries, comparing the laws of their land against each other, then discussing laws they both find rather bizarre while they continue to drink and eat.

Finally, after a good three hours, Tatsuya and Gaara were ready to return to Hidden Sand. Tatsuya is sure to add a few extra coins as a tip as they stagger out of the room. Once they're out upon the street, Tatsuya manages to get directions to head upside.

By the time they're out of the underground city, Tatsuya is sure to teleport them both back to Gaara's house. The Henges get cancel as they stagger into Gaara's room. Naruto did wonder if its such a good idea to let Gaara doze, but figured that without a certain demon, Gaara sleeping wasn't going to cause an uproar.

Leaving Hidden Sand

"Just where did you two go to get smashed?" Sakura shouts, which causes Naruto to wince. The blond might not have a hang over but he's still rather sleepy.

"We just went to a bar in disguised. Besides, Gaara's never been in one and I thought it was time for him to experience one." Naruto says while the rest of the ninja of their party remain silent. _Sure as hell doubt you'd believe just what ran the bar, let alone the fact that they're stuff is superior to anything you'd find in most bars._

_This is going to be a long trip back, isn't it?_ Naruto thinks while Sakura harps upon why he shouldn't have taken the Kazekage of Hidden Sand out to a bar. _Is it too late to give up my human life and live the rest of my years as Tatsuya?_

**The End**

To Readers: I was watching Sasuke's Paws Encyclopedia when I thought this story up. I can't help but notice that some beasts in Naruto's world seem to learn how to speak, these beasts also typically know how to use chakra. So, I decided that breeding between two of these speaking, chakra using animals could, in time, result or already have resulted in some hidden cities build strictly for themselves. I'm sure some of you have seen the episode Animal District, which kind of introduces this kind of idea.


	118. Digimon Side Adventures 1

I don't own Digimon.

**- o 0 o -**

_Interesting..._ Thinks a young Gigimon while staring down at this odd being who's kind of like a humanoid Digimon. The crimson in-training Digimon moves away from the head to check and see if the strange not-Digimon is bleeding from another point.

Other then sporting rips and mud upon the green cloths, nothing seems to hint that the being is bleeding from another spot other then their head. Gigimon glances around before moving to the not-Digimon's side and tries to roll them upon their back. Gigimon gets a better look at the head injury.

Gigimon sits frowns and rips some cloth off to put it by the bleeding spot and tries to keep it pressed upon the wound. After a few minutes, the not-Digimon groans and opens their eyes, revealing blue eyes with an unfocused look in them. "Mom?" The not-Digimon croaks out before falling back into unconsciousness.

Suddenly, a flutter of wings signal the aerial arrival of a Digimon. Gigimon glances around and finds a pair of Angemon accompanying a Seraphimon. Gigimon gulps at the sight and while the in-training Digimon does so, one of the Angemon says, "What shall we do with it, sir?"

"Bring him along. Gigimon clearly is concerned about the human." The mega muses after a few seconds, causing the crimson in-training Digimon to jerk a bit while the spoken Angemon replies, "Yes sir."

Suddenly, the not-Digimon and Gigimon are engulf in a light as the two Angemon hold out their hands. The light causes the two of them to raise in the air. The three holy types take to the air with the human child and Gigimon floating after them. Gigimon clings to the not-Digimon's chest.

_What's a human?_ Gigimon wonders upon recalling what the mega Digimon had said about bringing him along. Gigimon spends much of the trip thinking and having his imagination go into overdrive. After a long time, a castle comes into view and Gigimon comes out of his thoughts at the sight.

A patrol of Pegasusmon and Nefertimon come to greet the mega and his escorts. _What's so important about the not-Digimon? Will they heal him?_ Gigimon wonders as they land upon a balcony and a group of ultimate holy types come to greet the mega while a Gatomon comes over while wearing a sling.

"Move!" The white champion snaps at the young Digimon. Gigimon jerks away while the champion begins to inspect the make shift bandage that Gigimon made. Gigimon just stands off to the side and watches in bewilderment at the Gatomon's actions. _Why not have one of the more evolved Digimon use their healing programs upon him?_ Gigimon wonders.

"How is the human?" Asks Seraphimon to the Gatomon currently attending to the human. Gigimon notices the number of those surrounding them and quickly moves to the human's side while the digital cat Digimon reports.

Gigimon didn't really get much out of the report of the human's injuries, only that the human will be fine with some rest and food. The master of the castle, Seraphimon then orders that they'll be taken to a room. One of the Angemon causes them raise up off the floor and they're taken through various halls and stairwells until they stop before a set of doors.

Once they're hovering over the bed, they are lowered down. The Angemon leaves the room, closing the door behind them. Gigimon glances around the room before glancing at the hurt human. "I hope you get well." A brief pause. "Still, I don't see what's the fuss is over you being human." Gigimon says to the resting human before snuggling next to the human's side and falling asleep.

_"I hope you get well." Who's that? "Still, I don't see what's the fuss is over you being human." What are you talking about? If I'm human, what are you?_ He shifts a bit, before opening his eyes.

His vision is hazy but as he blinks his eyes, they clear. His body aches and he's got a massive headache. He turns his head and finds sunlight coming in from the window. "Morning! Although, it's more like lunch though..."

He blinks at the sight of this red plushie toy speaking to him and blinking their yellow eyes. "Hungry?" The same toy asks him.

"Starved." He replies with a frown. His mouth is rather dry and he adds, "What are you?"

"Me? A Digimon." The creature that looks like a stuff toy replies. "So, you're a human, huh? What kind of special attacks do you possess?" The Digimon asks him and he can't help but stare at the crimson Digimon.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Special... attacks?" He replies but before the red Digimon could form a reply, the door opens and into the room walks an angel.

"Here, let me help you sit up." The angel says and he gets a good view of the angel's pink cloths. The angel kind of reminds him of someone... someone important but thinking about it only makes his head hurt worse.

The pink robed angel then puts the tray with the soup upon his lap. "Thanks." He says as he takes the spoon from the tray to begin eating the soup.

"Not a problem at all. I'll be back in an hour to take it away." The angel says upon putting down a bowl containing a fruit salad upon the bed, right where the red Digimon is standing. "Thanks!" The Digimon cries out before beginning to eat the salad.

"You're really weird." He can't help but say at the sight of the Digimon enjoying the large bowl. The creature's tail wagging back and forth, he shake his head and begins to eat his soup.

The Digimon finishes his salad long before he manages to finish his soup. He had to pause at times since his hand would ache and he's switch to his bad one. In the end, he picks up the bowl and drinks it as soon as he is sure it's not too hot.

"So... am I in heaven?" He asks the red creature sharing his bed. Yellow eyes blink up at him looking throughly puzzled.

"Heaven? Oh! No, we're just in Seraphimon's castle. We were brought here two days ago. You must have hit your head really hard since you were bleeding heavily from your head. I kind of ripped your shirt to try and stop the bleeding."

"Oh..." He murmurs and lifts a hand to feel the head bandage. "Ah... we never met, have we?" He asks as the Digimon invokes familiarity to him.

"No, heck, before I found you, I didn't even know humans existed!" The crimson Digimon says before cocking their head to the side. "So... You got a name I can call you by? Gigimon is what I go by, at least until I evolve."

"Name?" He murmurs before frowning while trying to think of not just his name but his memories of what happened to him. "I... I don't remember." He says with fright. "I don't remember who I am!" His voice raise up in panic.

"Hey, hey, hey! Calm down! Just cause you don't remember now doesn't mean you won't later!" Gigimon cries out while moving to stand on his legs. "There are plenty of ways to recover memories! So... just... calm... down." Gigimon states and as trying to move quickly causes him pain, he reluctantly remains upon the bed.

He takes deep, calming breaths and his vision slowly returns to what it once was. "You going to be ok?" The crimson body of Gigimon comes to stand by his face with a worried look.

"No. No I'm not!" He says with tears beginning to well up in his eyes. His headache is becoming unbearable and his sense of balance is like it doesn't even exist. It wasn't long before he's cuddling with Gigimon while he's crying. Gigimon is saying smoothing things and, after a while, he finds himself drifting off to sleep.

x x x x x

"Reizo! What's over that ridge?" He calls out to the Guilmon that's already at the top of the hill.

"Just floating rocks in a great chasm like that pack of Gabumon had said we would find. The cavern is likely somewhere close to the magma." Reizo replies while looking over to him.

_That pack sure wasn't kidding when they mentioned seeing liquid fire._ He thinks upon gazing within the great chasm. "Impressive, eh Maro?" Reizo the Guilmon says, nudging him gently in the side.

"Rather beautiful, in a dangerous kind of way." He says while glancing at the floating islands of rock. "There's some crystals down there." He says as he gesturing to a stone pillar that's real close to the sluggish magma. "The vault has to be on our side." He adds as he turns to glance almost straight down from where he's standing.

"Makes you wonder what kind of artifact could do something like this, huh?" Reizo muses while the rookie moves to the edge of the ridge and glances downwards as well. "We'd get a better view if we climb down to that ledge, although I won't know what we'd do for food and water."

"We'll collect what supplies we can tomorrow and the day after that before we begin to climb down." He decides. "I've waited five years to find this fruit tree, I can wait a few extra days." He fingers the thin, plastic red bracelet sporting a half an inch coin.

Glancing over to the Guilmon, he studies the matching item that binds them together, a green necklace about Reizo's neck with a larger device hanging down from the plastic band that makes up the chain. His coin sports the symbol that's on Reizo's chest while Reizo's coin sports the symbol that means Hope in the various Digital Worlds. The coins allows him to channel energy into Reizo, allowing the crimson Digimon to Digivolve up to his ultimate stage of WarGrowlmon.

"So, we're camping here or back down there?" Reizo asks him and he glances around the ridge before glancing back down the trail that sports a meadow and a few berry bushes. "Might be safer to camp in the meadow." The Guilmon murmurs after a few seconds of looking at the meadow.

He nods in agreement although he does find a spot to sit down before walking back down. "Just give me a few minutes to rest. We have traveled a long way, after all." He says to his friend.

"Sounds good to me." Chimes Reizo and the rookie Digimon takes off the pack he's been carrying to eat a berry loaf that's likely already going bad. He watches Reizo's actions fondly, still amazed that they've been together for little over five years.

They had their share of arguments, certainly, but they remain together throughout whatever has been thrown at them or placed before them. For their first year together, they believed that his memories would come back on their own. Then they spent the year after that one studying up on various methods Digimon have used to recall their previous life before they reformatted as eggs.

Finally, the last three years have been them chasing down leads. They've located various artifacts and respected Digimons, they didn't do much other then prove that some methods were only meant to be used on Digimon. _This tree though... It's ancient so perhaps it'll be able to restore my memories._

While no longer feeling as empty as he once had, he couldn't help but wonder. The wondering is sometimes the reason why he can't sleep some nights. He looks away from Reizo to look up at the sky.

"Ready?" The Guilmon asks and he nods as he brings his gaze back down. He hikes up his pack before getting off the rock.

They walk back down the trail in silence with a few insect type Digimon flying over head.

Four Days Later

"Oh look, a Birdramon." He couldn't help but say dryly from his position above Reizo. "So, how much do you want to bet that they're the vault's guardian?"

"Oh please, there's no takers for that one." Reizo pipes in while the fire bird champion Digimon let's out another screech. A spot about two feet over head is where the champion Digimon's attack hit, making him glad that he has yet to grow during his stay here in this world. _It also allows Reizo to carry me when I get tired of walking around too._ He muses while Reizo and him begin to hurry their pace downwards.

Reizo fires off a few attacks at some of those floating rocks, causing them to ram into the angry champion Digimon. Birdramon shakes those off rather quickly but the lower they go, the larger the floating islands of rock there are. Many of them interfere with the guardian's attempts at getting at them.

Suddenly, the rock he's griping comes loose and he begins to fall, only for Reizo to snag him out of the air. He quickly finds new holds upon the rocky wall so that the crimson rookie could let go of him. They also begin to notice crystals upon the bottom of the various floating islands and he risks a glance down to find a large ledge made totally out of crystal.

"I think we should just fall." He says. "Yea, well, good call as we've got incoming!" Shouts Reizo and he doesn't even look, he mostly feels the impact of the incoming floating islands that Birdramon sent at their position.

They fall just a foot before the raining wall face. Reizo quickly moves to cover him as that rock rains down, shielding him nicely from the rocky debris. Without a word, Reizo collects him up and bolts for the entrance of the vault.

After a few moments, Reizo lets him down and he brushes his cloths off. As he finishes, Reizo has a torch going, lighting up the crystal passage fairly nicely. "Hopefully, there's another way out then that one." Reizo grumbles and he nods in agreement as they walk down the tunnel.

A few miles in and they arrive before a massive gate that's seen better days. There are cracks large enough to them to slip through the metal door. "Wow... That's one huge tree." Reizo murmurs, they're standing more then a few kilometers from said tree and they can't see the top of it.

"That must be that dimensional gate." He says as he squints at the base of the tree. "Not sure if it's in one piece though, not with the tree being so close to it." He remarks.

"Well, look on the bright side, at least we got hover boards now." Reizo says after causing dust to raise from picking up a flat carved disk. The disk sluggishly begins to glow white before Reizo would let go of it, it hovers about a foot in the air.

He steps onto it with a grin and with both feet upon the flat surface, a compass design flares up with him at the center of it. "A rather old design." He muses while Reizo picks up another for his own use.

With each of them upon a hover disk, they raise a few feet height into the air before they fly over the rest of the collection that stands between them and the tree. They weren't here for anything besides the fruit from that tree, at least until they learn if the fruit will restore his memory, then they might take a look at the collection that's stored away within this vault.

Upon reaching the tree, he raises up to one of the branches with Reizo following suit. As he studies various examples of the fruit, Reizo muses, "Hmmm... If my nose is working right then none of these are ripe."

He glances over to Reizo but before he could form a reply, a woman's voice says in a soft tone, "You're friend is correct. None of the fruit on the outer branches are ripe." Glancing sharping at the sound, they find a ghostly image of a temple priestess.

"Though, I must admit, I had not yet had the pleasure to meet a human child before." The ghostly priestess bows at him, causing him to feel embarrassed. "Though I am rather puzzled as to why you wish to eat one of my ripen fruit."

"I have amnesia." He confesses after a second. "We're hoping that eating one of your fruits will restore my memories." He adds and the ghostly priestess studies him for a few minutes.

The priestess' gaze drops to his red plastic bracelet that sports the coin. "I take it this Guilmon isn't your actual partner then? No Digivice manifested even after all the time you have spent together?" The digital image asks and they could only nod.

The ghostly priestess' eyes soften and she brushes her hand upon his left cheek. "I fear that upon eating this fruit, you may forget your time in this world as well as be transported back to your own world. It is not uncommon for Digimon from other dimensions to lose their memory upon arriving to this one. If they continue to be dissatisfied with their time in this world, they would come to me and eat of my fruit." The ghostly image says and he swallows upon hearing that, particularly as he really doesn't want to forget about his time with Reizo or what he's learnt during his time in this world.

"But he's human, right? Doesn't that mean that perhaps, just a thought mind you, that there is a chance he could remember?" Reizo asks and the priestess looks thoughtful.

"There is that, but it would likely be your presence that would spark his memory. It is rather doubtful that you'll be able to follow him." The ghostly priestess explains. "And he is needed in his world. He has a destiny to fulfill and you are not a part of it."

"And yet, here I am. I helped to bring him here and thus, I have helped him to return to that destiny." Reizo huffs, folding his arms over his chest. "Sure, he could have befriend another Digimon but I'm the one that's here with him in the here and now." The Guilmon states and he smiles, everyone always said that Reizo didn't act like a typical Guilmon and the looks upon their faces upon realizing it always proved to be rather humorous, this ghost priestess isn't the exception either.

"You are rather odd for your species. You sound more like a Gallantmon then a Guilmon." The ghostly priestess muses after recovering from Reizo's out burst.

"Could I please get a fruit?" He asks, swallowing before he asked that. His mind a whirl of questions to ask this being about this destiny he's to be returning to, but couldn't pin down one long enough to think of asking it.

And so, the priestess image guides them to the center of the tree. The fruit hanging upon this part sparkles with the torch light upon it. He pauses and glances over to Reizo, but the rookie just gives him a half smile while sporting a look of sorrow.

Turning away and fighting the urge to cry, he takes hold of one of the large fruit and yanks on it, successfully snapping it off after two minutes of yanking upon it. _Bye, Reizo..._ He thinks before biting down upon the fruit.

_Bye, Maro._ Reizo thinks as a sparking glow engulfs the human child. Within seconds, even the fruit that Maro had taken a single bite out of vanishes. Soon, only the crimson rookie and the ghostly image of a fictional priestess remains.

"How odd..." Murmurs the image and Reizo glances to find that only a pack remain upon the hover disk that Maro had stood upon. Then looking back at the hovering image, the rookie Digimon realizes where the tree's consciousness is looking.

Reizo's hand claw goes to the coin hanging from the necklace about the Guilmon's neck. "That should have fallen off... I don't sense his bracelet with the belongings either..." The digital image muses and Reizo smiles slightly as the rookie realizes what that means.

_Till we meet again, Maro._ The red rookie Digimon thinks while moving forward to collect the fallen pack. "Is it alright if I stick around here and take a look at what else the vault houses?" Reizo asks the projection.

_"Guilmons are viral types..." Guilmon? "What's wrong with viruses?" Plenty things are wrong with them. "They have a tenancy to be rather territorial." That's putting it lightly._ The garden is unbelievably beautiful but he can't see every detail clearly. Not even his companion with whom he is speaking to.

_"They have a hard time letting go of those they regard as theirs." "Well, I guess I'm not much better then. He's become my dearest friend. I can't imagine my life without him." Did I really say that?_ He struggles to see whom he's talking to, the voice suggests a woman, almost like Angewomon but different.

_"If you truly feel like that, then here. These will allow you to channel energies from yourself into Reizo so that he may achieve his higher evolutions." Reizo?_ He can almost feel the weight of something dropping down upon his hand. _That's that bracelet!_

_"What you got there?" "Something to help us on our quest. Guess they're to symbolize our friendship since I'll be able to help you Digivolve." "Its not like we'll run into much trouble. It shouldn't take us more then a few weeks to find Wisemon." Wisemon?_ He knew the scenery has changed as he can see this particular Digimon with ease.

The Digimon is red with a white belly that sports black markings that were dead on for the symbol upon the coin that's on the bracelet. The Digimon towers over him and as the Digimon looks down at him, he sees yellow eyes and ears oh so similar as Patamon's own. _Has to be a champion._ He thinks, although, he feels as though it's not correct.

_"Hey look! Mine's becoming green and sporting this sun raise or is it setting symbol?"_ He watches as the white plastic becomes red and the coin's surface glow as the metal raises up until the symbol from the red Digimon's chest is on the coin. _"I guess a little piece of me for you to carry around, huh?" "Guess so, Reizo, guess so."_

"TK! Wake up!" Patamon says while hopping up and down upon his chest. For a half a second, he thought of a small red Digimon was hopping upon and down on his chest.

"I'm up, I'm up!" He murmurs before yawning and sitting up. He's careful to scoop Patamon up before he sits up. He shakes his head before glancing at his clock. He yawns once more before turning to get off his bed, he puts Patamon down before he stands up.

"TK... You were struggling in your sleep again." The orange rookie says and he sighs, his hand going to the red plastic bracelet that he saw in his dreams. Ever since that adventure in America, he has been plagued by strange dreams, last night's dream is the first time that he's hear a complete conversation and saw at least one of his dream companions as well.

"Patamon... Have you ever heard of a Guilmon?" He asks after a few seconds of silence. He fingers the coin, his thumb moving over the surface of it.

"Not really. Why?" Patamon asks him and he stares at his dresser, not really seeing it as he brings to his mind the red Digimon he had been talking to before waking up.

"I was talking to somebody about Guilmon type Digimon. Then, before you woke me, I was talking to one." He informs his partner. What he didn't say is that Guilmon is a virus type or that for some odd reason, the Digimon goes by the name Reizo.

He continues to stare down at the bracelet and then, puts it on while Patamon says, "Maybe we can have Izzy ask Gennai about this species of Digimon." He nods as he moves to get out of his PJs.

Once dressed, he's sure to check his school bag to see if his homework is in it. He checks his desk calendar to see if any scheduled tests for the day. "You want to spend the day here or hanging around the school?" He asks his friend and partner.

"School since that's where the others will be." Patamon says while coming to land upon his shoulder. For a brief moment, he feels rather ashamed about the fact that the Digimon don't have much to do during their school day. _It must be boring having to stay out of sight and only get to watch us instead of being with us..._

"TK?" Patamon asks questioningly, startling him a bit. "Sorry, it just struck me how boring you guys must be while we're attending class." He explains as he brushes his bangs into his hat before leaving the room.

"Yea, it kind of is but at least we know you're safe." The orange rookie replies while taking to the air and following him to the kitchen for something to eat. It wasn't long before he's got an omelet cooking on the stove while he's getting some plates out for them to use.

For a moment, he studies Patamon while mentally seeing his partner's mega form, Seraphimon. _"So... am I in heaven?" "Heaven? Oh! No, we're just in Seraphimon's castle. We were brought here two days ago. You must have hit your head really hard since you were bleeding heavily from your head. I kind of ripped your shirt to try and stop the bleeding."_ He looks away from Patamon while wondering where that came from while a hand of his moves to his forehead, almost expecting to feel a bandage.

Jerking his hand away, he hurries to the stove to get the omelet. He flips it before turning the element off. After about a minute, he takes the pan off the element and while walking over to the table, cuts the omelet in half. He puts one half on the plate before Patamon and the other on his own. He takes the pan to the stove and puts it on one of the elements he hadn't used before returning to the table to eat his breakfast.

Soon they finished their breakfast and once the plates are in the sink, Patamon gets into his back pack. With his keys, he locks the door but even as they reach the elevator, this minor headache seems to be blooming into something more. Flashes of scenes and of book pages often obscure his vision, making it hard for him to focus on what's happening around him.

A dull splashing of waves slowly becomes louder. His sense of balance fades and everything around him vanishes. As he blinks, he finds himself standing before a beautiful ocean. He looks off from shore but glances down when he feels something pulling on his shirt.

He can't help but be alarmed at the sight of an eight year old version of himself, only dressed very differently then he usually dressed. "You can't be me..." He murmurs but the young blond merely looks bemused.

"I'm complied from the memories of the five years we spent with Reizo in a different dimension." The child with oddly old eyes explains. "I woke when you were de-aged in that confrontation in America. You can call me Maro."

"Maro?" He muses and the child replies, "Amnesia. Couldn't go around being called human, you know."

"You said we spent five years... How come you're not older then eight years?" He asks, suddenly suspicious of the child.

"Just how many months did you spend in that one Digital world before time between the two became synchronized? How come you didn't age during those few months?" Maro counters and he never thought of it like that.

"Who knows, if you spend a whole year in the Digital World, maybe you'd find your growth stunted. There likely haven't been many studies of the effects of a human living for years in the Digital World." The child states calmly and he sighs.

"So now what?" He asks the boy and Maro simply says, "Now, we wake up for we are whole."

His eyes flutter and finds a concerned Cody standing over him as he hears Yolei saying something to someone. "How long was I out?" He asks the youngest Digidestine of the new group as he moves to sit up.

"You shouldn't move, TK." Cody cautions him but he does so anyway. "It was just a delayed effect of what happened back in America. I'm fine." He tells Cody, giving Cody a slight smile.

Not that Yolei would have any of that since as he moves to stand, it seems that Yolei finished with her call and is already ordering him to lay back down on the ground. He tries to reassure them that he's ok and just has a minor headache, but Patamon joins Yolei about him needing to go to the hospital.

_How troublesome._ He couldn't help but think while rubbing his thumb over the coin upon his bracelet. _It's not as though they'll find anything wrong... Knowing the others, they'll want Izzy to take try something to find out what's wrong._ He thinks to himself.

After School

He can't help but find himself to be rather bored. The doctors want to keep him overnight to be sure that he won't have a relapse and a rather worried Matt had shown up around lunch but had to leave soon after to return to school. He almost wished he had taken his older brother up on his offer to grab him a book from the store as he became rather bored playing games on his D-Terminal and listening to the music he has on his phone before being told to turn it off.

Currently, his dad is speaking with a doctor about the results from the tests that already got completed and there's nothing on television that he wants to watch. His father had showed up with a can of soda and a candy bar before heading off to get the run down from which ever doctor he could find. There had been an E-Mail from the others saying they can't come as there's an emergency in the Digital World but he did get one from Sora saying she'll be over as she doesn't have practice after school.

He glances over to where he can hear soft snores from his partner Digimon and friend. He had given his lunch to Patamon as he didn't feel that hungry. _At least one of us can nap._ He thinks fondly with a slight smile upon his lips.

He presses deeper into the pillows and mentally reviews his memories of those five years while being Maro. He wonders what Reizo's been up to since they parted and if Reizo has or hasn't been reformatted. It kind of hurt to think that so many years have passed that Reizo has likely became a mega or died in a battle.

"I wonder what would happen if..." He trails off with a frown but that train of thought is totally dismissed when Sora arrives. He sighs in relief, finally, somebody he can visit with and perhaps, confide in.

"Sora!" He says with a grin. "How has your day been?" He asks as she drops her bag next to his back pack in which contains his sleeping partner.

"Good to see you too, TK." Sora says as she moves to sit on the other chair. "It's been rather typical, although I can see you're bored already."

"Stir crazy." He agrees. "I should have taken Matt up on his offer to grab me a novel or something from the gift shop." He admits. He then begins to think of a way to tell Sora of his time in that other Digital World, although speaking about it in the hospital might be a bit too public for his liking...

**The End**


	119. An Owl's Human: Harry Potter

I don't own Harry Potter.

**- o 0 o -**

November 1st

"Why are they leaving him there like that? I mean, your humans didn't want them left there, at this address!" He says to his mother while stretching out his wings every so slightly. "Can't we do anything?" He asks but his mother merely clicks her beak while looking away.

"Humans, even magical humans, do the strangest things for the strangest reasons, Talan." His mother answers finally. "I know you had hopes of claiming Harry as your human, but it's likely you'll never see him after tonight." He glances sharply over at his mom, feathers raising up in alarm.

"But after what happened, shouldn't there be post to be delivered to him?" He asks while focusing on causing his feathers to sleek down. His mom takes to the air and he glances back towards the young human before following as best as he can, he's yet to be fully mature.

"That breaded one set up wards to keep Harry's post from getting to him, my son. It's best to move on and set your sights on another magical human." His mom states.

As they fly away, he can't help but vow to himself, _I'll be back. I'll find his post and if I can't deliver it straight to that house, then I'll deliver it when he's out of it._

Five Years Later . . .

He screeches as one of the furry menaces tenses, ready to pounce. With his wings spread out, he gets ready to leap into the air. A growling echos behind him and just as the feline before him pounces, a human shouts, **"Go on! Get!"**

The cat's bolt away and he relaxes to turn to look over at the human he's waited years to meet again. He straightens and screeches meaninglessly at Harry and the six year old pauses before turning to look at him with a baffled expression. He hopes off the rather large package he managed to steal from a tower room at a certain magic school. Moving behind it, he uses his head to nudge it towards Harry, cooing as best as a barn owl could.

Unfocused eyes squint at the package. **"It this for me?"** Harry asks and he says, "Yes!" He bobs his head up and down.

Harry bites his lower lip but the child does pick up the package. He watches as Harry softly reads the address upon the package before opening it up. **"There's a letter and... But I'm not allowed to..."** He cocks his head in a questioning manner but Harry begins to read the letter without much encouragement, even though the six year old stumbles over words or a turn of speech.

**"But my parents... they never died like that, did they?"** Harry wonders and he looks away from the young human. **"If I don't eat these now, I'll never get to eat them... Not with Dudley stealing my food, not sure why he does it, he's got more in his lunch kit then I do..."** Harry grumbles after a few minutes of silence.

Harry moves into the small alley and begins to dig into the chocolate eagerly. He hops after the boy and then, seeing enough room, leaps to perch upon Harry's leg. The boy turns his emerald eyes to him and swallows what's in his mouth before speaking, this time, addressing him. **"Don't you need to go return to your owner?"**

He clicks his beak and fluffs his feathers. After a few seconds, Harry quickly wipes his hand upon his pants before reaching out to touch him. He regards the out stretched hand gently grips the out stretch index finger with his beak for a few seconds and then releases it. It takes a minute before Harry gathers his courage and touches his breast with said index finger.

He half closes his eyes as Harry continues to stroke his breast feathers. It wasn't long before Harry returns to eating the rest of the package. Then, Harry just sits there, looking at the letter once more. **"This letter... it's rather old, isn't it? Why didn't it get delivered the day it got sent out?"** Harry wonders and he clicks his beak a bit before preening.

**"I don't suppose... I mean, it's rather foolish..."** He turns to regard Harry's face. _He wants to know if there's more like that one._ He realizes and with a screech, he leaps into the air, determined to wrestle another parcel or even a few letters from that room.

**"Where are you going? You'll be back, won't you?"** Harry cries out and he shouts, "I'll be back! Just you wait!"

It doesn't take long to arrive at Hogwarts, not with certain magics placed upon him to help speed him along to deliver mail and the like. None of the owls or crows seem incline to do anything more then give him a glance. He lands upon the ledge sporting an opening large enough for him to fit through.

Once within the stone walls of the school, he flies through the halls, none noticing his passage at all. _Owls are known for their silent flight after all. If I were any other kind of bird, I'd be heard flapping my wings within minutes!_ He thinks as he goes directly to the room holding Harry's undelivered mail.

Slipping behind the tapestry that hides the hole over the door of the room, he waits until his eyes adjust to the room before picking out another parcel that he feels he'll be able to slip out of that broken corner of the window. It takes a few minutes and perching upon other spots throughout the room before he spies a small one next to a bundle of letters.

Without a screech, he launches himself from his perch and manages to grab the parcel before spells start flying through the air. _Looks like they're weaker then they were during my first time here... Makes sense, unless somebody comes through the door, the wards won't alert that man concerning what's happening within here._ He thinks as he gets pass the tapestry and then flies through the hall to the broken window.

By the time he finds Harry, the boy is huddled in some bushes. He screeches as he gets within a mile of the boy. Soon enough, he's on the ground before the bushes feeling very proud of himself, particularly as Harry crawls out of them. Harry stands up and wipes his hands upon his pants before picking up the parcel he brought off the ground.

**"Another one? Is that why you left? So there's more of them?"** Harry asks and he allow his wings to open slightly as he nods yes. **"Thanks."** The young wizard says softly before reading the address upon this parcel.

The parcel contained a healing potion and instructions to owl the person if Harry wanted any more. **"I guess instead of a postman, it's owls that deliver the mail, huh?"** Harry asks and he clicks his beak.

**"Well, I think I got a crayon... You won't mind taking a message to this person?"** Harry asks and he clicks his beak once more. Then he looks at the potion in Harry's hand and screeches a bit, startling Harry a bit but the boy looks at the potion.

**"I should drink it, shouldn't I?"** Harry muses and he clicks his beak. With a sigh, Harry takes the cork and downs the potion. **"Ick!"** Harry says making a face but he can hear bones cracking and popping within the boy's body.

The potion is done with Harry growing an inch. **"My wrist... My shoulder! They don't hurt no more!"** Harry says in amazement and if he sported the factories, he would have frowned upon hearing that from his human.

After a few minutes of Harry poking parts of his body, the boy finally gets around to writing that note. Harry pauses and wonders out loud and addressing him, **"Do you think I should mention I just got the parcel today?"**

He clicks his beak and bobs his head. **"Well, you would know better then me, I guess..."** Harry decides after a few seconds and he clicks his beak in agreement. Once the letter is written, he holds out the foot sporting the leather strap sporting leather strings. It takes Harry a few seconds to tie the message upon his foot and he gently holds onto Harry's index finger for a few seconds before taking off, towards America it seems.

Harry

He remains in the park, determined to wait for the white owl to return as it seems to him that something likely kept the bird from coming to him while he's at his aunt and uncle's house. As a clock chimes midnight, a whistling sound erupts and suddenly, a screech rings out and he glances up to find the owl coming towards him.

"Harry Potter?" A woman's voice asks as the owl lands upon his out stretched left arm. It's talon trying not to press too roughly upon his arm.

"Who are you?" He asks and the brown haired woman crouches down to look at him viva the same eye level. "How did you get here?" He manages to ask but his voice breaks up although the owl makes this sound that seems to be a coo.

"I'm Sarah Naomi. I'm the one that send you that healing potion back when you were but a babe." The woman says, moving away from these other two adults, men if he's to judge as they haven't spoken and he can't see them properly. "You mentioned you haven't received any post before today?"

"Yea. This owl just showed up and was getting attacked by a pair of cats when I scared them off. It seemed to be determined to give me the first package. Then, after I ate the chocolates, it flew off and brought me your package." He says. "It didn't occur to me to send a thank you to the previous package and when it did, the owl was already gone." He admits and out of the corner of his eye, the owl gives him what appears to be a startled look.

"Just what kind of owl is it?" He asks after a few minutes, he might not see very well, but it's clear that Sarah is frowning. "Hmm? Oh, he's a barn owl. A very clever one at that." Sarah says and the barn owl puffs out his chest in pride, causing him say, "Oh..."

"Harry, would you mind if a friend of mine sends your owl to where he got your packages from? He's rather keen on seeing if he can't bring you the rest of your mail. No offense to your owl but, the number of people who written to you over the years... There would be too much for him to carry." Sarah says but he is rather confused.

"Why do you keep calling him mine? I never met him before today!" He says and Sarah smiles while the barn owl seems to be a bit put out.

"You're mother had a barn owl as her post owl. It wouldn't be that unusual if he's that owl's son." Sarah says. "It's likely he hatched a bit before you had your first birthday. It's not that unusual for the chick to decide that they belong to their parent's owner's child." The woman explains and he blinks while ohhing.

The barn owl clicks his beak, which means that he agrees with what Sarah had said. "I guess that means that my parents gave him a name then? I wonder what it is." He admits as he regards the owl perched upon his arm, he doesn't wince as the talons kind of poke him a bit more sharply as the barn owl shifts his weight as the wind blows.

"If he wants to do so, I don't have a problem with it." He says after a moment and the barn owl clicks his beak before leaping into the air to land upon one of the out stretched arms of the men.

And so, once the barn owl is flying away, the men come and introduce themselves. It takes a bit before they convince him to lead them to his aunt and uncle's place. Luckily, none of them seem interest in speaking with his guardians, just looking at the property while the men grumble about the shitty wards around the place.

In the end, the grown ups tell him that they just need a bit of his blood and they'll send a copy of him to continue to say with his relatives while he can come with them away. While they also want to get him check over in a hospital before they proceed with any more plans since they need to know what kind of home life he had lead while staying at the Dursleys.

They soon use something called a port-key to leave to be at that hospital.

Talan

He's glad he at those two mice that Sarah had summoned for him as it is, he's strength is rather stretched out. _Just one more visit and all that mail will be transported out of that room. They don't have any reason to keep it from him, beyond screening to make sure nothing sports a curse or hex._ He tells himself as he gets within sight of the castle.

Once he gets upon that ledge next to the broken window, he yawns and finally scratches that spot behind one of his ears before glancing into the halls. He then pulls his head out and glances around outside of the castle. Puffing his feathers out for a few seconds, he yawns once more before slipping into the Hogwarts viva the window.

With ease, he flies through the halls once more. None of the chatting paintings in this tower seem to notice him silently flying a few feet below the ceiling of the hall. He lands, his talons land upon the cloth, thus no sound rings out to cause alarm. He quickly gets to the side of the cloth and push his way between the tapestry and the wall.

He hunches and leans down towards the pile of mail, cocking his head this way and that, trying to hear if something else is within the room. He glides to different positions once more and as minutes tic by, he finally works up the courage needed to land upon the mail and to screech to activate the port-key that his sports about one of his legs.

He takes a moment to untie it and to grip it with his left foot. Taking a deep breath, he launches himself from his position and once upon the pile, screeches. The magic takes effect just as he gets hit with a spell.

He wakes to find a concerned Harry looking down at him and he gives a weak screech before once more, blacking out. The next time he wakes, he finds himself on his back. He yawns and struggles to stand but once he does, he fines Harry resting upon the bed to his right. The boy is sleeping fairly soundly and he fluffs his feathers a bit before looking around for something to eat.

He finds this odd mouse looking item at the foot of his 'bed'. "Go on, eat it. It's a nutria-mouse." He glances up to find screech owl perched upon Harry's other side. "It's safe."

He returns to looking at the thing that looks like a plastic mouse but decides not to argue. It goes down in one go. "How long was I out?" He asks the screech, moving to face the other owl.

"About a day. More from stress and exhaustion then from the stunner." The screech reports and he relaxes, glad that it hadn't been for long.

"Is there a reason why you're here?" He asks the screech. "I mean, they don't exactly let our kind into these places, not unless delivering mail." He adds.

"Mostly because the boy didn't want you out of his sight. The port-key had some minor interference so instead of arriving in the basement, it arrived over top of him." The screech explains, chuckling as only an owl can. "I'm told it was rather funny sight, it all coming down from the air, hovers there for a second, and then ploop! It just drops down, almost at the same rate."

He stares at the screech before deciding to take a look at his surroundings. _Well, at least Harry's safe, take that mom! An owl finally won one over a wizard!_ He thinks, his chest puffs out in pride and satisfaction at a job well done.

**The End**


	120. A New Beginning: Bleach

I don't own Bleach or Pokemon!

**- o 0 o -**

A de-aged Ichigo sighs while laying down in a hospital bed. Upon arrival in this world, the substitute Soul Reaper found himself under attack by creepy black balls with faces at the heart of purple mist and this huge purple stuff toy looking thing sporting red eyes. Without certain items, the orange haired six year old hadn't been able to exit out of his body to do battle with the ghostly gang, particularly when one of them licked him.

The dimensional traveler's rescuer had been a twelve year old girl who caused some fire horse to appear and then went on to give the beast commands, causing the things to be driven off. The animal trainer then picked him up and carried Ichigo away. Although, if it weren't for the fire horse, they would be taken unawares by the next gang of ghostly beings. The girl had been forced to release a huge canine sporting gray fur and black mane that goes all the way towards the tail when a third encounter with these things made themselves known.

With the canine with them, they didn't encounter any more of those ghost like creatures and once in town, they went straight to the hospital. They did give Ichigo something and he fell asleep. The girl had mentioned Gastlies, Haunters, a Gengar, and used the name dusk a lot too to the doctors while Ichigo was getting onto a stretcher.

Ichigo is just trying to come to grips about what happened not being a dream and that he's not only stranded in an alien world, been attacked by alien creatures, and worst, Ichigo is once more a kid again. The previous teenager soon begins to wrack his memories for how he ended up here in the first place. Nothing really comes to mind beyond Yuzu watching some show and he was just walking pass the television while Yuzu is busy in the kitchen.

_I wonder how long until somebody notices that I'm gone? Will they think I ran away? And what about my duties as a Soul Reaper?_ Ichigo wonders until his stomach reminds him that he's yet to eat.

The six year old glances over to the oatmeal that's been placed on the table to his side. Ichigo moves and pulls the rolling table to bring the bowl over to him. Taking the warmer off the bowl, Ichigo soon digs into his breakfast. He hadn't eaten supper last night.

With that gone, he sinks into his pillow upon pushing the moving table away. The warm meal and boredom causing him to drift off to sleep, although he does fight it. Ichigo wakes to a scream and finds a nurse surrounded by a group of purple balloons with a pair of larger ones sporting red markings at the bottom.

"Where did all these Drifloons and Drifblims come from?" Some new arrival demands. "Someone get a trainer over here! Particularly one with a dark type or even a normal type!" A third orders.

_Trainer? Dark type? Normal?_ Ichigo wonders while the balloons move away from the doorway, almost like they want to get away from the others and yet, they didn't seem to mind his presence. _Could they be attracted to my spirit pressure? But only Hollows can sense that and hunger for it..._ Ichigo thinks with a frown upon his young face.

"Chase them off, Crow!" A young sounding voice orders and soon a black bird charges through the doorway. The some of the balloon beings flee, phasing through the walls and ceiling.

Those that remain team up on the huge black bird. "Helping Hand, Pro!" And in comes what seems to be a primary yellow furred, red marked mouse sporting a cross for a tail. The little mouse claps and the black bird cries out before fading from sight.

Before appearing again, a few of the balloon beings cry out as something hits them. "Good work, Crow! Pro!" Ichigo look back to the door to find a twelve/thirteen year old sporting blue dyed bangs.

The bird, ironically called Crow, gets hit by a series of black balls coming from the balloons. Crow manages to shrug a few of those hits off and the bird again fades from view, causing damage to the balloons before reappearing. It's then the mouse's cheeks spark and with a cry, electricity snakes through the air, hitting many of the balloons.

One of the larger balloons seems to be paralyze and the others' nerve finally vanish, causing them to flee. The preteen by the door tosses a ball at the downed balloon and to Ichigo's surprise, the balloon glows before vanishing. The ball lands on the floor and shakes for a bit before stilling.

The mouse moves and picks the ball up off the floor after sniffing the ball a few seconds. "I've never heard of Drifloons and Drifblims showing up in town. Let alone in a building..." The preteen mutters while moving to take the ball from the little mouse.

"They generally are rather harmless compared to most ghost types." One of the doctors agree. "Although..." The doctor glances at Ichigo while sporting a thoughtful look. "The young lad here had been admitted yesterday. The trainer who brought him in mentioned getting attacked by two other different gangs of ghost types after rescuing the boy from the first."

"Don't look at me, I didn't do anything to cause them to attract them." Ichigo says in his defense. _Other then breath or exist._ The orange haired kid thinks to privately to himself.

"Still pretty strange though. You are the common theme in these instances." The doctor muses. "Particularly as we can't find any record of you in any country."

"I really don't know what happened. One minute I was home then, I was in a field and..." Ichigo finds to his embarrassment, he's voice breaks and he begins to sniffle. It seems that just because he has all of his memories doesn't mean he'll react like he's use to.

In the end, the nurse comforts the six year old while the doctors and trainer leave, likely to continue the conversation else where. The nurse asks Ichigo for his name and the child gives his name. Before the nurse leaves, the kindly woman causes a section of the wall to go from black to some soap opera.

It didn't take long for him to grab the remote and flips through the channels, looking for a documentary to begin gathering information. Of course, being six and slowing beginning to act that age, Ichigo finds a cartoon marathon featuring space colonies, aliens, and combining giant robot Pokemon to form some ultimate hero. While Ichigo knows it's corny, he still couldn't find it within him to change the channel though.

Two Weeks Later

"Hope you like her, Ichigo! Go on! Let her out." Doctor Shirley says to the orange haired six year old Ichigo while the ex-teenager is examining the tiny ball. With a frown, Ichigo touches the button and the ball expands.

Touching it once more and a light escapes, taking shape of a beast. As the light fades, Ichigo stares at the Poochyena, the dark canine, who in turns gazes at him. "Ah, don't you need to be ten to train Pokemon?" The orange haired child inquires while the Poochyena points her noses up and sniffs the air.

"You need to be ten to keep more then one Pokemon. Everyone can own up to one Pokemon, it's when they want more then one that they need to acquire the proper license." Doctor Shirley explains. "And considering how often ghost types keep showing up around you, we knew you'd need a Pokemon that's capable of driving them off. Typically, the more common pet types wouldn't do and Eevees are rather rare as they're so popular."

"I guess I should give her a name." Ichigo muses while watching the dark dog sit down, looking at him once more with her red eyes. "Gin is a little too obvious... Ranae. I'll call her Ranae." _An ironic name, all things considered._

Ranae's ears flicker back, it's clear that the canine seems to be considering the name. Ichigo holds out his hand and Ranae's nose twitches for a few seconds before the canine leans towards his hand. Ichigo smiles gently at Ranae, moving to scratch behind Ranae's ears, causing Ranae's tail to beat up and down upon the floor, eyes close in pleasure.

"There's a park a few blocks away. Why don't you two run along and enjoy the fresh air, hm?" The good doctor says and Ichigo glances up from Ranae to point out, "I don't have any cloths that fit, remember?"

"Ah, that explains why this bag of cloths and a pair of runners are doing by the door, doesn't it?" Doctor Shirley muses and Ichigo blinks at the sight of the cloth bag next to a pair of white runners. The doctor leaves and he grabs the bag, Ranae follows him into the washroom, where he then proceeds to put on the cloths, a yellow shirt featuring a large red lightning bolt and black pants.

Once the socks were on, Ichigo and Ranae leave the washroom. Slipping the runners on, they soon head down the stairs, heading for the main level. Once outside, Ichigo sighs and smiles widely before taking the map out. Two blocks away and they arrive at the park to find kids playing game like soccer or playing with a Pokemon, typically with a Rattata or some small bird type.

It didn't take long for them to find a spot to play fetch using some random twig that Ichigo found on the ground. About a half hour later, Ichigo and Ranae grow bored with the game so they move off in search for something else to do. The orange haired child notices some play equipment where a bunch of kids playing tag and with some Pokemon.

A Growlithe barks at Ranae and Ranae turns her nose up at the orange with black stripe furred canine. Ichigo glances between Ranae and the fire dog with a bemused expression while they walk pass. He reaches out and pats Ranae on the back, Ranae leans into him, giving Ichigo a chance to scratch behind Ranae's ears, causing the Poochyena's tail to wag.

Suddenly a black ghost Pokemon appears that's holding this golden mask rock with its tail. Ranae is suddenly between them, barking something at the ghost Pokemon. _Just what kind of attacks does Ranae know?_

**Ranae**

Ranae is still rather ticked at the nerve that that Growlithe to think she'd be interested in him that when the Desumasu suddenly appears before her new owner, she quickly moves to stand between Ichigo and the ghost Pokemon. ("Back off!")

("Hey now! I'm just seeing what's generating all of those vibes. Don't mean much harm.") The Desumasu says, moving up a foot into the air. ("How strange, he's the source huh?")

Ranae's ears flatten against her skull as she uses Astonish on the Desumasu. ("You still plan to harm him! It's my duty to keep you from harming him at all!") She snaps.

"Yumi! Stop that!" An adult comes jogging over and the Desumasu, Yumi, pauses to turn towards the incoming human. "Return, Yumi!" And with that, the ghost Pokemon vanishes into their ball.

"Sorry about that. I've never had him run off like that before." The older human explains.

"It's all right, I've gotten use to having ghost types show up at random times." Her own explains. "It's why I have Ranae." Ranae wags her tail, glad at that Ichigo is happy to have her.

"Really? How strange..." The trainer mutters then somebody call out to the adult. "Again, I'm sorry for Yumi. I'll be sure to keep him in his ball for the rest of the time we're here."

Ichigo nods and soon, it's back to being Ranae and her owner. "Guess we should head back to the hospital, Ranae. It's been a while since I've been outside and I'm kind of exhausted." Her owner says and Ranae merely licks one of his hands, it wasn't long before Ichigo is scratching behind another one of her ears for a few seconds before they began to walk, heading for the street they walked in from.

End of the Month

**Ichigo**

The teen-turn-child just blinks at the papers before him, not sure what to make of the fact that he's to be adopted by the sister of Doctor Shirley. The woman owns a Pokemon Ranch a day or so away from Celestic Town in the Sinnoh region. Ranae whines and Ichigo blinks owlishly upon looking at the young Poochyena sitting at his feet.

Ichigo reaches down and scratches behind Ranae's ear, his mind finally rebooting over the papers. "What do you think, Ranae? Would you like living on a ranch?" He asks and Ranae stands before wagging her tail.

"Any place is better then living in a hospital," _Bad enough over a clinic._ He muses. "And I'll be able to keep my last name too." Ichigo adds out loud as he gives thought to the benefits of the move in not only in town but in region. He's become rather famous in Dew Valley for attracting ghost Pokemon.

_Never owned a pet before Ranae. She's not like a normal animal either._ He muses thoughtfully. _A lot of papers support that claim, particularly when psychic types get to the point where they can project their thoughts into human minds._

Ichigo sighs and begins to wonder how he'll be arriving at said ranch. "I wonder how Celestic Town got its name..." The orange haired child wonders out loud.

He feels slightly guilty about not having the discipline to study ways to leave this world or how best to fit in. He's been rather busy just taking care of Ranae or watching the TV. It's not as though he has much of his own stuff to keep him entertained. It's not as if he expected it to take this long for the Soul Society to do something concerning his disappearance.

Celestic Town

**Ranae**

_Well, that proved restful._ The Poochyena mentally muses while stretching her body, being sure to be careful of the many people moving around her owner and herself. As they were traveling, few ghosts bothered to track them down to take a look at Ichigo or to suck up some of her owner's dreams.

As Ichigo doesn't know much about being a trainer, Ranae found it rather awkward to battle without a human giving her commands during those confrontations between those ghost types and herself. _Although, without humans, it does makes the battles from being predictable. I've gained a lot of experience without needing to follow orders._ Ranae muses, she's still got a long way before she can evolve but she will likely evolve before Ichigo could become a trainer and she doubts that as a Mightyena she'll be allowed to attend classes with Ichigo.

"Over here, kiddo!" ("Hurry up! It's too crowded here for my liking!") Ichigo and Ranae turn to find a cart with a Rapidash stallion harassed to the light, two wheeled cart. Without much more prompting, Ichigo and Ranae approach.

"Miss Shirley?" Her owner asks and the woman snorts before replying, "Call me Dash! And this here is Blaze."

("Greetings, Blaze. I am Ranae.") She says in way of introduction before joining her owner in the back of the cart. "And this must be Ranae? What a well groom Poochyena you got there. You must take real good care of her, ah?" Dash, Blaze's trainer, muses while peering at Ranae.

"Really? She wouldn't let me really touch her tail too much with a comb." Her owner admits and she just flickers her ears at that.

Dash chuckles while Blaze begins to move, pulling the cart along. "Don't worry too much. My Tobi was the same when he was a Poochyena." Dash explains with a touch of humor. "Just take comfort in the fact that she even allows you near her tail with a comb. Means she trusts you a great deal."

"Will I be home schooled or will you be bringing me into town to attend school?" Her owner asks after a few minutes of silence as the cart moves down the street. Ranae watches as buildings slowly pass from her view, the cart smells strongly of medicine, food, and, of course, Pokemon. The rocking of the cart and the steady rhythm of Blaze's hooves upon the street, slowly but surely, Ranae drifts off to sleep while resting next to her owner.

**Ichigo**

He slowly strokes sleeping Ranae's back while the cart pulls away from the town. Once out of the town, more like small city, Blaze's pace begins to pick up while Dash chuckles causing him to glance over at the fire horse. While he's not a good judge of animal behavior, he couldn't help but think that Blaze seems to be prancing as the fire type is being sure to step high.

"Ok, ok, Blaze! Hold your horses." Dash says, chuckling when the stallion snorts. "Hold on tight to that Poochyena, kiddo! This is going to a rough ride!" His new guardian says and he quickly gathers Ranae in his arms as Dash seemingly causes the reins to crack.

With that signal, the Rapidash whinings before suddenly breaking out into a run. The cart jerks and Ichigo moves to hold Ranae with only one hand while the other grips the rope that's along the rim of the bench. The jerk of his body also alarms the canine in his arms, Ranae growls, likely expecting some ghost Pokemon appearing but Ranae's growls transforms into a questioning whine.

"Blaze has been given the go ahead to go all out." The orange haired dimensionally displaced ex-teen explains to Ranae. Blaze makes a throaty rumble, not sure if the fire stallion is agreeing with that or merely swallowed something like a fly and is trying to get it out. Ranae stops whining and moves to place her head over a shoulder.

It wasn't long before Ranae's tail is wagging while the wind whips about over and through the Poohyena's furry head. Ichigo smiles while shaking his head slightly to either side for a few seconds. Ranae suddenly howls and Blaze nickers a reply before picking up a bit more speed.

_Well, at least this mode of transportation doesn't produce any pollution._ The ex-teen muses dryly. _Most do seem to prefer Pokemon as mode of transportation, specially considering that the larger flying types are used to fly from one city to another._

As the ranch comes into view, Blaze's pace slows. The ex-teenager gets his first glimpse of the many Pokemon that his new guardian owns, particularly as a flock of various fliers circling overhead, at the head of the flock seems to be a Charizard. Ranae howls a greeting and he turns to find a huge dog racing along side the cart, the canine sports an orange coat and black markings.

"Hey there, Varg! Guess this means Sam's waiting for me at the house, huh?" Dash asks Varg the Arcanine.

Varg glances over at Ichigo and Ranae before glancing back over at Dash. "This is Ichigo and his Poochyena Ranae. Ichigo, Ranae, this is Varg, he belongs to my neighbor Sam Benoit." Dash pauses before adding, "Sam's an old friend and we use to travel together during our first year as Pokemon Trainers. Sam is one of the breeding farms that supply Growlithes to the police forces. Varg, here, is a prized breeding stud."

He just blinks, trying to connect the few Growlithes he's seen to the huge Varg. "Hello." He finally says to Varg and the canine barks twice, to which Ranae responses with a bark of her own. The great canine seems satisfied with whatever Ranae had said as the large fire dog picks up his pace and passes Blaze, heading for the house while Blaze slows to a trot and heads for the barn.

Finally Blaze comes to halt and it takes him a few seconds to recover his balance, although Ranae has already leaped over the side of the cart and gone to greet the welcoming committee that seems to be organized by the Charizard. Dash lowers the back of the cart, which allows him to get off without any trouble as he doesn't feel like climbing over the side of the cart.

"Thanks." He says and Dash responds by ruffle Ichigo's orange hair. "No problem, kiddo!" Dash says, it's clear to him that Dash must have been one heck of a tom boy growing up.

"Seems like Ranae's already introduced you to the welcoming party too." Dash says and sure enough, the Pokemon seem to regarding him with curious and yet measuring looks. "This is Ichigo Kurosaki, I am now his legal guardian and he'll be staying here at the ranch until he passes the test to become a licensed Pokemon Trainer." Dash addresses the group of twenty or so Pokemon, placing an arm about his shoulders.

_Well, at least they're not out to eat me._ He thinks as Dash tells the Charizard, Forge, to keep an eye on Ranae and him as they explore the ranch while Dash goes to see what Sam wants.

First Day of School

With Ranae curled up in his jacket, Ichigo's orange hair whips about as Blaze races across a field, normal bugs erupt from the grass at Blaze's passing as does a few common wild Pokemon. He clings to the saddle tightly, even though he's gotten use to riding upon the Rapidash during the spring and summer, he's still possess a fear of the fiery mane and tail burning him by accident during a ride.

Soon, his surroundings change and Blaze's hooves click upon the tar road. Blaze slows from the break neck speed to something close to the speed limit of the town. With that, Ichigo pulls the zipper of his jacket down and help Ranae to stick a head out from the collar, Ichigo feels Ranae wagging her tail.

About thirty minutes of navigating around the town, they arrive at the school. He gets down from Blaze before he lets Ranae drop down onto the grass of the court yard. He checks the time from his wrist watch to find that he has about forty some minutes until the first bell goes. "Thanks Blaze!" He says politely to the stallion, stroking the Rapidash's muzzle.

A moment later, Blaze is heading for the closest Pokemon Center. Blaze will stay there until school is over to come and pick Ranae and himself up. Ichigo turns to regard the school's front for a few minutes before heading towards some play equipment, making a beeline for the swings with Ranae following after.

Slowly the school yard gets filled with kids from six years old to eleven years old. A few kids did take note of Ranae and some tried to get close enough to the Poochyena to pet her, but Ranae kept moving out of reach while also keeping him in her sights. Some of the kids give up and head off to do things with their friends with a few hanging about, giving Ranae longing looks.

Soon, the bell rings and he gets off the swing, with Ranae hot on his heels, he follows the stream of kids heading for the gym where they'll learn which class they'll be in. Most of the kids give Ranae and him space, most of the older ones snort and roll their eyes, it's clear they believe that he'll be asked to send Ranae home or get in trouble for having her here with him, but as none of the teachers possess Pokemon on their person or own one that's an experienced fighter, Ranae's place by his side will remain secure.

Ichigo finds a place next to a corner, trying to find a secluded sport to sit down. He finds a spot and Ranae sits next to him, a few of the surrounding students glance their way but didn't do much other then whisper to their neighbor, nodding in their direction. Ichigo struggles to keep an aloof expression upon his face, which is rather hard as his nerves seem to be all afire and his pulse is racing.

Being around all of these kids though, that really brought home the fact that he misses his friends, both among the living and among the dead. He had known he would be among kids that appear to be his age but that didn't do much to prepare him for being among them. He had spent certain mornings studying what text books Dash has in her study and had also managed to get access to a computer to learn more about what kind of subjects schools in this world teaches at their schools.

Ichigo glances at his teacher, Mr Baker, upon hearing his name being called. The man appears to be on the oldish side as he can spy gray in Mr Baker's bread and buzz cut. As the principal begins on the other teacher's class, his fellow classmates stand up as Mr Baker walks towards the entrance/exit. He hangs back a bit before falling in line with Ranae.

The room they enter into is room nine and he finds an empty desk close to the teacher's own desk. Mr Baker gives Ranae and himself a glance before greeting the class. The teacher also out lines the lesson plan, not that most of the class is paying it much mind as they seem to be more baffled by the fact that Mr Baker hasn't addressed him about Ranae resting by his feet.

"Mr Baker! What about the Pokemon next to him? I thought we're not allowed to bring our pets to class." Some girl with almost silvery hair asks when Mr Baker asks if there were any questions.

"Kurosaki is a special case as he has something of a problem with ghost Pokemon popping in at unusual times. Hence why his Poochyena is allowed to attend classes." Mr Baker explains and this causes his classmates to murmur among themselves.

"Does that mean we can bring Pokemon of our own?" Boy sporting green streaks through his black hair. A lot of the kids murmur agreements to that question.

"As far as I'm aware, only Kurosaki is the exception, not the rule." Mr Baker says before asking, "Are their any questions about school itself?"

There were none as many of his classmates clearly thought that it's unfair that he can have Ranae and they can't have their own pet Pokemon here at school during classes. Which is likely why so many of them were glaring and giving him envious looks. _I wonder how many fights I'll get into by the day is out..._

And so, Mr Baker moves onto handing out their text books and some note books. They also go through their back packs for their pencils and other things that their parents or guardians had bought that had been on the supply list the school had sent out. They put the stuff into their desks while a sheet of paper goes around the room and they're expected to put their names upon it, allowing Mr Baker to know where each student is sitting.

He puts his name on the sheet before putting the sheet onto Mr Baker's desk. Once that is done, they do a series of tests to see what they retained after summer vacation, likely giving Mr Baker an idea on what he has to review before proceeding to teach them new material. He, of course, found the various questions to be rather easy, the only problem he has is with history, but then, they weren't expected to know a lot of it, only local history revolving around the founding of the town and temples, he pretty much knew he wouldn't do well on that as he is new to the area in more ways then one.

Recess finally arrives and everyone is more then happy to bolt out of the classroom, heading for an assigned play area. Ranae and him follow the rest of the class out, only at a slower pace. Once on the play ground, he glances around while trying to find a place where he can let Ranae cut loose as she has been rather patient with laying upon the floor next to his feet.

Getting to a tree line, he takes out a ball from his back pack and tosses it as far as he can. Ranae bolts after the ball and manages to grab the ball in the air upon leaping for it. Just a second after all four feet touch the ground does Ranae head in his direction with the ball in her mouth, her Ever Stone pendant swaying as Ranae comes towards him.

When Ranae gets bored with catching and bringing the ball back to him, she leaves the ball about a foot away from where he's standing and runs off. It's around this time does this group of older kids approach, Ichigo can tell from their very familiar expressions that they mean to use force to have their way with him.

_Some things stay the same, don't they?_ He muses while giving the approaching group a blank look. "Can I help you?" He asks the four.

"Yea, you can call my Poochyena over here." The leader of the four states and the other three are sure to sport threatening looks. "She's mine during recess, got it?"

"I'm sorry but Ranae is unlikely to agree with that." He says calmly. "She will if it keeps us from pounding on you." The leader counters.

He smirks in a very predatory fashion upon hearing that. "Who says you're going to even get so much as a punch on me? Now, why don't you boys go back to playing cops and robbers before you cause me to give you lot reasons to stay out of the public eye?" He says, feeling a great deal like his old self then he has in a long time.

Ranae has come to see what's happening and growls at the four, but stops when he say, "I can handle this Ranae." The Poochyena sounds out a questioning whine but likely remains where she is as Ichigo refuses to look away from the four boys before him.

The boys seem rather confused about him counter threatening them. They clearly didn't feel as confident as they had when they arrived. Unsurprisingly, some kids began to gather around, clearly expecting something to happen, but this also attracts the attention of the teacher supervising recces.

"Getting into trouble already, Stevenson?" The teacher demands, causing the four boys to jump slightly in surprise. It seems that they hadn't noticed the approach of the teacher.

"Just having a discussion with him, sir. About his Pokemon." The leader says, trying to look innocent before the suspicious teacher.

"Is this true, Kurosaki?" The teacher asks and he responds, "A rather heated discussion, sir. Although I doubt I got my point got across to Stevenson and his friends. They seemed rather stumped with my reply and had yet to respond to it."

The four glare darkly over at him while the teacher studies him for a second. "Just let me know if they try anything, Kurosaki." The teacher says at last and he nods.

The teacher glances once more over to Stevenson and the three before walking away. "Next time, Kurosaki." Stevenson says before walking away.

"Yea, next time." He murmurs as he finally glances around to watch as the other kids slowly head off as there wasn't a fight to entertain them. Ranae walks over and gives him a frown.

"I don't want you in trouble for harming another kid, Ranae. Their parents can get you banned from school by raising the issue of you not being well behaved enough to come with me." He explains and Ranae gives him an 'Oh' look.

"Besides, as long as they throw the first punch, anything I do after that is considered self defense." He says upon kneeling down to scratch behind Ranae's ears. "You just focus on any ghost types that show up and leave me to deal with the threatening human elements, ok?"

Ranae growls softly but doesn't retreat from his touch. Once that's done, Ranae quickly goes off to hide behind a bush. The bell rings a few seconds later and when Ranae returns, they walk back to enter into the school. A few of his classmates watches as they return to the desk.

_I wonder how many of them will try and sit with us at lunch?_ He wonders as the final bell rings and Mr Baker begins by having them do talk about what they did this pass summer. He can only sigh at this, but then, this was a class containing a few six year olds and seven year olds.

Week Later

The lights suddenly die and Ichigo sighs. "Ranae?" He asks and the Poochyena arfs while his classmates begin to panic.

"Where's the ghost?" He asks and he senses Ranae moving out from under his desk to circle around the desk. Mr Baker is out in the hallway, likely heading to find a flash light.

The door suddenly slams and the lights outside of the class flicker one before flaring so brightly that the glass tubes burst. "A Rotom..." He murmurs while the others crowd around the window of the door, likely in hopes of catching a glimpse of said Pokemon.

Ranae begins to growl just a minute before a girl screams. "And he's brought friends." The orange haired ex-teen murmurs under his breath. A few more startled cries ring out and a cry of a laughing Haunter causes every single classmate to scream about some murderous, blood hungry Haunter here to drink their blood.

Ranae pauses in her growls and he sighs, rubbing a few fingers on his forehead while murmuring about the horror genre being the same everywhere. The lights begin to flicker, a sign that the Rotom has decided to enter into the classroom. It wasn't long before a giggling Rotom becomes visible, lighting up the room while giving him a chance to note the number of ghost types that fill the classroom.

He finds beyond the Haunter and Rotom to be three Sableyes and a Shedinja. Ranae howls before charging at the closest ghost type, a Sableye.

**Ranae**

She uses Howl before she charges the nearest Sableye to Bite them. ("Ouch! You little...") The Sableye cries out while the other cries out, ("Use Lick on her, Joker!")

She manages to evade the incoming Lick attack while the Rotom gives Thunder Wave a try. Though that electric attack hits, it did little to paralyze her because of her Quick Feet ability. She manages to evade a few attacks from the two Sableye.

The screaming children reminded her that their were others about the classroom. With a flick of her tail, she gives Astonish a try on the Haunter called Joker. The floating Shedinja uses Spite, which makes her feels a bit weak.

_That one just needs one good Bite and they'd be out of this battle._ Ranae thinks as she evades the twin Fury Swipes coming from the Sableyes. She tries to move either around or between the two as she wants to get to that insect that's just hovering there.

She Growls at the incoming Rotom while bolting under the electronic ghost. ("Where are you going? You're human is over here!") Taunts the Haunter as the Shedinja uses Spite once again.

She is hit with it but she does manage to get a Bite in, causing the Shedinja to fall to the ground. ("That's no nice! The poor guy wasn't very healthy at the best of times!") The Rotom cries out as sparks fly from the ghost Pokemon.

("Then you shouldn't have brought him!") She snaps at the ghost while evading the incoming Thundershock. The Haunter had disappeared while the two Sableyes comes at her with Fury Swipes. She takes a few hits from the two and uses Roar, sending the two fleeing away from her.

The Rotom attacks once more, causing metal desks to go flying. She notices that Ichigo had long since moved away from the fight and seems to have climbed up onto one of the shelves. With her owner bring fine, she focuses back on the battle between herself and these ghost types, once more intent on defeating them as quickly as she can.

She decides to focus on the Haunter, wary of that one's Lick attack as that type enjoys suddenly appearing out of nowhere and delivering an attack. She doesn't have much time to duck when Joker the Haunter makes an appearance right before her. Managing to duck in time, she quickly uses Bite on the Haunter.

Then she's forced to retreat as the Rotom flings an attack in her direction with the two Sableyes in pursuit. Ranae tries to guess where that Haunter, Joker, plans to make an appearance once more as she plans to give him a good Bite, hopefully to cause the other to flinch. ("Hold still!")

("You must be mental if you think I'm going to obey that.") She finds herself remarking before Roaring at the pair, sending them running while she uses Oder Sleuth to try and find that Haunter. Upon finding them, she manages to get in a few Bites and an Astonish before the other three come charging at her.

She Tackles Joker the Haunter before Biting the nearest Sableye. The Rotom's attack did land while Ranae's mouth is about the Sableye's arm, thus the Sableye receives damage from the attack. ("Watch where you fling those attacks! You hit my brother, you light-bulb!")

("Not my fault she wasn't quick enough to let go of him! And don't insult me!") The Rotom snaps as she sniffs out a Oran berry that her owner had tossed her way at some point during the fight.

It wasn't long before she feels ready to continue with the fight a few seconds after swallowing the berry. "Looks like their partnership has soured." She hears Ichigo muse softly and she glances towards the door to find that it's open, one of the kids must have gotten it open and the class fled.

As Joker the Haunter seems to raise up from floor to do something, a Weavile makes an appearance by suddenly leaping from a dark corner, with a single blow, the Haunter falls back down while the new comer is using Night Slash on the Rotom. She charges forth and Bites one of the Sableyes again.

As the ghost types all faint, a trainer appears from the door and says, "Good work, Sleath." The Weavile salutes the trainer while the girl glances around the classroom with a touch of awe. "I just thought it was a few ghosts trying to frighten a few kids... They really did some damage didn't they?"

"Yea, they did. Ranae's pretty good at dealing with them when it's three on one but more then that..." Her owner trails off.

("You didn't do such a bad job.") Sleath says to her. ("The Rotom gave you the most trouble I take it?") Sleath asks upon getting onto the teen's shoulders.

("Yea. There's a good bit of glass about the floor. Not sure if I avoided it all...") She replies and begins to examine one of her paws, not that surprise to find that she does sport cuts.

She yips as she's picked up off the floor only to begin wagging her tail upon looking up at her owner's face. "Looks like you got some glass stuck in your paws, huh? Come on, there's likely somebody outside who'll want to take care of that." Ichigo says to her before saying, "You did great, Ranae, specially considering the site of the battle field."

Ranae snuggles against Ichigo, knowing that the rag tag gang could have done things very differently. Like have most of them distract her while a member of their group approach her owner before she'd be aware that they're there. _I hope nobody will blame Ichigo for my cuts..._

Next Day

**Ichigo**

With Ranae currently restrained to the bed for rest, his current protector is Tobi, Dash's Mightyena. He's lounging in the living room of the house when the door bell rings and is then followed by a knock on the door a few seconds after the bell rings. Tobi looks at him and he stares back before it dawns on him that he's the one with hands.

"Oh, right. I'll go get it then." He murmurs as he feels his cheeks heat up in embarrassment while Tobi just thumps his tail. Ichigo sighs, not particularly liking the fact that he should be doing something other then watching cartoons this morning like reading a book or to search for myths concerning dimensional travel. It happens regularly, some cartoon with explosions comes on or some action movie and he just loses track of what he should be doing beyond watching the TV.

_I can't remember having this problem back home..._ He thinks to himself but then, he knew that back home he also had other diversions beyond studying like fighting Hollows and what new villain that decides to attack the Soul Society. He opens the door to find an adult and then three of his classmates upon the porch.

"Ichigo I take it?" The adult asks and the ex-teen nods while he hears Tobi coming up behind him. The three kids all to a quick intake, signaling that they've gotten a good view of the Mightyena. "Is Miss Shirley in?"

"Ah, I think she's out in the field mending a fence." The orange haired ex-teen glances over at Tobi, who moves to stand to his right. "If you want, Tobi can guide you to her."

The adult nods and before leaving say to the three, who's names are Harvey, Riley, and Ten, to behave. Then vaulting onto the back of a Dodrio, the man heads away from the house, following Tobi to find Dash. "That's my dad." Harvey states and then asks, "Is Ranae ok?"

"She's suppose to stay in bed. Her feet are still a little tender." He explains as he moves to let the trio in. "Come on, I'll show where she's resting." He adds while leading the three up to his room so they can pay their respects to Ranae.

Ranae's head snaps towards the door and she barks a greeting as he opens the door. He smiles softly at the sight of her, a flash of guilt flares up at the reminder of his failure of not being able to defend himself against these ghost Pokemon. _I really should have gotten in the habit of carrying those candies around._ He thinks while re-introducing the three to Ranae.

"We just want to make sure that you were ok." Riley says while Harvey just grunts an agreement. "That and to thank her for causing us to get a whole week off!" Ten adds with a wide grin. "Right Harvey?" Ten adds, nudging the silent Harvey with an elbow.

"I guess..." Harvey mutters and Riley scowls at Harvey. "You can't be upset that at the first chance you got, you ran out the door, can you?" The tomboy asks, it's clear that they've had this argument before as Ten seems to sport a rather bemused expression upon his face.

Harvey gives Riley a glare while he is sitting upon the bed, scratching behind one of Ranae's ears. _I wonder what my friends are up to now?_ Ichigo wonders as the three kids before him remind him strongly of the friends he has back home. He can almost feel his eyes burn slightly after a few seconds of witnessing the pair argue with a sad sort of smile.

He feels Ranae snuggle closer to him as his hand moves to stroke the Poochyena's head and back. He manages to recover from his despairing thoughts before any of his three guests could notice anything wrong. He rubs his eyes before he picks up Ranae and cradle her in his arms.

"Perhaps you guys would like something to drink?" He suggests when silence had fallen between Harvey and Riley. Ten is the one to answer to their little group, "Yes please."

"Hey, do you get movies on demand?" Ten asks as they make it to the stairs. A bit puzzled by this particular question, he glances over his shoulder to reply, "We might. I'm trying to make it a habit not to watch TV, especially since there's a lot to do here on the ranch."

The three sport looks of horror, as if he just caused their world crashing down around them. "He's got to be a space alien! No way can he be human!" Ten murmurs and he's rather startled by this before he just rolls his eyes while shaking his head gently to either side as he walks down the stairs.

_I should have expected something like that._ He decides as the three go directly into the living room, likely following the sounds from the TV that he had been watching before they arrived. He stops and looks down at the gray furred canine in his arms for a second before turning around to head into the living room to put Ranae down before grabbing the drinks.

He isn't that surprised to find Riley with the remote and seems to be going through a list of movie titles. Grabbing a pillow, Ichigo then lowers Ranae gently upon it before heading for the kitchen once more. The ex-teen finds the pitcher of strawberry-lemonade and takes it out before retrieving some glasses.

Returning the pitcher back into the fridge, he is careful on how he carries the four glasses. Taking measured steps, particularly since he doesn't want to spill on himself, he's more then glad when Ten gets up to grab two glasses from him. Ten hands one of the glasses to Harvey, leaving him to give one of the two he has to Riley while the opening sequence for a horror movie plays on the television screen.

Sitting down on the other chair in the living room, he is rather bemused to find that the movie they're watching seems to be a take upon the fictional Werewolf, only instead of having the main character transform during a full moon, it's the new moon and instead of a canine, the character becomes something based upon a Marowak slash Linoone. The Weremon stands about five feet while sporting the bone helmet and stance while the rest seems to come from Linoone, although the fur is more gray and black then two shades of brown. The curse is passed viva a wrist spur that is retractable, known to come out when the Weremon is about to be killed and it thrashes around in hopes of spearing someone with the wrist spur.

_Not a very good stand in for a Werewolf._ Ichigo admits to himself but it seems that the three guests were enthralled by the movie. He makes a mental note to see what other classic movie monsters have counterparts here in this world.

"I though it would be more scary then that!" Riley scuffs and he privately agrees, after all, having the Weremon out to fed off of a sleeper's dreams just didn't seem that scary to him, although considering there are moves meant to steal the health of a sleep, he guesses it works. "I mean, who wouldn't thought to use a steel to kill a monster?"

"Where I come from, the monster transforms during the full moon and is typically killed using silver." He says with a frown as he stares down into his drink. "Of course there's a great deal more gore, particularly when they make the transformation look painful instead of like an Evolution." He adds and then looks up to find the three look rather intrigued about what he's saying.

"Really? What else does your Weremon do?" Asks Ten and he thinks about it for a second before seeing no harm in continuing.

"Well, for one, there's not wrist spur. If the beast bites you and you survive, you're cursed. In some movies, the victims of the guy take to haunting them as they can't cross over until the guy either gets cured or is killed." He tells them. "The cure is usual has to do with killing the one that had bit them."

He remembers a certain poem and recites it.  
"Even a man who is pure in heart  
and says his prayers by night  
may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms  
and the autumn moon is bright."

"Wow..." Ten says in amazement while the other two look rather impressed with that little poem. It is rather better then the one the recently watched movie had.

"Although... Why a wolf?" Harvey asks and he says, "Well, for one thing, instead of Weremon, the monster is called a Werewolf, although there have been various types of animals used, you just take the Were and put the animal name behind it, like Weretiger or Wereleopard. Mostly they stick to some large, predatory beast."

"So, they don't use Pokemon then?" Asks Riley and he shrugs. "Why install unnecessary fear of a certain Pokemon type when there are other beasts that could be used? Besides, it gives them a way to make the transformation look painful and drawing it out then what they showed." He answers, doubting that they would believe him if he told them that where he's from, they don't have Pokemon.

So, while they all want him to tell them what kind of movies he's seen featuring Werewolves, Dash and the adult walk. "Are you three ready to leave?" The visitor asks and grumbling, the three get up and head for the kitchen.

He follows them to the kitchen. "Ah... can't we stay just a little longer? We just started on an interesting subject, Dad..." Harvey grumbles and his classmate's father raises an eyebrow while sporting a bemused expression, likely surprised by his son's change in attitude.

"Come along, you three have some studying to do. I doubt your parents would be happy to know that I allowed you to skip your assigned reading." The man says. "I'm sure Ichigo has much the same to do today as well."

"See you, Mark." Dash says and Harvey's dad, Mark nods. He says his good byes while his three classmates do the same.

As the three exit out of the house, Dash turns to regard him for a few seconds. "Well, might as well see what assignments they sent along in that package that we got in the mail." His guardian says and he shrugs, he's not worried about it as he's fairly confident that he can complete them within the next day or so.

He does grab something for Ranae to eat and takes it to her before heating up something for lunch. Tobi seems more interested in getting a bowl of water then a bite of something to eat. Dash returns and seems to be reading through some of the sheets. "Hmmm... A lot of this stuff seems to be what we've already reviewed."

"Then it shouldn't take long for me to complete." He replies after drinking some more lemonade. "Did I get accepted by that online high school course?" He asks, he figured it's something he should ask about since it's been close to three weeks since he sent in an application to continue his high school education viva the computer.

"Ah, I know I was forgetting something." Dash says cheerfully and it wasn't long before Ichigo's guardian returns with an envelop. "Here you go, it came little over four days ago."

Eagerly, he opens the envelop and after a few minutes of reading and rereading its contains, he smiles. _Well, looks like I won't idle during my time in this world._ He thinks, glad that he'll have something challenging to do, his attending the local school is more so he can be close to kids his current age then he has something to learn from the local school.

Soon lunch is served and he folds the letters back up, putting them back into the envelop they came in so that he can begin eating lunch. Ichigo decides to give the site a look after lunch, it'll be a bit before he'll chose which subjects to renew his studies with.

**To Be Continued . . .**


	121. The Assessment: Bleach

I don't own Bleach or Naruto!

**- o 0 o -**

**"Fairly interest to see the two of you sitting across from each other."** Aozora remarks as he cleans up his quarters. **"You two could almost switch places, if you allow yourself to grow up a bit more."** Aozora muses in a teasing tone and he smiles a bit while gently shaking his head.

"I doubt we'll be seeing him much, Aozora. Besides, could you imagine what could have happened if he did find me during that certain period? No, we went our separate ways long time ago and it'll likely remain thus as well." He remarks to his Zanpakuto while he finishes putting his freshly cleaned dishes and cups away.

Pressing his lips together as he frowns as he recalls a few things his father, Minato, had let slip during their conversation. As he puts the dish cloths away in a hamper, he wonders if he's going to get more visitors, the sort from when he was alive. _Well, nothing for it, I guess. All I can do is wait for them to come out of the wood work, I guess._ He muses as he walks out of the kitchen, turning off the lights as he does so.

**"You seem to find something depressing. Want to share? As they say, misery loves company."** Aozora no Kemono muses while still resting upon a couch. It doesn't surprise him, after all, Aozora has been with him since he arrived in this afterlife. He turns to regard Aozora, once more struck by their relationship, particularly since somewhere down the line, he has come to find it strange to think that, once upon a time, he had considered Aozora to be nothing but an object with a mouth on it.

_Not that I kept that impression for long, particularly since I hadn't been in the right frame of mind to try and connect with my fellow students since I got dragged to the academy._ He muses while he gets around to answering Aozora's question. "Well, I for one think that this is just the beginning of s string of visitations from people I knew while I was alive."

"Perhaps I should have expected this to happen after I got my memories back." He adds as an afterthought as he pauses by the door to his room. "Anyway, it's not something to fret about, I guess. There's just so much on our plate as it is without adding this to the mix." He says while looking over to his friend, partner, and killing instrument. "See you tomorrow, oh, by the way, I got you a set of wireless headphones for you, so you don't have to worry about waking me with the volume of your stuff."

Aozora jerks, clearly surprised by what he said while he just smirks widely, glad to see that shocked look upon Aozora's face. _Really, if he wanted that stuff, he could have asked me to get it for him instead of faking notes in my name to send those rookies on those errands._ He muses, although, to be honest, this likely wasn't the first time Aozora has done this, not that he's going to press Aozora about previous times.

**Ichigo**

He tries to relax but finds it rather impossible since he's about to met with a new captain from the Soul Society. Considering his usual meet and greets with members of this society, he feels he has every right to be. It doesn't help that his inner Hollow seems to be yappying his mental ears off concerning the many positions he wants the majority of the women he knows in and the kind of settings that would go with those.

_What's got you so chatty all of a sudden anyway?_ he finally asks his Hollow half. This causes his Hollow to pause for a few seconds before replying, _Isn't it obvious? The new captain is a woman! I mean, think of how unbalanced the captaincy is, they got to be promoting some babes to fill the open slots._

He shivers slightly upon the way his Hollow half said that phrase. He can't believe what a pervert his other half is but before his Hollow half picks up from where he left off, the new captain arrives. "Sorry I'm a little late. I had to deal with somebody who wanted to spar with me while three of his seats casually kept the gate staff at bay."

He couldn't help but only stare at the blond who steps out of the gate. _He's like seventeen years old! And... is that sword taller then him?_ He wonders, his gaze moves from the blond's face to the hilt of the sword upon the captain's back. "It's like you're compensating for something..."

The blond chuckles and it's then that it dawns on him that he said that part out loud. "It's not that I can't alter his shape, it's more that I don't see any reason to. I've gone accustom to having Aozora like this. But since you seem to have your mind in the gutter... Perhaps this might give you an idea with your own Zanpakuto." The blond muses.

With ease, the blond captain takes hold of the sword's hilt and as he watches, the blond casually holds his Zanpakuto, Aozora, aloof in the air singled handedly. Then the sheath and blade seem to shimmer before, almost in a liquid fashion, alters to take shape of a typical Zanpakuto. With that done, the blond then slides the altered Zanpakuto into his belt.

"I know your name, but has anyone thought to give you mine?" The blond asks after a few seconds and he just moves his sight from the Zanpakuto to the owner's face. "I see. Anyway, I am Naruto Uzumaki, newly appointed captain of Ninth Division. I use to teach at the academy until the previous captain thought I would be better off on patrolling some place far from the Seireitei."

"You taught at the Soul Reaper Academy? For how long?" He demands and Naruto goes on to murmur, "Well, let's see... I was around when the academy first got started... I graduated... Hm... Then I would go on patrol for... Hm, that is a rather large number."

"Well, if you wonder if I taught Aizen and the majority of those you've encountered, then the answer is yes, I likely did have them in my class at one point or another." Naruto tells him. "Aizen got top marks, too. Although I didn't know how far his proficiency with illusions was, but I did know he could pull them off as he managed to snap out an illusion during a test. The only one of its kind too, not a lot of people were happy that I was trying to encourage thought in 'grunts'."

"Anyway, you're not here to hear me go on like an old man, but for an assessment of your skills." Naruto says while he closes his mouth, rather bewildered by the idea that Aizen had been a 'grunt' at one point. "But before we do that..." The blond captain muses, he then jerks as he watches as the chipper ancient blond takes out a scroll.

He watches as the blond bites his thumb and then smears blood upon it. "A gift a member of Zero thoughtfully sent me this morning. It should help with your assessment as we can't have the locals wonder how this part of the world got destroyed, now can we?" The blond seemingly chirps while rolling the scroll up.

"Zero? What do you mean by that? Is there a fourteenth division that nobody saw fit to inform me about?" He demands while Naruto slams the scroll upon the ground.

Suddenly, the scroll breaks apart and a kind of energy just explodes, covering not just the landscape but Naruto and himself. "What the hell was that?" He demands while pointing his Zanpakuto at the blond.

"Relax, kid. You're a bit high-strung, you know?" Naruto says with his hands out before him and holding the palms towards him. "And to answer your questions, Zero is often considered the Royal Guard, which means they don't take orders from the council. They're said to answer directly to the Emperor, so they're not usually hanging around the Seireitei."

He frowns, wondering how the blond couldn't know it while Naruto goes on to address his other concerns. "As to why nobody mentioned it to you, well, if I arrived wearing some typically attire that defines a sub-society, would you assume I know nothing of what the cloths stand for or just assume that I know how to fit in? Hence why we're meeting, I'm here to see what kind of holes you have in your education of what it means to be a Shinigami."

He lowers his sword, finding that Naruto seems to have a lot of good points. "Yea, I guess... But what did that scroll do?" He asks, stressing the word do.

"I'm sure you've seen most of the typical branches that Shinigami use in battle? That scroll, for lack of a better word, is like a program that becomes active viva being smeared with blood. This program that I just activated is kind of like a save. I just saved us and this landscape so that when we're through, hopefully before the five hours are up, the damage done after the save will be totally reversed, which means that I could cut off a finger and when the five hours are up, you'll have that finger back on your hand without a mark showing that it was ever gone. You get it?" Naruto watches as he slowly nods, rather stunned that the blond could get his hands on something like that.

"Ok, I doubt you've been given anything resembling a rule book or any kind of book from the Seireitei, so, let's move onto the physical branches, shall we?" Naruto says. "We'll start with hand to hand." The blond says while taking out his Zanpakuto and spearing it into the ground, a move he mimics.

**Naruto**

Ichigo is breathing heavily while he himself is just beginning to sweat. _He's not one for pacing himself, is he? But then, I am a stamina freak._ He muses to himself. He had been warned that Ichigo is a quick learner, but then, he's always been quick when it came to hand on lessons too. _I'm more interested in how he became a Visored though._

He's never had spent time around those that had acquired Hollow abilities so his time with the orange haired teen is rather enlightening. He's been trying to get the feel of Ichigo's energy and hadn't put much thought upon those two energies co-existing, the last time he's felt anything like it had been... _When I had the Kyuubi in me and in a fight for my life._ He thinks to himself, a little bemused that he did manage to shave the teen's hair, although he doubts Ichigo has noticed the cosmetic job.

"And time..." He says with a sigh as Ichigo's hair suddenly shimmers into existence and the rips and tears of their cloths repair themselves as the landscape does as well. "I'll be sure to send along some books and scrolls, I'll be sure that some of them are about Kido." He tells Ichigo as he puts Aozora back in the sheath.

Ichigo sports a bewildered look, it's clear that the young teen isn't use to sparring with somebody. "But... who won?" The orange haired Ichigo wonders and he merely presses his lips together.

"Have you had formal training before?" He asks and Ichigo nods. "When was the last time you've sparred with somebody?" Ichigo doesn't answer and he sighs. "That long huh? Well, if you see either of my exiled students, badger one of them into becoming a regular sparring partner. You need safer ways to practice or pick up battle strategies."

"I some how doubt that it'll be that easy." Ichigo mutters while glancing around their surroundings. "Yoruichi seems more concerned with bedding me then teaching me."

He snorts upon hearing that. _If I didn't know better, I'd swear that Yoruichi is some kind of attempt at cloning a saner Anko._ He muses to himself as he stretches his limbs, checking to see if there's any stiffness or after-effects to the scroll his father sent him.

_I wonder if I display my non-impressive skills in Seals will I get recruited by Zero Division?_ He wonders to himself before trying to muse upon an idea. **_"So, going to give the Fox Sage a try again?"_**

_I just might, all things considered. But then, these upcoming trials aren't about me, but about Ichigo and his friends. I've had my time in the sun, as it were, and I'm more then happy to take a mentor or teaching role in this then a direct one._ He thinks to Aozora.

"Oh crap! Look at the time! I got to go!" Ichigo curses, suddenly coming out of his thoughts just by taking a look at the position of the sun. The orange haired teen runs away without so much as a good bye.

"Might want to add something concerning Flash Steps too..." He murmurs out loud and a few seconds later, the gate appears and he enters it, his mind going through its old teacher mode concerning his assessment of Ichigo Kurosaki.

**- o 0 o -**


	122. Naruto and the Dragon Pearl

I don't own Naruto.

**- o 0 o -**

Naruto groans softly before trying to roll about only to find that he's trapped. Alarmed by this, the blond begins to do what he can to get out from the dry mud bank. As the Leaf Genin manages to pull himself out of the bank, the twelve year old then begins to look around upon expressing his dismay over the state of his cloths as they're ruined, in his opinion. The blond continues to try to work upon the patches clinging to his cloths while he walks towards this healthy, leafy tree in an otherwise desolate place.

Naruto begins to dig around in his various pockets to see what he still has on him. He closes his eyes and allows himself to lean upon the trunk of the tree, looking up at its branches while trying to recall just how he ended up here and if either of his team-mates got pulled along in that storm with him when they got ambushed by those ninja using a mud jutsu. Cursing loudly and violently, the blond genin looks towards the spot where he dug himself out of.

The pack he had been wearing is likely somewhere in that bank and if he want's a decent meal that's not covered in mud. Then his eyes light up and a clever grin crosses upon Naruto's face as he makes his familiar handsign. Within seconds, a hundred shadow clones pop into existence and with so many of them, they began searching about the mud bank for the pack or a hint of where it could be.

"Man, now would be a good time to use an earth style jutsu..." Murmurs one of the shadow clones after a few minutes of them all realizing that they don't have anything to use to dig into the dry mud bank. The various Naruto each curse up a storm while those few who weren't were focus on looking around for things that can be used to create a shovel or just dig into the hardened mud.

By the time noon has come and gone, the clones and Naruto hadn't found the back pack nor did it look like there's any water about them. "You know, there's something wrong with the fact that this tree looks as healthy as can be and yet, there's not a drop of water about." One of the clones muses out loud.

"If there was water around, there would be more green plants." Another clone murmurs in agreement while another adds in, "Maybe the tree's roots is edible?"

"Might find some underground mushrooms growing on the roots too." Another chimes in but another points out, "And how would we be able to dig up these roots or mushrooms? We're missing out on a shovel!"

"We could always use a kunai." The one that suggested edible roots. Naruto just watches as the remaining clones debate various points, counter-points, and then for it to get to the point where they're saying "Could not! Could too!"

_I have a lot of issues._ The blond genin thinks privately to himself while amused by how his clones are acting. After getting a minor headache, Naruto dispels the remaining clones before he begins to look about the bottom of the tree for some indication of loose ground.

The blond scratches his head as he finally realizes that it's not just the tree that's doing well, but the ground upon which the leafy branches shelter. Crouching down, the Leaf Genin runs a hand over the tops of the grass. "Huh, no flowers or bushes, just grass."

As night falls, the blond manages to find a small gap between the tree trunk and the grass cover ground. Lying upon his belly, Naruto reaches into that gap in hopes of finding some cash of seeds and nuts. With his tongue sticking out as he moves to the point where his shoulder is beginning to enter into said gap, his finger tips touches something cool and smooth. Sporting a concentrating look, the twelve year old focuses on the spot and once his fingers are about the object as much as he could get them, he focuses chakra to his finger tips so he has a better grip upon the object.

It's slow going as not only is the object in there firmly but it's trial and error for him concerning using chakra to grip the pearl with only his finger tips touching it. Naruto doesn't care if the muscles of his arms are cramping and his belly is empty, he wants to find out what the object is and he won't pull out his arm until it's in the palm of his hand! Finally, something gives and it isn't his hand, the ground around the object crumbles after a series of hard yanks while almost rolling away from the gap.

"Got it!" Naruto shouts out and he wiggles away from the gap. Once most of his hand is out from under the gap, the blond sits up and gazes upon his prize with a rather confused expression upon his face.

"Huh." Was all the blond ninja could think of grunting after rubbing the ball like object upon his cloths. The object is the size of his fist and under the starlight, seems to glows dimly white. Then, by accident, Naruto's arm almost falls and almost automatically, the blond channels chakra to the palm of his hand in hopes of keeping the object from slipping off his hand.

This cause the smooth, ball object to glow not just blue but also green. The interplay of these to colors captivates Naruto's attention for a few minutes before his belly growls, his free hand goes to his belly while also gripping the ball with his fingers upon that hand. Without chakra flowing into the ball from the palm of his hand, it returns to its typical off white color.

Naruto glances around before putting the ball back into the gap, figuring that it'll be safer in there until he wakes in the morning. Though hungry, the blond ignores it out of habit as he rarely got a steady orphan fund before he became a ninja so going to be with an empty belly isn't a hardship, just something that happens at some point in the month. Finding a comfortable pose, Naruto soon fell into a relatively, peaceful sleep.

Unknown to the genin Naruto Uzumaki, what he had found is a dragon's pearl that was hidden long before the time of chakra using ninja. The dragon who once owned the pearl had been hunted throughout various kingdoms at the time, each leader of these mini countries believing that eating the meat of a dragon would grant one a body of agelessness, its blood would make them immune to all poisons and sicknesses, its bones to be ground up and bathed to grant one beauty, and etc, etc. Although, they never gave much thought of what the pearl could proved beyond it being something to be included into jewelry.

Once more, unknown to the blond genin, this desolate place is where the dragon had met its end. Three armies had joined forces to bring the dragon down had soon turned on each other for possession of the dragon's body. And thus the battle field became a cursed place as not only didn't the body of the dragon prove to have the qualities they thought it had, but lead to a major war between the three kingdoms that brought the downfall to them and their allies. Thus the story of the dragon killing was lost to the mists of time and history.

Many stories, myths, and legends would spring up concerning why the tree and the ground around it remains green. Most of the stories told of a kitsune making its lair under the tree, a couple say it's all that remains of a shrine with variations concerning what became of the shrine, since the founding of Hidden Leaf village a story concerning the First Hokage planting the tree circulated for a while, it's enough to say that there is a story out there that can appeal to a listener if you search for the right story teller.

So when dawn arrives and finds the preteen ninja sleeping, the pearl's magic causes water to flood the small gap under the tree. As the water flows out of the gap, Naruto begins to get soaked from the water. Within seconds, the blond wakes and looks around in bewilderment with denials ready to be spoken, only for the Leaf Genin to find nobody standing over him with a pail.

Naruto follows the path of the water and is rather surprised to find that it's coming from the gap. With a look, he bends down and sucks in as much water as he can from the gap. He finds the water to be very refreshing but the water vanishes as the sun is above the rocky ridge. Naruto sighs and after a few seconds, finally reaches into the gap and brings out the pearl he unknowingly freed from where the dragon had originally put it.

In the light of the sun, the pearl is a brilliant white, appearing to be very differently then it had under the light of stars. With a thoughtful hum, the blond channels chakra upon the palm of his hand and is rewarded with a much more brilliant display of colors then last night. Naruto couldn't help but smile widely at the sight, giddy with his new possession until it dawns on him that his 'ball' could belong to somebody and that smile fades to a slight pout.

"Well, I could leave it here or I can take it with me..." Naruto mentally debates as it's unlikely he'll ever come back to this place to find out if the owner has retrieved their ball so he'll never know who it belongs to. "But then, it had some grim on it so it's been there for some years... Plus, if it's the reason why this tree is so green, it's been here for some decades."

He regards the tree, then the grass before looking around. "Damn, this place is so depressing... And if this is the reason for the tree being so green then maybe I shouldn't take it? This place could use more things growing in it, that's for sure." He says out loud to himself.

Then, almost as if having a mind of its own, the pearl flashes brightly, catching Naruto off guard, while it also shrinks down until it's the size of a Soldier Pill. A bit alarmed but mostly bewildered, Naruto gazes down at the pearl for a few seconds and then puts it into a hidden pocket that had been untouched during his trial with the mud attack. The pocket is water proof and is where he typically holds some matches when he knows he's going to be spending time out in the wilderness.

Funneling chakra into his legs, the Leaf Genin leaves the ancient battle field behind while an unknown specter manifests itself. The long dead dragon hovers around the tree as it watches as the young human sporting a mighty burden heads away with its treasure. _How funny life works. He'll be a fine son when the time comes, which, hopefully won't be until he's an old man with a houseful of grandchildren._

With a sigh, the dragon ghost allows itself to be called back to the palace where it'll start its life again as a hatching. In time, the dragon will work on creating another pearl and then leave the palace once more, to wander about until finding another world lacking a dragon, taking up the duty of listening to prayers and deciding how best to fulfill them. There isn't a doubt in the dragon's mind that the youth will be powerful, the question was if the boy will retain that spark that caused the dragon to entrust its previously gained power and status to him in the first place.

**Inspired by the Story Xiao Sheng and the Dragon's Pearl**

_A long time ago, during the great drought, a boy named Xiao Sheng found a patch of lush grass that never diminished, no matter how often he cut it to sell it in the market as cattle feed. One day it occurred to Xiao Sheng that instead of travelling all the way to the patch each day to cut grass, he could dig it up and replant it at home. So he dug up the turf by the roots and beneath it found a wonderful pearl. Considering himself doubly lucky, the boy put it in his pocket and went home, where he planted the grass beside the hut he shared with his widowed mother and then hid the pearl in an almost empty rice jar where no burglar would think of looking._

Next morning they woke to find that the grass had withered and died, but the rice jar was brimming over. That was when they realized they had found a dragon's pearl, because it is a virtue of these gems to multiply whatever they are kept with, be it rice, money or the patch of grass where this one had been found. From that day Xiao Sheng and his mother lacked for nothing, but because they were generous to their neighbours, rumours soon spread as to the source of their new-found prosperity. In time these tales reached the ears of the local landlord who soon turned up with soldiers to demand the pearl, claiming that it must have been found on his property (since he owned all the land in that region) and so rightfully belonged to him.

Rather than hand it over, Xiao Sheng swallowed the pearl. Immediately his stomach felt filled with a raging fire so he ran to the muddy trickled nearby which was all that remained of the drought-stricken river and drank and drank till it seemed he would drain it dry. And as he drank, he grew larger and larger and his form changed until the onlookers saw not a boy, but a mighty dragon which finally stopped drinking and turned to look around him with a certain wonder in his eyes. The landlord and his soldiers fled but the dragon flew swiftly after them and unleashed a flood which both drowned them and brought blessed relief to the parched land, so that the paddy fields filled and the river flowed strong and full again.

Finally, the dragon that had been Xiao Sheng took sad leave of his mother and swam away down river. To this day that stretch of it is called "Wang Niang Tan", which means the "looking back at mother bends" because when the dragon left the village through the river, it turned its head many times, and each time he turned, the dragon's massive body cut into the river's edge, sculpting the banks with his last farewell.

**- o 0 o -**


	123. A Vampire of His Very Own: Buffy

I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe!

**- o 0 o -**

With the setting of the sun, they stirred from the nest. The vampire once known as Gab, now answering to Bilal, closes his eyes to listen to the thunderous beats of these drums that seem to be located all over the city. Though only fifty years of age, Bilal has never come across whatever song they're thundering out all over the city, only that it made it so easy to catch a meal as two leaders seem indifferent to the month long festival that the humans and some demons are holding in the city.

Moving through the vampire made caves, ones likely made by previous covens of vampires that settled in the city before they arrived. The youngest vampire in the nest did wonder, once more, whatever became of those previous covens and for a second, wondered if these festival might have something to do with them vanishing. Mentally shaking those thoughts from his mind, the demon operating the body of the long dead Gab continues forth, figuring that the coven elders' responsibility to make that connection as all he wants this night is a meal and to find a nice spot to listen to the music of this festival until dawn drives him underground.

Bilal finds that the coven is all group together not far from the entrance. The vampire frowns at the idea of a group hunt, Bilal weighs his options while Amar's voice carries through the night in a harsh tone, not that it matters that the leader is whispering, their hearing is far superior then their appearance shows so none of them had trouble hearing Amar over the beating of the festival drums. Just listening to Amar, Bilal could tell that the two hundred year old coven leader plans to keep going for a bit more, which he rather doesn't like the idea of since he's hungry now and wants to eat now, not when Amar runs out of things to lecture about.

With his mind made up, Bilal uses the memories left behind by Gab to sneak off. There are times where he's glad that the corpse he's living in use to be a thief as it made sneaking away from coven meetings like the one going on so much easier. Sure, Amar and most of the others will likely have more then some words for him for doing this, but then, Amar had turn Gab simply because Gab had discovered a secret entrance into this rival's lair, so Amar 'rewarded' Gab with immortality.

Upon raising, Amar had going put him through the ceremony of 'joining' the coven and even bestowed a new name to him. Once that had been done, Bilal had found himself being taught by the coven's demon expert which included explaining what a vampire actually was, a demon that can't live without existing within a dead human that has drunk blood from an already demon possessed corpse. Bilal had been rather surprised to learn that but had grown to accept it and move on.

Bilal successfully finds a meal a few blocks away from the surprsie coven meeting and with that, the young vampire heads for his usual spot on high. Laying down to view the stars and the full moon, Bilal kind of drifts off in a semi sleeping state, allowing his mind to think up scenes that would go with the music that's filled the night since the last full moon. It's when his reverse daydream ends does Bilal realizes that the music has ended.

The fifty year old vampire sits up and with yellow eyes glinting in the moonlight, Bilal finds fire all along the streets. What confuses him even more has to do with the fact that all of their hearts seem to be beating as one. Then comes the screams begin and he's confused since no blood seems to being carried by the gentle wind.

Then Bilal hears Amar and then the words, they killed him. That causes Gab's old reflexes to cause him to draw away from the edge of the roof before dropping down upon his belly while his mind race over what that means. Long after the torch lights vanish and the strange effect of the party goers turn hunters' heart beats beating as one vanish still finds Bilal upon the roof.

In the end, it's the threat of dawn's light that causes the ex-thief to get down but instead of going for the caves, Bilal heads for the closest warehouse. It takes the vampire a few minutes but he rigs up a hiding spot to wait out the day and when night returns, he'll then head for the cave to see if any of the rest of his coven survived the night.

= - [ **T**

An older Bilal, now Ghazi's eyes snap open at the sound of the drums beating out a beat that he had heard only forty years previously. "Get up! All of you! Come on you lazy louses!" He snaps as he moves among his spawn, kicking those that don't automatically wake.

Now ninety years old, Ghazi is now leader of his own coven, which numbers twenty odd instead of the two hundred that his old coven had sported. The number was kept low for a reason. "What's the matter?" Murmurs more then a few of his underlings.

"We're leaving this city tonight. I hope you all remember the plan for evacuation cause if you're left behind, we aren't coming back for ya." Ghazi snaps and this causes his coven to stiffen, clearly remembering the various plans he had drilled into their heads concerning leaving the city.

Soon, Ghazi's children head off to check and recheck preparations for leaving this city. The slaves will soon be serving a new purpose once they're out of the city. Ghazi marches off to check his stores to be sure that they had enough food to feed the slaves they'll be marching out of the city with.

_Hopefully, they won't come beyond the city to get us._ Ghazi thinks to himself, ignoring the thoughts concerning the other coven that has shown up about thirty years ago. If what happened forty years back happens again, then when they return, the other coven shall be gone, leaving them to reign the night without contest once more.

Then, as Ghazi had managed to get a wagon loaded, something happens and the world spins...

= - [ **T**

Ghazi wakes to find the chaos humming in the air and the panicking heartbeats of humans around him. Their fear so sweet but that isn't want occupies his thoughts, it's his surroundings like these metal torch posts, metal wagons, and the strange buildings that line the black stone road upon which he stands. The vampire is unsure what has happened to bring him here but he does freeze for a second as he feels something that he only knows about through Gab's memories.

Ghazi puts two fingers upon the side of his neck and feels blood pumping through his neck. Placing a hand over his chest, he feels a heart beat within the ribcage. His breath catches and then he coughs while he begins to panic about how he could be...

He stills himself and fights to control himself. Deep, calming breaths soon give him a chance to review what's happening around him instead of with him. _First things first, what can I do?_ And with that, the vampire heads for the nearest house to get some answers from those that live within it, reasoning that since he's alive he doesn't need to be invited into the dwelling.

Ramming through the door, he pauses to listen for the heart beats of those that live in this house. Once that's done, he moves down the stair, only pausing every so often to take note of the strange devices that are placed about the house, things that somehow get names and descriptions popping into his mind as though slow remembering what they are. As he snaps the door knob off the basement door, he opens to find a cross thrusted at him, causing him to growl before reaching out and destroying the wood, some part of him wondering just how it was he still manages to keep his demonic abilities while in a living body, particularly as his kind of demon needs their 'host' to be dead and departed.

"Where am I?" He snaps in some new language that his mind now tells him to be English. "Answer before I decide to make a meal of you two." Ghazi snarls, although not the least bit hungry.

"Sunnydale!" Is the answer and he frowns at the name. "Which part of the world is Sunnydale in?" He asks and the answer is, "America!"

That brings forth a lot more information then Sunnydale did. Letting go of the man, he reviews what's revealed and is rather stunned to realize that he's in the future as the Persian Empire has come and gone as had the empire that conquered it and so on and so forth. Rubbing an index finger about a temple, he leaves without harming either of the two.

As he leaves the down stairs, he allows his face to revert to that of a human and once out of the house, some red haired girl arrives calling him Xander and that they need to find Buffy. More then willing to go along with the ghost, Ghazi follows to find this Buffy and within spending a few minutes with her wants to twist her pretty little neck to get some peace and quiet, it's not as though Ghazi is a particularly violent vampire but this Buffy is sure grinding away at his patients.

It didn't help that he had been in a foul mood before finding himself spirited away so he feels as though he can be excused with snapping at the girl in the puffy cloths. "Shut it or I'll see how many times that pretty little head of yours can be twisted around upon that neck before it'll pop off." To his relief, she faints, thus allowing silence to reign for a period of time in which he reviews the new amount of information he has concerning the 'timeline'.

"Buffy!" He turns to find some other vampire bending down to check the girl's pulse, which is he considers redundant as they can both hear the girl's heart beating. "What happened to Buffy, Xander?"

"She just fainted." Ghazi states calmly while regarding the current actual vampire with very little interest. If the other wanted to cultivate humans as contact, he's not going to interfere, particularly as he'll be returning to his real existence if this Giles knows what's going on. It wasn't the first time he wonders why Willow never thought about questioning if he's really Xander or is just deciding to ignore that idea since he's being helpful.

A few seconds after he said that and while the other vampire regards him curiously, Buffy decides to stop playing dead, likely due to the fact that there's somebody here who's willing to play protector for her. "That man just threatened to kill me!" Whines the so call noble lady.

He's bemused how easily Buffy moves to place the other vampire between them. "I asked you to shut up twice since Willow left and you did not." He states. "Hence the third time came with a threat." Ghazi adds oh so helpfully.

"You're not Xander." The other states rather bluntly while almost becoming more protective of Buffy. He just smirks in an ironic fashion.

"Gee, I wonder what gave it away?" He says with a scuff in his tone. "Besides, aren't you a little cold to warm the girl's bed? I never could see why one of us would want to lay with a human. They're meals, not friends, family, or lovers. It wouldn't take much for one to worm something to bed and stick it in you." He muses after a few seconds. "Besides, if you play with your food, it has the chance to get away."

"Vampire." Buffy stutters after a few minutes of silence, clearly just connecting the dots, which proves that she's got a brain, even if it's full of fluff. Buffy begins to back away from them both with a look of terror upon her face, all he does is roll his eyes while turning to regard the ghost's former body.

Somewhere under Ghazi's magical skin, Xander struggles with laughter concerning the look of dismay Angel sported when Buffy began to back away. Sure, the teen hates that he accidentally dressed up as a vampire, he does consul himself that Ghazi doesn't seem to have a pathological need to kill every human that he comes across. Xander's also more then relieved that Ghazi decided to follow Willow earlier, but then, what little Xander has observed, Ghazi was looking for something, anything really, to distract him from his current status of being alive and yet still possessing his demonic abilities.

What little of Ghazi's memories he's managed to review reveals that Ghazi is close to being a century, leads his own, to use Ghazi's word, coven, and is worried about some month long festival which concludes with the festival goers scouring around the city to kill vampires. Although, Xander did pick up on Ghazi's worry about the way their hearts beat in unison during that hunt as well.

_And there goes Buffy._ Xander think as Ghazi picks up the soft foot steps of Buffy heading for the back door. Angel chases after and a second later, Cordie comes down the stairs to ask, "Where's Buffy?"

Ghazi turns to regard the remaining, living, human and answers, "She and her... boyfriend decided to take a walk. I'm sure with him around, she felt safe with him watching her back." Cordie seems rather startled by this but in the end, the thin human moves to sit down while he returns to watching out the window.

"I can't believe you let Angel walk around with Buffy." Cordie finally says and Ghazi turns to look over at the young woman. "I mean, you've always been up in arms when ever Angel is brought up and suddenly, with all of what's going on tonight, you would trust to have her out of your sight."

"Who says I'm really Xander?" Ghazi decides to ask, rather curious as to why people mistake him for this human. Cordie seems to stiffen while her heart speeds up.

"If you're not Xander, then why help Willow find Buffy?" Cordie asks as casual as can be. He can tell that her pose has stiffen slightly even though she tries to be casual.

"Oh, I don't know, likely because I'm at a loose end and wanted something to do instead of giving into panic." Ghazi remarks calmly. "After all, this place is rather alien to me and it was a way to get my barrings. If you want to place blame, perhaps you should blame Willow for just making assumptions."

"Well then, why don't you tell me who you are? It's not like we have another way to spent the night." Cordie states and Ghazi snorts softly after studying her briefly. Then, the world changes once more...

- ) = **O**

Xander sighs and then yelps for joy for finally being able to control his body. Until he realizes that he can hear something thundering in his ears and the clear scent of fright. Then he turns to look right at Cordie, it dawning on him that there seems to be certain traits left over from dressing up as Ghazi, a 'fictional' ex-thief turned 'immortal'.

Xander focuses on some other sound and is more then happy to head out of the living room to see if there anything he can do to return those kids home.

= - [ **T**

Ghazi wakes to find himself among the crates. With a shake of his head, the ninety year old vampire moves to stand up, moving to the back to find that the wagon is moving. With ease, he jumps over the back and moves around to stop the camel. Glancing around, the vampire merely sighs, realizes what happened. He hobbles the camel before he goes through the crate, glad to find a huge tent, he feels confident about his chances of survival.

Once he's done going through the crates, collecting what he can sell at a future date, Ghazi decides to head for Rome, spend some time there before leaving eastward, heading for China where he believes he'll find a boat. Where he'll go once landing upon America, he didn't know, but he did know that if he wants to leave a lasting mark in this world, it'll be in America, in a particular sunny place that would one day have a town called Sunnydale upon it.

With everything packed, Ghazi rides upon the camel, heading north, trusting that he'll come across humans during his travel. It's not as though he couldn't drink from the camel, sure his kind prefers humans but animal blood will do in a pinch and it wouldn't be hard to find animals to feed from considering they all have heart beats that he can hear.

With the full moon watching, Ghazi has unfinished business with Cordie and with Xander. He can only hope that he survives long enough to at least complete that business.

= - [ **T**

"So, you are Xander." Ghazi muses having woken from an enchanted sleep when the sun had set. Xander stiffens to turn to look over at the vampire, his first thought is at how short Ghazi is and another was about why the vampire searched him out.

"I guess you survived that festival again, huh?" Xander muses while the vampire snorts softly. "More like my children took advantage of my state and sent me out of the city. Fools the lot of them, they didn't survive for long when the festival ended." The rather old vampire states while leaning upon the bar, studying the dancers.

"You know, I tried to find information about you from the Watcher diaries." Xander says and Ghazi frowns before turning to regard him. "You don't know what a Watcher is, do you?" Xander asks.

"I never heard of the Slayer until I spent some time in Rome and again in China. Never heard of a support group for the Slayer either, but then, I've never encountered one of them either." The vampire states rather calmly.

"You visited Rome?" Xander asks, he didn't get many of Ghazi's memories, most Gab's. "I visited when it still possessed a king. I left for China after spending a decade there. Spent a few centuries heading for China, though, spent a few centuries in India, even payed an enchanter for a hibernating spell that was meant to end when a version of me appears in this world. Used it after finding a natural cave, stored my boat in it before breaking the charm that held the spell."

"Took me most of last night to break through the rocks that sealed the entrance." Ghazi adds helpfully. Xander could only stare at the vampire, not really sure what to think concerning this guy's dedication to coming to this time mostly unharmed.

"But... but... why? Why go to all that trouble to be here? To see me?" Xander can't help but wonder and the vampire turns to regard Xander with a bemused look.

"I never got the chance to learn about why you and I were so interchangeable in personality. Then there's Cordie wanting to know about me and it's not as though I have anything better to do once I knew how things ended from then until this point." Ghazi states.

"That's rather... honorable of you." Xander admits, although he didn't like being reminded that Willow had just taken it for granted that he wasn't affected by the spell. "Although, I thought humans were only good for meals." He decides to toss Ghazi's own words in his face, not a smart move he decides after he said it.

"I do prefer you as meals, you don't live for very long and if you do, you get mentally feeble." Ghazi states and he wanted to remark about them getting physically weaker until he realized that to a vampire, all humans were considered physically weaker then them. "Having a human owe means you have to cash it in within a couple of decade instead of at some point in a future century. That's a rather short time considering our life spans."

"And of course vampires have such long lives. It's not like you're allergic to blessed water or the sun." Xander finds himself saying only for the vampire to snort in bemusement. "I've never heard of a vampire dying of old age, have you? I know demons die of old age, but never vampires." Remarks Ghazi.

"All a vampire does when they get older is begin to change to take on a more demonic appearance, becoming tougher to kill, 'smarter', and generally begin to dabble in magic." Ghazi states and Xander found he couldn't argue with that. "I take it you're surprised why I haven't taken offense to anything you've said?"

Xander nods and Ghazi regards him for a moment before saying, "Call it curiosity if you will, but for that one night, I knew what it was like to have a pulse. To breathe air and depend on that action to keep on living. That experience is mine own and not some memories I inherited upon slipping into this body." Ghazi motions at himself.

"Then there's the fact that something of you remained..." Xander muses and Ghazi gives him a raise eye brow look. "Ok, my senses seem to be more... keen. Not sure why, but then, as you said, your kind of demon prefers dead bodies. They can't survive in living ones and yet..."

"And yet, I had." Ghazi mutters, not in English. The bar tender would arrive, taking Xander's drink order while Ghazi just ignored the man in favor of watching the band, the vampire's head often nodding to the beat of the song, it's clear that Ghazi liked what he heard.

For a time, Xander stands by a vampire, one that just last night had inhabited his body for a few hours and yet, Xander found he didn't hate Ghazi. As odd as it sounds, but then Xander had kind of been in the vampire's head, Xander found something respectable in this soulless corpse and the fact that the vampire didn't try to change history kind of help him keep that respect.

**- o 0 o -**


	124. Guilmon's Task: Digimon

**Legendary Horses**

I don't own Digimon!

**Guilmon's Task**

Takato watches as a colorful group of young colts and fillies try to race each other along some rocks that weren't far from beginnings of a mountains. The stallion's ears continue to face forward, straining to catch their words. Though the wingless pegasus stallion has been living in this low land area, complete with trees and open patches of greenery for the pass ten years, Takato still has trouble puzzling the language of these land bound magic horses. _It would help if one would allow me to approach them._

Sure, these low lands provide plenty of food, Takato can't recall when he's been as stuffed as during the years living in this place but the stallion found the going to be too easy. The wingless pagasus truly misses the way mountains sported different level that demands one to have a good sense of balance and challenges the mind when it comes to navigating one's way around. He also has come to miss the way wind runs about the mountains and how there were few large ground predators to watch for.

Some filly or colt cries out in pain and Takato merely sighs, the youngling hadn't stepped high enough and a hoof tripped over a rock jetting up out of the ground. Ears going back, he raises his head up from pretending to graze to glance around to see if anyone comes running while the youngling whimpers and whines, what little Takato's able to make out, it seems that the youngling believe that they sprained something. The other fillies and colts ring about the fallen youngling, speaking softly to each other.

One of the grown suddenly shows up at a run before switching to a slower gate and then walking towards the fallen youngling while the rest of the younglings part. Takato strains to hear what the grown behorned stallion had to say while moving to graze in a different direction. Soon enough, the behorned stallion snorts and nudges the youngling to get up, the wingless pegasus decides that the youngling has been told that they're find but to be more careful.

As the stallion heads back for the treeline, the group of younglings try to regain their playful spirit but it doesn't work, so they follow after the other stallion, soon making a race of it to see who can reach some spot beyond the treeline. Once they're gone, Takato swishes his tail and begins to head for the mountains, suddenly wanting to be in a setting that reminds hm of home then the alien landscape and those behorned magical horses that call it home.

- V -

Rika watches as the strange stallion walks towards the mountains. She had been napping when young Renji had been screaming about his leg being sprained. The ruby coated unicorn mare hadn't moved from her spot as she hadn't seen a reason to hurry over to check on the young colt. It seems as though Senji thought something serious had happened as the unicorn stallion had teleport to check upon Renji, which Rika believes to be a waste of energy as there weren't any wolves in the area right now.

_Likely hoping to win points in order to keep from being expelled from the herd with the approach of the Scattering Ceremony coming up next year._ Rika muses to herself while trying to watch the stranger walking away. The mare reminds herself that it's not her problem, particularly as it's likely that the strange stallion is heading off to die, after all, the stallion has to be around fifteen years old, that's fairly old for a non-magical creature to live.

_It has been close to ten years, hasn't it?_ Rika muses as the other seemingly vanishes from her sight, not usual as the strange horse is mostly brown in color and hard to track as most unicorns tend to be brightly colored, easily seen at a distance. Dismissing such thoughts, the unicorn mare returns to trying to nap once more.

- V -

It take taken a few days to travel to this particular spot, Takato stands, once more, at the large gap that separates him from the way to return to his birth place. Various birds dart about, those that eat insects hunting for flies and such while an eagle soars upon the thermals that the mountain rocks produce with the sun beaming down. The stallion turns and heads north instead of south, back to the low land filled with those strange magical horses sporting colors of rainbows and a single horn upon their foreheads.

It will soon be dusk but the wingless pegasus stallion doesn't feel the least bit tired. Takato walks and walks until dawn arrives, at which point, the wingless pegasus rests under a ledge and waking as the dusk arrives. Thus it became a pattern with the stallion traveling during the night and resting during the day, there were times when Takato would find a place to graze and dew to suck off of rocks as the wingless stallion journeys northwest at times before heading east in hopes of finding a way to cross the divide.

Takato found it surprisingly easy to return to living in the mountains once more and the fat that the stallion had gained slowly fades into well tone muscles. The wingless pegasus stallion is glad to have something to occupy his mind with as he navigates through treacherous ledges. He even welcomes the storms that rain down upon the mountains.

Days turn into weeks, weeks into months. After a good ten months of traveling northward, Takato comes across something strange, stranger then those behorned magical horses. They stand up on two legs and seem to use their forelimbs in a manner that reminds him of a squirrel or some rodent. What disturbs Takato is that they seem to ride upon the backs of donkeys while having the spares carrying something else upon their backs.

Takato shadows these strangers, following them south for a few days. Upon the fifth, the stallion snorts and heads northeast in search for a passage to the eastern mountains that were his birth place. Finally, three months pass and Takato finds a bridge that will take him across. Bellowing in triumph that his travels weren't in vain, the wingless pegasus crosses over the mile long flat stone.

Once upon the other side, Takato rears up and whinnies loudly before galloping eastward. As the stallion looks for a place to rest, something comes down from the sky and snatches him up. "Put me down!" The stallion shouts and the being, Takato peers up to find a scaly ventage of a dragon, seems to falter slightly.

"You speak the tongue of Air?" The crimson dragon muses out loud, rather surprised that its meal could speak. "I was born wingless!" Is all Takato could say in his defense, not really happy to be snatched just after he found a way to head back to his birth place, to the range he called him since he had been a foal.

The mighty dragon lands and Takato almost doesn't manage to land upon his four hooves. "You seem rather big for a pegasus." The dragon adds upon getting a better look at him.

"Tell me about it. But the lack of wings is likely why I grew to be so big." Takato replies, if he hadn't been tired and irritated, the stallion would realize that he's talking with an actual dragon and the conversation they would have had would be rather different.

"Well, you have to admit, when we speak of pegasi, we generally think small and winged horses." The crimson dragon remarks and then, the fire-breather hums in a thoughtful manner. "Have you seen a party of men and a train of donkeys recently?"

Takato looks up into the amber eye of the dragon, rather puzzled about what men were. "I saw donkeys being ridden upon by strange beings that walk on two legs." The stallion answers before asking, "Why?"

"How long ago? How many men?" The dragon suddenly demands and Takato takes a few steps away from the dragon's lowered head while answering, "I believe there were eight of the two legged ones and about eighteen of the donkeys. They were following the western part of the mountains south."

The scent of the dragon's breath wasn't a pleasant smell and is relieved when the crimson colored dragon turns westward. "Damn, they're moving fast." The dragon curses and Takato's ears go backwards, not flatting upon his skull though.

"Renamon isn't going to like this... We had hoped they'd spend time at that vein to take some more samples..." The dragon murmurs while a growl underscores the dragon's tone.

Then the dragon suddenly seem to fold in on their self until something similar to the two legged beings stand a few feet away from him. As Takato watches, a mini cloud seems to form where the transform dragon stands. Suddenly, a new voice seems to thunder from a point before the altered dragon, the language wasn't that of Air and considering the magical beasts involved, Takato wonders if it might not be the language of Fire being spoken.

As the sun fully raises, the dragon finishes speaking with whoever they're talking with. The cloud vanishes and the former crimson dragon seems to be brooding. "Am I free to go?" Takato ventures to ask the great beast, who seems to be a bit startled by his question.

"I thought you left some time ago." The dragon says in answer. "Yea, sure, go." The dragon says, waving a forelimb at him.

"As long as you don't need anything, I'll go." Takato says, more then a little nervous to be around such a powerful predator but something... something didn't want to go, not if this beast could use some help with its task. "Are you sure I can't help you?"

"If they're on the look out for a dragon pursuing them and you're incapable of flying at all, even if you had wings you couldn't take off with me on your back." The transformed dragon states and Takato paws the rocky ground a bit.

"So you're going to approach them in this form?" Takato inquires and that seems to give the dragon pause. "I doubt you'd be able to catch them like that. Also, you're not use to navigating from the ground, are you?"

"Are you offering to take me to this party?" The dragon asks and Takato pauses, not sure how to answer that. "I guess it wouldn't hurt, as long as you agree to take me east of that divide once your task has been completed. It took me about a year to find that stone bridge to cross over on my own." The stallion states.

The dragon's face alters as the lips turn upward. "Deal!" And then the dragon pauses to say, "Oh yes, I forgot. My name is Guilmon."

"Mine's Takato." The wingless pegasus stallion replies as he approaches the dragon shyly. "Nice to meet you, Guilmon."

"Likewise, Takato." Guilmon says and before they left, Guilmon takes some pebbles to create some riding gear, something that Guilmon said he needed as it would cause worst aches on both their ends if there wasn't padding between his back and Guilmon's own rear end.

Takato's more then glad that nothing like those vines are about his head. Although Takato does find it rather odd to have something upon his back, it didn't seem to do any harm so Takato heads south, knowing a quicker way to head that party off, particularly if they stop long enough to allow the donkeys to spend a day or two grazing. The only trouble that they encountered has more to do with the fact that the usual paths Takato usually takes on his own would unbalance Guilmon, which often leads to the transformed dragon to falling off.

It takes only seven days before they did catch up and that's with them only take a break during at noon and continuing at dusk. Sure enough, they got got their aches but they managed to get close to the humans, as Guilmon calls him, so that the dragon can kill the whole party, including the donkeys, which Guilmon ate unlike the dead humans. The blood and such didn't sit right with Takato but knows that the dragons had some reason for killing off this party.

The riding gear soon returns to its original state of being tiny rocks. As night falls, Guilmon gets a 'call' from Renamon that, in the end, has the crimson dragon needing to leave without fulfilling his end of their deal but Takato assured the dragon that it wouldn't be hard for him to travel back to that rock bridge.

And so, Takato and Guilmon part, leaving Takato feeling oddly fulfilled and wondering if he made a friend in the form of Guilmon the dragon. Takato finds a nice spot to rest after eating his fill.

- [

_"Lord Megidramon! The humans, they're heading for the rookery!" Another crimson dragon, this one sporting a metal arm. "Their cannons and archers make it difficult for us to flame them with our fire! Their mages are working on getting pass our wards! What are your orders?"_

_The huge crimson dragon flares his seemingly tattered wings that seem more orange then red. "Drop the kegs of black powder on the lot. Once they're in the human mist, fire up the night flare. That should break up their lines. Get the younglings and whelp to hit the mages, they should be able to get pass their shields." This huge and ancient dragon orders._

_"I'll deal with their siege engines." Megidramon says and then glances at the dragon sporting a metal arm. "Be careful, Wargrowlmon, we wouldn't want you to loose another limb, now would we?" With that said, the great dragon takes to the air._

_"Do or die! My children! Don't let these magicless ones get through to the rookery!" Megidramon bellows upon arriving out in the air. "Our future lies within those stone walls!"_

_"Guilmon... Stay with Renamon's unit." Wargrowlmon says and a battle scarred Guilmon nods, though not looking very happy upon hearing this. With that, the dragon with a metal limb takes to the air, heading for some unknown place._

_"Yes... grandfather." Murmurs a sullen Guilmon who sports a burnt symbol upon a breastplate. "Be careful down there, Takatomon." The dragon murmurs before moving to close the open gate._

- [

Takato wakes and shivers while mentally replaying what the older Guilmon had said, particularly upon how the dragon had added mon to his name. _Why would I be involved in a battle between dragons and humans?_ The wingless pegasus wonders for a while before trying to go back to sleep.

**To be continued . . .**


	125. Different Gender: Naruto

I don't own Naruto.

**- o 0 o -**

Typical black locks swing as the wind blows over the naked twenty something year old as he stands before the open window. The naked man stares down at the city, marveling at the fireworks that continue to explode in the distance while the streets are alight by lanterns. The celebrations of the local lord's marriage seems to be going strongly within the city. If the man thought to turn to look into the temple courtyard, it's likely he would find the monks, priests, priestesses, and other workers at the temple drinking and eating happening.

"Itachi..." Slender arms snake about the man's waist and chest while a head moves to rest upon the man's shoulder. "Come back to bed. I don't believe we're done just yet." The silver haired woman says softly while nuzzling his neck.

"You are rather insensible, aren't you?" The man muses, his sapphire eyes moving to look upon the bandaged arm. "You always manage to have your dastardly way with me, don't you?" He sighs before saying softly, "You are married, Sachi, even if that man is an unemployed, drunkard."

Sachi sighs softly before pulling away from the man she named Itachi. He soon feels Sachi trace the tattoo of her nickname for him, a orange/red image of a weasel sporting a sickle for a tail. "You worry too much, Itachi. My husband only cares of about the connection to my cousin Samuru that I represent, nothing more." Sachi states and he turns to regard the woman who's been his lover for a solid five years.

"And how would your famous cousin react upon hearing that you've been unfaithful to your husband? Particularly with a priest of the local temple?" Itachi asks. "Men aren't known to be kind to unfaithful spouses after all." Itachi adds as he follows Sachi back to the bed. "I fear that if we keep this up, dear heart, you will be killed."

Sachi's hazel red eyes soften upon seeing the concern in his eyes. Itachi grips Sachi's hand after it touches his face. "I'm sorry for causing you unnecessary worry, my Itachi, but I get the feeling that Samuru has other things to be concerned about, particularly as he's got all those people to train. It's highly unlikely that Samuru will be able to come here to do anything about us." Sachi tells her lover honestly.

"As for my husband, he rarely see anyone as he's too busy with reviewing records for his family's business." Sachi reminds Itachi once more. "He has never graced my bed for well over eight years now, nor do I see him doing so in the future." Then Sachi snorts as she adds, "It's more likely for the Jubi to be brought to heel by my cousin and his Mystical Art then my husband tearing himself away from his office."

Itachi merely sighs as he moves under the sheets to join Sachi in bed. He didn't want to continue the discussion, particularly as he wanted to savor his time with Sachi before they are parted.

= + )

Sachi walks through the streets, heading to the house her so called husband's relatives gifted them. Sachi closes her eyes and focuses upon reaching out to the body of the man she had been roped into marrying. Memories of what the body had done during the time she had last mentally reached out and review play out, once that is done, she allows the body to return to its tasks.

Then her mood sours as she recalls the morning when she woke to find herself trapped in a room and told that she had no choice but to marry what was suppose to be her one night stand or for the news of what happened to be released. The white hair woman had given in only because it would have set her back as Samuru. Fortunately, her husband proved to have no real defense against her slowly expanding skills with combining Yin and Yang energies, thus she now has two bodies at her command.

_Not that I wanted another body to command, particularly as just maintaining her 'cousin' Samuru was exhausting, particularly with the distance between us._ Sachi thinks sourly to herself. It had come as something of a relief when her husband's relatives wanted to move them to the city of the local noble, which is about a day away from where Samuru's training compound is located.

Once they were away from the watchful eye of the man's relatives, she rarely had to worry about them noticing something off concerning him. So, she had the body be busy in the office with paper work while using her skills to craft illusions to hide the door, confusing everyone that entered into it and left it. After a few years, people did stop trying to visit her husband and the invitations to the local court also stopped coming. It's not that usual now for Samuru to receive them, particularly as Samuru was granted land upon which to build that learning compound around the time the visitors began to tamper off.

_And then Itachi got transferred to the temple._ Sachi muses while keeping her face relatively blank. Sure, that's not his name but it's the one she prefers to use. _It's been almost five years since he moved here, hasn't it? Time sure seems to fly by, doesn't it?_

It had been four years into the sham of a marriage she found herself in and with things looking up as Samuru, she began to focus on her personal life. It had been years since she shared her bed with a man, she didn't consider the empty shell to be a man nor did she allow it into her bedroom unless to maintain appearances that is. Within the last few weeks before Itachi moved into the temple, she had been considering ways to permanently place her mind in Samuru's body.

**Sachi had heard a few of the local gossips mentioning that a new head priest is coming to replace the previous one. That one had challenged Samuru to a duel concerning which path is superior, that of the traditional priesthood or the battle oriented one that she, as Samuru, preaches and practices. Deciding to size up the new head priest, Sachi heads for the temple under the pretense of bringing a welcoming gift.**

**It had been a faint spike but a spike nonetheless that set her on edge. Glancing around to be sure nobody is about, Sachi heads for where she feels the faint feeling. She stops as she finds a young man standing upon the water's surface. His black hair done up in a ponytail as he seems to be searching for something. As she watches in udder amazement, the twenty something year old crouches while reaching into the water for something.**

**_I wonder if I could do the same? It shouldn't be that difficult if a priest could do it._ Were her thoughts concerning the man, as by then, Sachi has come to regard those of the temples with disdain for how often they try and sabotage her, as Samuru, attempts to teach the other way to use Yin and Yang energy. She didn't even think to study the priest beyond noting the cloths marking him as a priest.**

**"Excuse me? What are you looking for?" Sachi asks upon reaching the edge of the pond. The priest turns to regard her while pausing in pulling up what seems to be a necklace out of the pond.**

**"Hmm? Oh, just noticed this crystal in the pond. I thought I should retrieve it as it might belong to somebody. Looks like it's been in there for quite some time." The priest says, holding the necklace out after standing up.**

**"That's it? That's all you set out to get?" Sachi asks in a suspicious tone. She didn't buy it, after all, the priests rarely displayed their skills in a manner they considering flirtatious as retrieving an old necklace.**

**Blue eyes study her in a puzzled manner while a slight frown mars the priest's face. "Pretty much. I didn't want to use a pole or something to get it as that would distress the fish." The priest says, waving a hand over the pond, Sachi notes the fish that are swimming lazily about.**

**"You were tipped off that I was coming, weren't you?" She states as soon as the young man is standing on solid ground. The priest looks rather bewildered about the accusation and cocks his head to the side.**

**"I'm Samuru's cousin. You know, the man who killed the head priest." She snaps and the priest looks rather surprised.**

**"You're his cousin? Really? Have you received training from him?" The young man asks and she scowls up at him, crossing her arms over her less then ample chest. Sachi just knew that he's making fun at her.**

**"Women aren't allowed to learn that particular Art!" She snaps and the priest just stares in surprise. "Really? When was that decided? And by who?"**

**Anger flares up and she slaps the priest before storming off.**

Sachi sighs, it wasn't the greatest of meetings but then, it had been a while since she had come across a decent man while in her actual body. Its as though once she got married, the quality of men seem to go down hill. Was it any wonder why she found it hard to believe that Itachi was any different? Especially as he's a priest and they all seem to be snobs.

_Then there's the fact that I learnt just how hard it was to walk on water._ The balance of chakra had to be right and she had learnt that the soles of the feet to be rather hard to funnel chakra into. There's still a lot to learn about the new frontier that using Yin and Yang energy could open up to be used in everyday life.

**I'm ending it here**

To Readers:

How many stories do you see that has the Sage being a woman pretending to be a man?**  
**


	126. Island of Dragons: Naruto

I don't own Naruto or Temeraire universe.

**- o 0 o -**

Naruto pouts as he watches as the various academy instructors direct groups of students of various age groups around. It's not his fault that the seal demonstration went wrong, Sakura and Ino were the ones who tossed him towards the seal scheme, which caused the eleven year old blond to smear one section of the kanji.

Sure, Sasuke wasn't at the academy because the Uchiha had gotten sick, complete with vomiting, but it's not like he had anything to do with the Ice Prince of Hidden Leaf that caused him to get sick. Nobody forced the Uchiha to eat that rotten tomato, which belonged to Kiba and was under Kiba's genjutsu at that. His part in it had to do with him betting to Kiba that he couldn't hold an illusion over the tomato to make it smell, look, and taste perfectly fine. They had only left the tomato on the table cause they both went off to get Chouji to see if his sense could pick up on the fact that the tomato was rotten, they weren't going to feed it to anyone either, they just wanted somebody known to know a thing or two about food and Chouji's clan is rather known for knowing what's good to eat based around smell and touch.

The blond's pout turns into a scowl. He's not sure how Ino and Sakura arrived that it's all his fault either. Kiba had equal blame, maybe more so as he's the one who brought the rotten fruit to school! Naruto's gaze drifts to the pair of girls, crush or no crush, the blond isn't going to forget what they did, particularly as neither of the girls were getting any blame for their part in sending him flying to that section of kanji.

_And just why would Sasuke-teme want to eat a tomato for? Even worst, why would he eat a tomato he didn't know where it came from?_ The blond demon container wonders, his thoughts going back to the source of what happened, as he stuffs his hands into his pockets, hunched over while turning away from the displaced building. Kicking a few pebbles, Naruto walks away from the displaced grounds, heading for the mountain cause he thought he's seen something odd flying over that way as he was waking up.

After putting some distance between the displaced building and him, Naruto's mood swings upwards at the idea that he'll be the first to really explore beyond the beach, which is about a kilometer west of their landing. The fading light doesn't do anything to dampen his spirits either, particularly as he does find a edible things as he heads for the tallest point in view, some mountain that's got to be a few days away from the academy. The idea of being the first to see things and having the right to name them rather appeals to the young blond as he takes to the tree tops.

_Too bad that there's not way to get ramen around here..._ The blond thinks as he pauses to look down at a doe and her fawn for a few seconds before continuing on his way, too hyped up to feel tired, particularly as he had been the last to wake, although he had been rather confused about how he ended up on the roof...

Old Volcano

Naruto watches as something rather large lands on some rocks a mile or two away. He tries to make out details of the winged beast, he's seen rather a number of them as he got closer to the mountain. The blond had also left behind a trail of 'Naruto was here' at noticeable spots like a shallow lake that he's decided to call the Bowl or a stand of trees in the middle of a flowery meadow that he's mentally labeled the Peace Field.

Most of the beasts that he's come across typically sport dual colors, likely to break their form up in the surrounding forests. It's not that he got close enough to pick up on much detail as the blond typically stayed up in the trees. Naruto didn't dare get close to them, sure he's kind of a goof off but he knows when to leave sleeping beasts be.

At the bottom of the mountain, he knew that there would be little to no cover. Sure, Naruto's confident in his stealth capabilities but he didn't have a change of cloths, even if his orange hoody is rather dirty, sporting various juice stains as well as sap, he had taken to sleeping in trees as he had seen other predator tracks about beyond those belonging to these strange winged lizard looking creatures. He rather not end up on the wrong end of a tiger or leopard.

It hadn't taken long to weave some reeds together. What proved harder had been adding the leaves onto the one side before making some glue from tree sap and bones he found around the bottom. He put this on the leaves before putting that side upon the dirt. It takes a bit for it to dry and then do it again on the patches where it didn't take but it's worth it as the stiff cloak hasn't brought any unwanted attention to him as he travels up the side of the mountain as the cover is a bit over as tall he is and at least thrice his width.

The winged beast seems to be done looking around and then heads for this cave. A few minutes later, another of them exits out and then take off. _What is it that they're guarding?_ Naruto wonders to himself, he's been in this position for the last two days, his goggles help keep the dust that the wind picks up from getting in his eyes.

With a soft sigh, the blond slowly crawls towards the entrance, something he's been slowly doing since he spotted the changing of the guard as it were. He's unsure if any of them spotted him during his travels but he's certain that they spied him during his time around the bottom of the mountain. So far, the blond has come to conclude they did possess smarts, as evidence of the changing of the guard he's witnessed over the last two days. They change during dawn, mid-day, and dusk, no activity during midnight, at least none he witnessed during the one night he managed to pull an all nighter.

Once at the entrance, Naruto eats some tiny berries that he picked back during his time in the forest. It's too early in the season for seeds so he's had to make do with smoked fish, berries, and previously cooked meat that he has stashed away in some bark container that he had hastily created. He's just glad that he's come across some tiny ponds, likely prints filled with rain, but it works to keep him hydrated. With the last of his third handful is gone down, the blond then begins to hug the wall, using the straps at the edge to curl the edges of the cloak.

Naruto slowly shuffles through the tunnel, making sure not to raise his feet up. Sure, he got sand in his sandals but it didn't much in the way of noise. At time, he would pause for a few heart beats before continuing down. Slowly the temperature raises noticeably when something moves from deep within the mountain.

Soon, the beast passes by him. He had done what he can to slow his heart rate when shuffling dirt moves and low pitched noise echos through the tunnel. Once the guard is gone, Naruto picks up his pace before the replacement comes. He arrives in a chamber that is stifling. He slowly walks around the edge of the chamber, as the replacement arrives, he is already climbing up the sides. A soft breeze plays with his blond hair and he cautiously tries to determine where the breeze is coming from.

It takes hours of climbing up and down the walls, the guard doesn't seem to be listening for anything as the guard seems to be more interested in murmuring into the chamber. Only when the guard is asleep does he finally venture beyond the sides of the chamber and finds a bunch of eggs about it. Touching them, he finds some to move, likely ready to hatch while others not so ready.

Then he finds one that's slightly raised up on this stone slab. He finds this egg to be a bit bigger then the rest. "I wonder what your parents grew to be. I doubt I'll be around to witness that." Naruto muses to the egg as he kneels down to press an ear to the shell.

Naruto hears a heart beat within the egg. "Well, you seem healthy enough, but then, who am I to judge? What do I know of eggs?" He murmurs out loud, it's been a while since he had spoken out loud and he glances towards the soft snores of the guard.

"Well, since you seem to be such a captive audience, I'm sure you're dying to know what I'm doing here instead of being shunned at the academy?" The blond didn't know if he'll be able to get out of here and has become rather lonely, after all, it's not like the hatchling within the egg is aware of what's going on outside of the shell, right?

Naruto feels drained, both emotionally and physically and the heat within this chamber kind of makes him feel sleepy. So, to keep himself awake, Naruto softly whispers about what happened that brought the academy to this place and then goes on to tell of his exploits as a prankster. Naruto is kind of dozing when the guard changes.

The blond feels his stomach tighten and with a sigh, gets up to eat something a little more fulfilling. With some of the dry fish in his belly, Naruto gets up and once more tests the air. He says good bye to the egg before heading to the wall he hadn't been able to get to due to some holes. Climbing the rock face, he feels a burst of cold air, which heartens him.

Upon finding a hole and it's his size, he quickly takes out a kunai and stabs at some point above the space. He then hooks the reed cloak onto it before crawling along the smaller tunnel. It surprises him to learn that it's a lot shorter then the main tunnel that those winged beasts use as after what feels like an hour, he's poking his head out into the sun shine.

He then works at opening this wide enough for him to get through. With that done, he stretches in the opening. Glancing around, he leaves to find something to drink as he's thirsty. Once that's done, he finds a shady spot and finally falls asleep.

Month Later

There isn't any guards in the chamber any more, so he doesn't feel the need to whisper in the chamber. The likely reason for this is because the adults don't seem to see a need to have a guard to hang over the hardening eggs as they had only done so to be there for the hatchlings that come out of their shells and to quickly take them out of the cave to begin feeding them. Naruto had made sure to be away when those eggs began to crack as he didn't want to deal with protective parental beasts seeing him as a quick meal to feed the hatchling or as a threat to said hatchling. He's seen them come out with hatchlings riding upon their backs and adults bringing in boar, deer, geese, or anything larger then the hatchling in question.

Over the time he's spent in the egg chamber, the blond had got into the habit of speaking out loud in the cave. Naruto has even recited lessen plans he had attended, going so far as to mimic the instructor's tone and pronunciation. It had served as an eye opener to the blond to realize just how many lessons he retained, but there's only so much the blond had memorized from the academy classes, which is why the blond would talk about myths and legends he over heard, dirty songs he learnt during the few times he infiltrated bars in disguise to popular, proper sing songs he learnt from traders unloading their goods, what little poetry he knew, to what gossip he overheard before the accident with the seal, and to made up stories that the blond clobbered together using bits of other parts of stories he had learnt.

Being unskilled in the written language pretty much is why the blond didn't know too many stories to share to his 'captive' audience. And since telling jokes got old without anyone doing the other part, it left Naruto with a lot of time to focus on making things out of some mixture of volcanic dirt and water, he's not sure if it's clay but it sure didn't crumble when he put them in a campfire, it might not be a potter's oven but it does work.

He had also spent time building a thin shed to smoke whatever creatures he manages to catch. Water wasn't hard to find and as such, Naruto sticking around a spring proves to be a simple enough strategy as it brings what mountain dwelling wild animals to him instead of him having to spend a lot of time wandering the mountain side or heading down into the forested area around the base of the mountain. The young boy still uses that cloak as cover as he still doesn't want to wind up a meal for the winged, scale beasts that claim this island.

But with little over a full lunar cycle have come and gone, the blond wanted to return to the academy in hopes of seeing familiar faces and maybe, telling them of this egg chamber. Although, the blond is hopeful that they will accept his offering of clay pots and smoked meat to forgive his absence. _At least the meat will add to the stock pile of food, even if it won't win my any good tidings._ The blond thinks to himself.

Shaking his head, the blond then picks up the large pack and begins to head down the mountain, heading towards the place he had left little over a month ago. Naruto doubts that the academy has moved since he left, after all, it's not like the building will grow legs and walk away.

The Academy

"I don't think we're home yet, sensei." Sakura says while staring as this swarm of cat size spiders fling themselves at the window. Most of the students tighten their grip upon their weapons while the teachers wonder what went wrong.

_Naruto-kun..._ Hinata thinks sadly to herself. She wished that the blond hadn't stormed off. Although, Hinata did wonder if maybe she shouldn't have followed her first impulse and followed him away from the building.

The young Hyuuga begins to blush at the idea of them alone on the beach. How the blond prankster would take her into his arms to comfort her about the fact they might never return to Hidden Leaf as they weren't there for when the teachers and students participated in the seal scheme in hopes of returning home...

Naruto

After searching around for some sign of what happened, the blond would give up after a solid month of searching. With a sigh, the eleven year old makes the best of his situation to begin turning his hand at leather working as his cloths have seen better days. It helped to hunt from the tree branches as the deer rarely notice him that way, although since he only has a limited number of kunai, the blond has decided to take as good care of them as it's unlikely that he'll be able to get more.

Naruto is rather torn between sticking around at the spot or traveling to the base of the mountain to set up a base. With a sigh, the blond focuses on the here and now instead of what ifs and what could have been. He's set up traps around to catch small animals and even set up a smoking hut to smoke them.

The young blond had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it either. The days slowing just blurred together until Naruto woke to find at least eight of those winged beasts ringed about his camp. "Ah, you're wake. You seem smaller then we thought you'd be." Says the one sporting blue forehead stripes.

"When did you guys learn to speak?" Naruto asks as he tries not to yawn or make any sudden moves. _I wonder if I'm dreaming... Although, I don't see any giant bowls of ramen yet, but can't rule that out though._

"From you chatting while we were in our shells. You had a lot to say in that time period too." The one sporting red at the tip of his muzzle, this one had a slight different tone.

"So, did you guys want anything in particular? I mean, you do look pretty mature enough to fend for yourselves." The blond points out, he couldn't help but be curious as to why they came to speak with him though. _Not that I can't use the company._

_I wouldn't have done any harm to leave a note saying good bye._ The blond thinks with a slight scowl gracing his face while he listens to the one with blue stripes to finish speaking, "We want to see these jutsus you spoke about."

"Oh! Um, sure, just remember, I haven't master many of them." Naruto says as he stands up and walks to stand about two to three feet from his sleeping mat. Forming a single sign and a puff of smoke later and a tiger sporting orange coat and dark red stripes. A second later and Naruto returns to normal with smoke puffing away.

His audience murmur among themselves, their tones seem to indicate they where impressed. With a grin, he preforms that substitution jutsu with a vase of water. They quiet down and look around for him only to find him leaning on a tree trunk.

_Well, they seem to be enjoying this._ Naruto muses after he tries, yet again, to create some clones. The eight of the beast make this sound that he just knew was their version of laughter, not that he blames them as the crowd of clones he created seem rather off with some having extra arms and fingers or lacking an arm and two eyes. He rubs the back of his neck in embarrassment at the fifteen clones.

"They lack a scent." Muses one of the eight while one tries to touch a clone, causing it to puff away. It wasn't long before the rest of the clones mimicked that one.

"So, what are you?" The one with blue stripes asks and Naruto blinks before answering a few seconds later. "I'm a human, a male at that."

"What about you guys? What are you and what's your gender?" He thinks to ask as he moves to stand by the old fire pit, sure it brought him close to one of the beasts but the young blond doubts they're looking to turn him into a meal, not yet at least.

"I'm a male." The one with blue stripes states. "I'm a female." The one with some red upon their nose. As they all chime in their gender, the consensus is two males in the group and the remaining six are female.

The blond, though, is rather puzzled when they hadn't mentioned what they were. "You don't know what you are, do you?" He asks but the one with blue stripes responses by answering, "Well, it's more like a lack of translation."

"Oh, that explains it." The blond muses before deciding to introduce himself, "I'm Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Tora is the one I chose." The one mainly black male that seems to be the main spokesmen for the group. "I picked Hokori." The one mainly brown with red at the tip of her muzzle and leg socks.

"Kuma." Rumbles the other male, Kuma is much bulkier then Tora and sports yellow under his jaw and belly. "Bara." The female with red upon her back and wings, she sports a lot of spines.

"Karyuudo." The female primarily green while sporting brown spots. "Kanki." The female with black and splashes of green.

"Yasei." The female with brown and splashes of yellow. The last female, a brown with green splashes gives, "Eikou."

Naruto does note similarities of features, like horn placement, muzzle shape, and size between Karyuudo, Kanki, Yasei, and Eikou. At least two of them share the same base color while the other two don't. While he couldn't see their tails or wing shape to compare them, he figures they must have something similar going one.

"Nice names." Naruto says while trying to think of something new to talk about. "So... what do you guys eat besides deer and boar?" The eleven year old blond asks the eight as he tries to ignore his own hunger.

The Academy

Hinata sighs at the viewing of the familiar beach front while her cousin stands scowling next to her. The last world rather shook them all up, it wasn't enough that they had been racing against a horde of ape-people and a volcano erupting. Any minor changes to the beach and surrounding area is put down to some large storm swiping through.

They all found it hard to remember the details of the original world upon which they landed but the location seems to confirm they were upon the right world in which to find Naruto. It helps that they used some of the blond's hair, although many of the students can't help but wonder why the adults among them suddenly wish to retrieve the prankster. Many of those belonging to a certain fan club are still sore about Naruto's part in causing Sasuke to get sick.

A few more observant students figured out that Naruto held part of the key that would lead them back home. Although, that would mean that the blond has a permenant seal upon his, which begs the question as to why the blond would have something like that. The two Hyuuga hadn't been asked about it, while Neji wouldn't know the answer as he never bothered to study the prankster using his family's bloodline limit as for Hinata, most wouldn't think she would know as the girl is rather shy and many would find it hard to believe that she had ever thought to use her bloodline limit upon her crush, sadly they would be wrong as Hinata had spent a lot of time trailing her crush around and overhearing whispers that should have never be uttered, even under ones breathe.

As the instructors and students exit out of the academy building, particularly after they have rested, it was about late afternoon when they did so. Everyone is nervous even though both Hinata and Neji have pronounced they are in a safe place. Considering what their two weeks have been like, few would blame them.

And so, as shadows suddenly cover the ground, they all look up and their grip upon their weapons tighten. The beasts that land, while not the strangest they've encountered were still up there, particularly as the smallest stands, at the shoulder, ten feet tall but proves to be longer in the body.

"Huh, I was wondering where you guys got too."

Cliff Hanger... Maybe.


	127. The Ghost and the Fox Ch 1: DP

I don't own Danny Phantom or Naruto.

**- o 0 o -**

_"Sometimes I wish I can forget about all of this! To begin a new where my power's wouldn't be noticed as different!"_

_"You sometimes act like you're a little kid, Danny! I think you wish you were one again!" The line dies._

_"As you two have wished it, so it shall be!"_

**- o 0 o -**

Naruto blinks and then runs as this green light flares up not that far ahead. Soon the ten year old blond student slows at the sight of this young kid laying upon the ground butt naked. Scratching his head, Naruto looks around as he rather not get caught so far from Hidden Leaf or that he's found ways to get beyond the wall without anyone knowing about it.

Tension seems to hang all around the blond for what seems like hours. As the typical noises of the forest begin to fill the air, Naruto's muscles begin to relax and his alarm is slowly giving way to curiosity concerning the black haired kid laying on the forest floor. The ten year old moves to sit in a more comfortable pose while still doing sweeps about the surroundings for a few seconds before his gaze returns to the little kid down there.

With a sigh, the ninja student drops to the ground and approaches the shivering boy. As Naruto brushes back the kid's bangs, the boy murmurs something that didn't make sense before the kid's eyes opens and two different shades of blue meet for a second before the younger boy blinks and stiffens. The blond moves back to give the other some room.

The black haired boy's body shakes violently, it's clear to Naruto that the boy needs something to wear. With a sigh, the blond takes off his yellow shirt with a red image of a flame and holds it out to the smaller boy. The child blinks and sits up for a second, studying the older blond for a second before grabbing the shirt and putting it on, not that it fits as it hangs over the child's frame like a night shirt.

Naruto tries to engage the younger boy in conversation but the other merely gives the blond a blank look. When the black headed boy says something, again, the blond can't make sense of it. In the end, the blond points to himself and repeats his name out loud, "Naruto."

It takes a few tries but the younger boy does manage to repeat the name perfectly. Then, when the ten year old points to the black haired boy with a questioning expression, the child bites his lip and begins to tear up a few seconds later. Naruto doesn't know what to do but it wasn't long before the younger moves in close to the older boy and holds onto the blond as though the blond was a life line.

While bewildered, Naruto mimics what he's seen others in this particular position do and begin to rub the younger's back while putting an arm about the unnamed boy's lower back. It wasn't until the younger seems to have fallen asleep while clinging to Naruto's neck does the blond notice that dusk has come and gone.

With a soft look, the blond picks up the smaller boy before heading for that super, secret passage way into his home village. _So... what should I do with you now?_ Naruto wonders while walking through the streets of the village, keeping to the back streets so nobody will think he's up to no good with the boy in his arms.

Though hungry, the blond decides to head for his apartment to put the boy into his bed before eating anything. Although Naruto did wonder if he shouldn't head to find the Old Man and get report the younger boy, but the memory of the boy's face as something seems to dawn on the other causes Naruto to pause.

"I guess you're goin' to stay with me, kiddo. I wonder if this means I'm your dad now?" The blond wonders thoughtfully while heading for his apartment building. "I mean, I'm the man of the house, that kind of makes me the father, don't it?" Naruto wonders out loud even though silence is his only answer.

T ( = ] - N

The five year old wakes to the bright light beaming onto the bed. The amnesic Danny Fenton rubs the sleep from his eyes upon sitting up and yawning widely. Once the boy is fully alert, Danny hurriedly gets out of the bed and heads for the bathroom to do his business.

Once that's done, the amnesic halfa tries to get up wash his hands only to find it's too high. Without thinking about it, a pair of rings causes a transformation and the now white haired boy floats into the air to get at the sink. With that done, the rings appear once more and the five year old returns to being human once more. Wiping hands upon a towel, Danny then leaves the bathroom a minute before the blond from last night gets up off the couch to use it.

It's then does the five year old becomes aware of the apartment. "What a mess..." The teen turn child mutters while slowly moving towards the fridge, being sure to move about the stuff on the floor.

Pausing before an open book, Danny stares down at the characters upon the page with a confused expression. Then, slowly, a frown grows upon the five year old's face after picking it up and flipping through it, only to find nothing readable upon any of the pages. Finding a scroll, Danny picks it up and unrolls it a bit to again discover more of those characters upon it.

In the end, it's his rumbling stomach that causes the ex-teen to continue towards the fridge while still carrying the two items. Then, upon opening the fridge, Danny can't help but stare bewilderingly into the almost empty appliance. "Where's the food?" The current five year old wonders out loud.

Then the blond says something that Danny couldn't understand while approaching the fridge. The five year old moves out of the way of the older kid, watching as the blond picks up this milk carton and gives it a sniff upon opening it. The blond murmurs something while Danny moves to sit upon a chair while watching as the older boy moves to put the milk on the counter before bringing out bowls and spoons.

Danny's nose wrinkles up as the bowl of cereal that the older boy, Naruto, put before him. Looking up, the amnesia Danny finds that Naruto is digging into his own bowl. With a sigh, Danny gives his own a taste and while it has this odd after taste, it didn't do much for his stomach so the five year old eats what he can stomach.

As Naruto takes and puts their bowls in the sink, Danny glances around, trying to figure out what about this place is off to his sensibilities. Danny snaps out of it when the blond Naruto says something and Danny gives the older boy a blank look. The blond looks around and picks up a pair of boxers, which causes Danny to realize that he's not wearing underwear.

Naruto's eyes show the older boy's bemusement while he just scowls, his arms crossing over his chest. With a sigh, the blond snaps his fingers and dives into a ratty box. Oddly enough, the older boy tosses some cloths that are clearly smaller then the shirt Danny's wearing. In the end, the five year old Danny picks what he wants to wear while the blond seems to curse upon looking at the clock.

Naruto then points out the window while speaking rapidly and moving his hands about. With a final look at the clock, the blond rushes out of the apartment, leaving Danny pretty much alone and unsure what to do. A few seconds tick by and the five year old spies a tv, but it doesn't do much other then show white static.

With a sigh, Danny once more transforms into a ghost and floats through the wall of the apartment. Oddly enough, the five year old's stomach feels much better while looking down at the street below. The current invisible, flying Danny gives the apartment a look before flying towards the faces on the cliff. The appearance of the village baffles the child but turns to awe when he views it from one of the four heads craved into the cliff.

"Wow..." The white haired Danny murmurs, the cloths' colors were inverted from their previous colors. It doesn't take long before the halfa to pick out a park and heads for it, sure he might not know who he is or who his parents are but for now, it seems as though there's a lot to see and do before worrying about such things.

Never once did the five year old wonder about the transformation between human and ghost or about the powers he's displaying. After all, to the young amnesic ex-teen everything he does, he does without thinking about it for it just comes naturally to him.

] - N

Naruto heads for the Old Man's office to fill out forms to adopt the five year old, after all, the blond always wanted a family and the ten year old sees this has his chance to get one. Most of the day, the blond's mind had been reviewing what to do in regards to the kid and didn't like the idea of the boy winding up in a cell being investigated. Naruto can still recall the green light as it reaches up to the sky...

It likely didn't help Naruto in that the teacher was reviewing measures concerning unauthorized personal managing to sneak into the village without going through the proper channels. If anything, it only added fuel to the ten year old's mental imagines of what could happen to the five year old. More then likely the instructor noticed subtle ques of worry from the blond and thus changed the lesson plan on the spot to add to the demon's worry, not particularly caring about what could be bothering Naruto either.

It wouldn't be until Naruto is within sight of the tower's walls when it dawns on the blond that maybe, just maybe, he should use a henge to push through the adoption papers as he's not very well liked in the village. With a frown, the blond takes a few minutes to debate this, it's likely if a certain instructor hadn't been droning on and on about what happens to enemy spies, the blond would have proceeded straight to the Hokage's office and demand those papers but as it stands, Naruto is very much aware that if he doesn't do this _right_ then the kid will end up in a cell.

With a shake of his head, Naruto focuses on what kind of adult to henge into. In the end, the blond's hands slowly but steadily goes through the hand signs for the jutsu and with a puff of smoke, the blond appears to be a thirty something year old with typical black hair and hazel green eyes. The cloths were dull in the ten year old's opinion but they should allow the blond to vanish in the faceless masses if it comes down to it.

Upon entering, Naruto is directed and then redirected throughout the building for a good hour before the blond finally grabs a chuunin and asks, politely, about where he needed to go to get the necessary documents needed to adopt his orphan nephew. The young woman's expression softens a bit before she gives him the right directions. Naruto says his thanks and follows them.

But the henged Naruto finds that the office is about to close and once he makes it clear what he wanted, a bunch of sheets are thrusted into his arms and in a minor daze, the disguised ten year old finds himself outside of the door of the office. With pressed lips, Naruto takes a look at the sheet and while he can only make out a few of them, is confident that they're right.

Before releasing the henge, Naruto decides to grab a few things before heading back to the apartment. It proved to be a rather awkward experience as the ten year old blond student is so use to having people watching him like a hawk when ever he's out in the market place that the henged blond's nerves are slightly fried by the time he's at the cashier with a lot of groceries which includes prime looking veggies and fruit to some small toys.

If it weren't for the papers and the cashier glimpsing them, it's likely that the cashier would have been weirded out and called for the police about how suspicious the disguised blond is acting. In the end the man reminisces about his time being a father while ringing Naruto through. When asked about which kid he's adopting, the blond sticks to his story concerning his newly orphaned nephew, who just arrived with the news of his little sister and her husband's death.

Naruto is glad to get out of the shop while mentally noting to remember what features he's wearing in order to use this particular disguise for any future shopping trips, particularly when he's shopping for kid stuff. Dropping the henge a block before the building, the blond then picks up his pace, wondering what the kid had been up to since he left him alone in the apartment.

"I'm home!" Naruto calls out as the door swings open and the blond picks up the bags he had to put down in order to open the door. The five year old is startled and quickly gets up from the couch to follow the older boy to the kitchen.

The five year old speaks in that odd language while watching as the blond unloads the bags and then put the stuff away. Unsurprisingly, the kid picks up an apple, asks something, to which the blond nods, and then washes the apple before eating it. "Guess you haven't eaten all day, huh?"

Naruto feels rather guilty about that but it doesn't seem as though the five year old had suffered from it. With new milk, the blond takes the old one to the bathroom, unloads it into the toilet and then flushes it. Tossing the carton out, the blond ten year old continues putting the stuff away until there's only the papers.

Taking those over to the table, the five year old peers at the top page with a frown. Naruto hums a second before looking around for that dictionary. It's slow going but the blond does find the definitions needed between the various options. When it asks if he's head of his clan, the blond checks it since as far as he knows, he's the only Uzumaki in the village, well, not for long if these papers go through the blond muses while trying to get what the next question is asking.

The five year old seems to be rather busy toying around with Naruto's tv set before looking through some of the junk he has in his closet. By the time Naruto is done, the blond finds that the five year old has hooked up this strange thing to the tv and seems to be having fun moving this controller back and forth with a tongue sticking out. The blond's pen taps upon the table top while trying to come up with the kid's name.

As the young ninja to be watches the five year old, he thinks up and discards a lot of names. One of the names is Ichiro, a second name is Kaito, a third name is Kenji, and finally, Mizu. After thinking about it, Naruto smirks at the thought of Mizu Uzumaki. _It has a certain ring to it._

And so, for the name of the child slot, the blond writes Mizu, leaving the clan slot empty as Naruto doubts that the five year old would know his last name if he can't remember his first. The blond then reviews the papers before putting them all together, he'll skip morning classes in order to see these papers pushed through. _Might be a good idea to bring Mizu along too._

] - N

The amnesic Danny pauses the game as Naruto seems to be reading the back of this box. _When is the parent getting home? I'm starving!_ The halfa thinks to himself, glancing expectantly towards the door, sure, he might not understand a word of the written language but the ex-teen deduces which of the choices will allow him to play or advance.

Danny sighs and gets up to use the bathroom. The child enjoyed his explorations throughout the village. Sure, he might not understand a single word but there were some gestures that just transcend language. Although the halfa is rather confused about the cardboard weapons he had been handed before the game begun, seeing what they're for had helped Danny know what they're for. The throwing stars reminded him of ninja weapons which did cause him to wonder if the game had been playing ninja.

By the time the kid exits out of the bathroom, he finds some microwave dinners set out. Then Naruto calls Danny over, the amnesia child is curious as to what Mizu means and so, upon sitting down, he asks, "Mizu?"

Naruto jabs a thumb at himself and repeat his name and then points to him and repeats Mizu. Blinking, he points to himself and says, "Mizu." Naruto nods, grinning widely at him as it dawns on him that Mizu is now his name. _Not like I had one before._ The ex-teen thinks while climbing up onto the chair to eat supper.

Danny had been happy to find that game system, ancient though it seems, as it means that there is some technology in this world. The halfa did begin to wonder what's in those other boxes he had found in the closest. Danny wonders if there's a VCR machine and movies to go along with it or games for the system he recently hooked up.

Once clearing off the box of food, the amnesic boy heads back to his position before the tv. The older boy seems to decide to do the dishes, which is fine by him. Still, as it grows late, no adult comes to the apartment, which causes the current five year old to wonder what kind of adult Naruto's parent or parents are, leaving their son alone for close to a whole day. _Poor ones, in more ways then one it seems._

Having grown bored, Danny saves the game before turning off the system. Naruto seems to be done clearing up the apartment. A few bags are by the door, the books and scrolls are resting on the table or counter top, and then the throwing stars and strange knives are on the couch. The five year old looks back to the couch and stares at the collection of stuff on the couch. Getting up, Danny picks up one of the knives and is surprised by the weight of it.

Putting it down, the amnesic Danny Fenton picks up the wire before one of these tags. Naruto yelps and seemingly is standing next to him holding that tag, saying something in that strange, alien language while picking up the rest of the stacks of paper tags, stuffing them into a cloth pouch. The five year old puts the wire down and when Naruto is away from the couch does he pick up one of the throwing stars, careful of the edge.

Naruto glances his way and he drops it but the blond doesn't come to the couch to put those throwing stars away, which means that something about those paper tags makes them more dangerous then the rest of the stuff on the couch. It causes him to make a mental note to beware of similar paper tags. _What kind of parent leaves potentially deadly weapons around their house where kids can get at them?_ Danny thinks with a scowl as he, again, picks up one of the knives and gently uses an index finger to touch the point of the knife.

"Kunai." Naruto says and he blinks, slightly startled. Danny looks at the blond for a few seconds before he realizes that's either how they say knife or it's what this particular knife is called. "Kunai." He repeats a few times while staring down at the knife.

Then, as Naruto finishes putting everything that's off the floor away, mostly in the various cardboards in the kitchen, but then, as Danny looks around, it's not like there's any extra dressers or shelves to put such stuff into or onto. Yawning and struggling to stay awake. In the end, Naruto tosses him a shirt and directs him to the bathroom to change.

Naruto then tucks him into the bed next to the window, the lights of the apartment is out. Danny looks out of the window, noting for the first time, if sleepily, that the faces upon the cliff looks rather different then during his time about the park. They don't look as though they're looking down at him and a few minutes later, the ex-teen has fallen asleep.

T ( =

Naruto seems to be rather nervous about something as the five year old Danny Fenton, now Mizu, exits out of the bathroom. The blond seems to be going through the various pouches before putting them on. Naruto looks up at him and the blond's facial features become fixated, a few seconds later, the blond nods thoughtfully.

And then the blond did something and then, there's this adult standing where Naruto had been. The transformed Naruto picks up those sheets off the counter and then calls him while motioning for Danny to come over. This kind of causes him to be rather bewildered since Danny had been expecting the same routine as yesterday, only instead of leaving the apartment, the five year old wanted to spend the day looking through those boxes in the closest.

_Huh, I wonder if this has to do with those papers he had brought home. Am I going to be registered for school now? Is that where we're going?_ Danny wonders while walk next to the changed blond.

They stop at a restaurant for breakfast before they continued on their way. Danny hadn't under stood a single thing Naruto had said to the waiter but the food wasn't what he had expected. Fish, rices, pickles, and stir fried veggies weren't what he would call a breakfast but they did hit the spot. Danny is glad that he got juice instead of tea as it was something familiar, although it didn't taste like orange or apple juice.

Their destination is this tower where people wearing green vests stand guard. They also sport headbands sporting this spiraling leaf that's on the metal of the cloth. The guards didn't stop them, allowing them to continue on. Naruto did seem to know where to go and yet, the disguised blond does seem a bit nervous but seems rather determined to see this through.

They arrive at an office and Naruto knocks before walking through the door. The woman behind the desk glances up at them and soon, the two are speaking. Boredom quickly over comes the ex-teen and he glances around.

Oddly enough, ten minutes later, they're done, he gets his picture taken and that's that. Naruto seems rather happy and relieved that it's all done. What they did next was go on a shopping spree in which he got new cloths, sandals, and toys. They then spent time at a furniture place where the blond bought some kind of rolled mat.

They ate lunch before they headed to the apartment. Whatever Naruto did to take on the appearance of an adult gives once within it. Once the stuff is on the couch, Naruto quickly takes off, leaving Danny alone in the apartment.

"I wonder what that was all about..." Danny wonders before heading straight to the closest and the boxes within.

] - N

Seeing Uzumaki upon the report before him, the Third Hokage focus on the report, reading and rereading it before taking a look at the photo, which didn't get developed very well, making it hard to know what Mizu Uzumaki looks like. Taking out his pipe, the current Hokage muses about it for a few seconds before just approving it since it's likely a prank done to Naruto by someone within the village.

_Ah well, at least this way I can send him more money, being an underage father and all._ The Hokage muses. The Third had seen this particular prank before, some group of students recruit a young academy student to pretend to be the target's kid from the future. _Ah well, no harm no foul._ The Third muses before dismissing the matter.

T ( = ] - N

Naruto is rather relieved at the cheque that came in the mail. The money will help to pay for the renovations to the apartment as well as pay for their stay at an inn. Sure, it means that he has to take everything that marks it as Naruto Uzumaki's residents but it will give him his own bed once more. The couch isn't that comfortable, which probably means that the ten year old needs a new one, among other things.

"Mizu! We're moving out for a few days. The cheque came and we can push through the renovations." Naruto tells Mizu, sure, the kid still doesn't seem to understand much of what's being said but the way the blond see it, the more he speaks to Mizu, the more Mizu will try and puzzle out the various words.

The five year old blinks before shrugging and going back to playing with that remote. The blond had been rather surprised to find that Mizu knew how to hook up the VCR and the game system, not that Naruto felt the need to sit in one place and focus on a certain thing. He has always found it hard to sit still for more then a minute, he's always vibrating with energy but it had been worst when he had been around Mizu's age.

"I wonder why I didn't get a request for Mizu to start going to school... Maybe the Old Man knows he doesn't speak a word of our language?" The blond student muses while putting stuff into boxes that will then be taken to the basement for storage.

Sadly, it didn't take long for Naruto to pack everything up, although Mizu had been slightly grumpy about the fact he packed up the tv and the other stuff. Giving Mizu a picture book while he then focuses on taking the boxes down to the basement. "Go. Outside." Mizu says upon coming back from his third trip.

"Dusk." Naruto states slowly and Mizu nods before leaving the apartment. The blond pauses to pack some cloths for them both before continuing to take the boxes down, it's tiring work but the blond recovers after spending at least ten minutes of sitting down and drinking some water.

"Times like these, I wish there were more of me." Murmurs the blond while laying on the couch after carrying the tv set down to the basement. His sore arms and shoulders resting upon the back of the couch while staring up at the ceiling until the aches vanish so he can continue with moving the boxes down stairs.

] - N

Danny realizes it's been at least two weeks since he found that game system and then hold up in the apartment. In those two weeks, Naruto had slowly been helping him get familiar with the language, spoken at least as he's at a lose on the written one. The five year old had transformed shortly after getting to ground level and takes off through the village in search for another park to visit then the one he previously visited.

As Danny flies through the air, the amnesic halfa catches sight of a masked squad running about the roof tops. Curious about what's going on, the current five year old tails the squad of four. Danny almost loses them in the forest but suddenly, there's twenty of him and he's seeing things from all twenty of them.

In the end, it was the explosion that allows the five year old to locate them, all twenty of him combine together once more. Slowly, Danny realizes that he's witnessing an actual ninja battle, although the attacks that are flying remind him of magic. Seeing as one of the masked leaf ninja were about to lose their head, Danny flies into that ninja and suddenly, the current ghost boy turns his focus inward, wondering if he can find something to help him understand the language.

The halfa finds something and just as Danny grabs it, the current ghost boy is flung out of the body. Quickly realizing that he's been seen, Danny vanishes from view and goes into the ground. A few miles away, the ghost child floats out of the ground and stares in bewilderment at this glowing green orb. With a shake, the current white haired kid works on absorbing the energy.

Suddenly a huge headache graces him. As Danny recovers, the kid thinks about his name, Mizu, and snorts. "Water..." Danny muses and then the kid glances around before cursing. Vanishing from view, Danny flies for the village as fast as he can, heading for the apartment.

"I'm back!" Danny says after transforming back into a human. At this Naruto glances sharply at him. "Mizu?"

"Yea?" Danny says. "What's wrong?" The current black haired five year old asks until it dawns on him that he's speaking that same, alien language. "Oh..." The current child muses, trailing off.

"Huh, what happened?" Naruto asks him and after giving it a thought, he just answers by saying, "Well, there was this enemy ninja and I kind of bumped into him, got a headache and I then I realized what Mizu means before racing back here." It's as honest an answer as he's willing to give, not wanting the older blond to know that he chased after a group of masked ninja for the hell of it.

"Must have been some jutsu then. Anyway, we better get going. I need to cash this before I can contact that company to renovate this place." Naruto says before asking a second later, "Did anyone see you?"

"If they did, they didn't stop me from fleeing the scene." He answers before deciding to ask something that's been bothering him since he woke up here. "Ah, do your parents know you're renovating this place?"

"I'm an orphan so the apartment is mine. Also, I filed adoption papers to make you an Uzumaki so you won't get taken away and put in a cell until they figure out where you came from." Naruto explains and this causes Danny to be rather stunned as it means that either Naruto claimed him as a brother or as a son.

Before Danny could form a reply, the blond ushers him out of the apartment after grabbing some ratty bags. Once on ground level, Naruto does a henge jutsu to take the appearance of an adult before heading away from the building. He just decides not to press the issue now and follows his adopted relative through the village, likely to visit a bank before making arrangements for a crew to remodel the apartment. _Well, if he's sure it'll keep me out of trouble, I guess I'll just go with it. It's not like I know a thing about my real parents, my real family._

**To Be Continued . . .**


	128. Summoning Horror Story: WarCraft

I don't own Naruto or the WarCraft universe.

**- o 0 o -**

It had just been a shallow bite upon the wrist. Boar frowns while staring at the blood dripping from the fanged muzzle of the wolf creature that had been summoned just last week. None knew just how the humanoid beast managed to escape from the cell but as they back track, they found carnage of at least three Lightning chuunin before the unsealed door.

"A rather messy killer." Ox muses but Boar doesn't respond as the ANBU bends down to get a better look at the neck of one of the enemy ninja. "You're rather lucky. Only a flesh wound."

"Go see the medic, who knows what kind of things lurk in the beast's mouth." Orders Deer upon hearing the report of how they felled the beast. Boar doesn't bother to salute, only nods sharply, if stiffly before darting away from the scene.

Boar merely tries to push the memory of having the beast lunging at him and how the monster seems to, for a split second, hastes, allowing Boar to pull him body away before the monster could rack its claws across his chest. How the monster recovers and lunges head first at the arm he was a little too slow to pull out of its range. Boar tries to ignore how those glowing red eyes switched to amber eyes for a second before returning to their usual red, Boar tries to ignore the expression those amber eyes had given him while gazing up into his own, the emotion of pity that had been housed there just as Ox uses the butt of their sword to knock the beast man out.

And yet, as Boar gets off his shift, the ninja can't help but feel as if something is worming its way up from the bite. Slowing wrapping itself about his very being. Boar reminds himself that there's nothing wrong as the medic had spent close to an hour making sure that nothing infectious about the bite Boar had received.

_It's just a minor flesh wound, nothing more. I just need to get some rest, things will look better after wards._ Boar thinks to himself as he walks through the street with the sun raising over the walls of the village.

**Two Weeks Later**

A snarls causes a young academy student, a twelve year old named Naruto Uzumaki to pause. Then a scream erupts behind Naruto, which causes him to turn and charge, vaguely noticing that it's a girl from his class is who he's rescuing. The monster's head snaps towards Naruto after Hinata's been racked on the shoulder viva the claws.

"Get away from her!" Naruto roars with kunai in each hand and leaping at the large wolfish human wearing tattered cloths that barely hang upon the beast. By the time Naruto's kunai kind of sink into the back of the strange beast, the beast has its teeth into Naruto's left shoulder and has arms coming in to embrace the blond.

As Naruto howls out in pain and his grip upon the kunai slips, allowing him to brace his hands upon the monster's chest as the wolfish man continues down. Naruto panics and tries to kicks out with his feet a second before his shoulders hit the grassy ground. The beast man lets go and Naruto's hands move to upturn the snout of the brown furred man-beast sporting glowing red eyes.

"NARUTO!" Screams Hinata, causing the monster to pause to look up from the pinned blond. Not knowing what else to do, Naruto goes for another kunai while reaching for what whiskers upon the muzzle that he can, pulling them while shouting, "Get out of here!"

The beast-man's attention is back on Naruto, particularly as Naruto manages to get a firm grip upon the monster's lip, twisting it this way. Naruto doesn't have a clue as to how to get himself out of this creature's embrace but is sure that some patrol will come. He tries to ignore the fact that his shoulder sports a rather deep looking bite and that he's endanger of dying from the blood loss.

As the beast kind of lets up, likely to free its own arms from being pinned, Naruto crawls out of the gap. In hand is a thing of wire and as quickly as his fingers will allow him, Naruto ties it before charging at the beast-man, slightly confident that he's got an advantage as he's the one standing up. The loop of wire goes over the muzzle and Naruto pulls upon the wire, causing the muzzle to close.

Suddenly blood sprays about while the beast-man collapses without a head. Naruto just stares with a very pale face while noting the masked ANBU seem rather rugged in appearance. "That makes eleven!" Mutters one of the special forces. "Where do they keep coming from? We sent the original home three days ago!"

"Shut it, Hawk. That's classified intel you're sprouting about." Snaps a woman's voice. "Ram, see to the bite." The woman orders and soon enough, the squad vanishes with the body, leaving Naruto with a bandage shoulder and a little shaken by the experience.

Feeling rather light headed, Naruto heads for his apartment, suddenly deciding that he's had enough action for the day. Although Naruto did pauses a bit away to glance over to the site of the attack, wondering if that monster had attacked somebody before him. "None of your business, just go and grab some ramen. Yea, that will work. Pork? Or beef? Oh, sea food special!"

With that, the student heads back into the village, trying to ignore the urge to glance about upon hearing a rustling of leaves or a twig snapping. Most of all, the young blond ignores the strange sensation of something wiggling into him viva the bite. Or the sudden burning sensation that's coming from his middle.

**Academy**

Naruto rubs the still bandaged shoulder bite. "Is it bothering you? Maybe I could change the bandage for you, Naruto-kun." Stutters Hinata and Naruto tries to smile at the girl he saved last night but it doesn't seem much of one.

"I don't know... Is it common for bite wounds to burn?" Naruto asks Hinata, within a second, the girl shakes her head.

"We got to go to the nurse's office. It sounds infected." Hinata says, surprising Naruto so much because the Hyuuga hadn't stammered at all. Which is why when Hinata pulls Naruto into the academy, he doesn't struggle against her.

Naruto almost stumbles onto the bed as he suddenly feels everything around him being very overwhelming all of a sudden. As he collapses upon the bed, Naruto kind of hears Hinata calling out his name but he just found his focus some place else. Something seems to be building up within Naruto, just waiting for this final push.

"It's the bite... That's how... Hinata... you got to... they need to know! It's the bite! It happens to those that are bitten!" Naruto suddenly shouts as last night's conversation between ANBU finally make sense, horrifying sense but sense none the least.

"Go! Get out of here! I think... gha..." Naruto flips onto his right side. Chakra engulfs the blond and as he struggles to pull the chakra back in, it doesn't work. Naruto snarls instead of saying something.

Hinata is running at the sound that exits out of Naruto's mouth. Her mind is a whirl as to what her crush means but she knew that she had to tell someone. Pausing for a second, she pales at the sight behind and to her left of the changes Naruto's whole being is undergoing.

Hinata makes it outside and shouts, "We have to get out of here! It's claimed Naruto! It's not safe!" She shivers as a beastly howl erupts and then a crashing sound.

"Hinata! What's wrong? What did the idiot do now?" Some random student asks but Hinata just shakes her head and pushes pass, running as fast as possible while funneling chakra into her legs. Already a roar of outrage sounds from within the building before high pitched screams follow.

Hinata is happy that her range isn't that great as it means that she doesn't get to witness more of what the thing that Naruto had transformed into tears into Sakura and, perhaps, some other Sasuke fangirl as Hinata knows that Ino was among the crowd that came to question her. Hinata doesn't stop only moves to take the roof tops, heading for the Hokage Tower. Tears run down Hinata's face, the guards manage to intercept her as she collapses at the gate.

"I have to see Lord Hokage! It's about Naruto! Please! It's important!" Hinata says, one of the chuunin feed her a soldier pill, which helps restore a bit of her chakra as they carry her to see the Third Hokage.

**Two Months Later**

The blond furred Worgen's ears flatten against his skull while he rests. Once more a battle rages on within Naruto's mind, the boy vs the combine rage of the naturally brutal Worgen form grants and that of the imprisoned Kyuubi sealed within. Most of the other Worgen have given the transformed Naruto a wide berth, instinctively knowing that the smaller Worgen is much more dangerous then his size hints at.

Once more the scene plays out, the newly transformed Naruto managing to break through the closed door. The sight of Sakura-chan and some other Sasuke fangirl coming stormily down the hall. They're eyes widening at the sight of him and Naruto roar in outrage before they scream, the other girl backing away but not fast enough.

Distracting him from Sakura, a welcome distraction that even the trapped human part is glad for in a guilty fashion as Naruto really didn't want Sakura to die by his hand. A few bounds and the blond furred Worgen is mauling the non-pink haired fangirl. Just as the mauling has begun, Sakura decides to give the role of heroine a try but just as the transformed Naruto bats Sakura away, Mizuki and two of the other instructors arrive.

Naruto stands and snarls in a threatening manner while the chuunin murmur something about being satisfied to see him as he truly is, a beast. Not that his raging mind cares, all it sees at the moment was new play things...

The sleeping Worgen shivers in memory of how many students and teachers it managed to bite and claw at that day, before the masked ninja arrived. Claw hands flex while the muzzle opens and closes, as if physically reenacting the mauling that Naruto had done at the academy. If it hadn't been for those fellow Worgen answering Naruto's summons, it's more then likely that would have been the end of Naruto Uzumaki's life.

_"This sucks! Sure I feel guilty about what happened or since then, but if I had been in control none of it would have happened!"_ The boy rages at his current tormentors. _"Besides, Hinata must have gotten the message through, we haven't seen other kid size of us around. They must be in cells or in the basement."_

_"I'm so going to figure out how to seal the two of you together and see if prison will alter your view of each other!"_ Naruto bellows while struggling to get out from under the paw of the huge warped wolf standing over top of him. The demonic fox snickers from its cage, the bars are all bent with a few snapped off. The paper seal at the middle looks very worn and the word's black ink is more a light brown with some of the edge kind of fading.

Naruto shutters to think of what kind of monster he'll be transformed into once the fox is free. Then there's always the possibility that the fox will gain its own body and reek terror as it had done before it had been sealed within him. Naruto knows he's making progress with slowly getting out from under the wolf creature's paw, the problem had always been how quickly the wolf realizes he's manage to wiggle out.

Which is why compared to the previous times, Naruto is taking it slow, not that he's sure that he'll be prepared to fend off an attack from the wolf to keep from getting pinned again. Naruto has always hated being forced to stay still for more then a minutes upon minute when he could be doing something more. The wolf had learnt its lesson about trying to swallow Naruto as the blond had spent a few minutes dangling from the dangly thing at the back of the throat, causing the monstrous wolf to spit him up.

Same goes for laying on him viva the belly. Sure, it had been dumb luck to find that while crawling under there but Naruto had done a rather nice job twisting and pinching it or else the wolf creature wouldn't have moved to pinning him down with a paw. Although, Naruto would have preferred one of the back ones as all the beast had to do was look down. _Can't forget the fox's role in alerting the wolf either._ Naruto muses with a scowl, glancing over to the cage which holds the crimson beast.

In the end, is wasn't if Naruto could get out from under the wolf, it's whether he can do more then get nabbed by the beast once more. It's rather a rather tall order as the warped canine is like taller then the Hokage Tower and is just plain huge. Naruto also has a sneaking suspicion that the massive beast is growing bigger too, how he doesn't know but he just can't shake the feeling that it was all the same.

_Gods, I almost wish something would present itself to distract the two so I can get out from under here!_ Naruto thinks and as if in reply, something loud goes off in the real world, waking the sleeping blond furred Worgen that is Naruto.

Within seconds, the Worgen within the area are charging towards the explosion, all eager for a taste of whatever is making that noise. But as the pack get within a mile, a trap is sprung that results in all of them getting knocked out. "Looks like we caught the brat in this lot." Muses Ox upon coming upon the small beast-man.

Within seconds, a certain Toad Sage turns the smallest of the knocked out Worgen onto his back and checks the seal. "Damn it, we don't have much time. The seal's strength is waning too quickly. I'm taking him away right now, you deal with the rest." Jiraiya says as the others begin to release capture cages from storage scrolls.

As Jiraiya arrives outside of the Hokage Tower, he heads for the prepared seal room. None of the guards try and stop him, they all received orders about not hindering Jiraiya if he's carrying one of the transformed. Most of the guard head off to report to various heads about the demon container finally getting trapped, one in particular heads off to gather their supplies for the task before them.

It wasn't just the hope of keeping the fox demon sealed within Naruto, it's that they hope that the seal will give them clues they need to create a seal to help restore the minds of all of the transformed, as unlikely as it sounds. They had already encountered a few of the Hyuuga branch members among the beast and how ineffective their seal upon their forehead are since transforming into these beasts. If it weren't for that vital bit of information that Hinata had brought two months ago, it's likely the whole village would be over run with the transformed and spreading out into Fire Country.

As Jiraiya is putting the restraints upon the blond Worgen, he has to knock the child out once more as it looked as though Naruto was about to wake. With the restraints in place, Jiraiya activates the seals upon the chains to make it impossible for them to come out of the floor. Minutes tick by and the members of the preassigned squad to aid in the seal strengthening arrive.

Once the final members are within the room, the room is sealed off from the outside. By this time, the transformed demon container is awake and testing the chains, trying to get them to give so he can attack the human occupants within the room. Jiraiya grimly stares at his godson, realizing that this wasn't the way he wanted them to meet face to face but then, none of them expected some freaky transformation virus to elude them, it doesn't matter how you treat the bite or at what stage you try to stop the transformation, it's like chakra doesn't even touch it or can do anything to halt it.

As they go try to strength the seal, the blond furred beast that is Naruto Uzumaki begins to glow a fiery red, it's more then likely that the demon within knows what's happening and is trying to sped up the process. Though risky, they decide to waste no time in sending in members of the Yamanaka clan into the subject's head, everyone is relieved when they don't come out a few seconds afterwards.

_"Hey! Watch it! It's quick for its size!"_ Naruto shouts while struggling to get his legs out from under the paw. It doesn't help that the giant wolf monster is now standing on all fours. Naruto gets some help in getting out while the crimson energy flows out of the demon's cage.

None of the mind walking ninja seem keen on lingering on the floor where the demonic chakra is hanging out. Naruto is more then happy to get out from under that paw but this gives the wolf a reason not to stand in one place any longer. As Naruto glances from the spot he's clinging onto the massive wolf and the cage, Naruto decides to cling to the cage, hoping that throwing himself at it will, hopefully, delay the decay and perhaps, the opening of the seal too.

It wasn't long before Naruto realizes a pitfall of that particular plan but decides it's too late to change his mind. And so, as those new comers fight off the black and crimson tainted wolf, Naruto stands steadfast at the cage, his arms hugging where the two doors meet in the middle, doing his best to ignore the laughter of the fox and its murmurs of his efforts being for nil. Naruto closes his eyes and focuses on keeping the doors closed.

As odd as it sounds, as the seconds tick by, Naruto desperately tries to find something, anything, to help keep the doors closed. Then a tickling sensation on his arms causes him to glance out, he finds chains on his arms and thin cords of blue energy slowly coming up his arms. With a shake, Naruto balls his fists, as if to grab those thin strings. Ignoring everything but the blue cords, Naruto tries to breath them into him, his efforts are clumsy but a minor gasp and the cords seem slightly thicker.

Naruto tries again and again, the cords grow larger and more power seems to flow into him but it wasn't enough. And so, Naruto strains to see something, something he knows is there, connected to the wolf that's in him. Upon finding those weak strings, Naruto attempts to re-channel the energy he's getting from those in the room with him into strengthening those frail ties.

It seems like years, decades but finally, those ties allow him to harvest energy from those on the other end. Then, Naruto finds himself back hugging the cage. Grinding his teeth, Naruto pours energy into the cage. He dimly notes that the fox has stopped laughing and that the crimson mist of the fox's energy is slowly being forced back by another mist, a blue one.

With the withdraw of the crimson energies, those other ninja seem to recover. Naruto feels more then sees them drinking in some of that blue energy but Naruto doesn't care, just as long as they keep the wolf from noticing him, from pinning him, he's confident that the cage can be repaired. Naruto continues to breath in that energy and it seems as though some blocks are giving way, allowing for more to come into him.

Naruto isn't even aware when the area of his mind has become overflowing with blue chakra but not only is the chakra done fixing the fox's cage, it seems to be removing the crimson color from the wolf's coat. Without the fox's own rage to add to the wolf's power, the canine seems to be shrinking and its mutations reversing. Soon, the wolf only appears to be ten feet high but it seems that those mind walkers are spent.

Naruto feels more confident in his chances of taking on the wolf. Naruto lets go of the cage and with that gesture, those connections that he's been taking chakra from. Somewhere in the fight, Naruto and the wolf finally call a truce, the wolf moves to lick its wounds a bit away, leaving the boy to be in the driver seat as it were.

Once more, Naruto is staring at strange marking written upon the floor. The chain's braces fall off rather easily and Naruto sits while running a hand through his blond hair, frowning at how matted it feels to him. "Man... does anyone have any mouth wash? I got this taste in it and I really don't want to know how I got it." Naruto says and within seconds, he's being bombard with all sorts of reactions.

Kind of cranky and exhausted, Naruto finally puts a foot down, demanding a meal before he answers anything. Although, before they leave the room, one of the men take off their shirt and gives it to him to put on. It's about then does Naruto realize he's rather naked and is rather glad to have something cover him.

Stifling a yawn, Naruto watches as the door appears. He struggles to walk down the hall, Naruto's limbs feel alien and he finds it rather difficult to keep his eyes open but some how, Naruto does manage to make it to a break room and within a few minutes, he's eating his second sandwich, mentally trying to organize his thought for the upcoming Q&A session.

**- o 0 o -**


	129. The Ghost and the Fox Ch 2: DP

I don't own Danny Phantom or Naruto.

**- o 0 o -**

_Looks like they earned their pay. Although, now we have to go shopping for a furniture for the new rooms._ Naruto thinks while moving about the newly expanded and renovated apartment. "Is that a hot tub?"

Blinking, the blond heads for the master bedroom and finds a rather large ofuro in the connecting bathroom. "Oh, so that's why they had to take the outer wall out... I guess now I know why nobody wanted it and it was just sitting there, gathering all that dust." Naruto muses while Mizu climbs into the ofuro.

It had taken over fourteen months since Naruto had commissioned that company to renovate the apartment. It would have been completed sooner but upon inspecting the apartment, the company reported that the building wasn't up to code, which meant that the building had to be brought up before any kind of work could be started on the apartment. Things got found out and within two months since Naruto hired the company, the whole building was being striped bare and rebuilt from scratch, although for some strange reason, the Old Man stepped in and bought the apartment from the absence owners as nobody knows how to contact them as it seems that they left the village about seven years earlier and nobody noticed.

During that time, Naruto saved himself a headache and just kept using that Henge whenever he wasn't at the academy or training out at the train fields that are approved for academy level students as the blond didn't want to be kicked out onto the streets with Mizu in toe but the eleven year old's attention snaps out of reviewing his memories with Mizu saying, "And all my bathroom has is a shower..." The black haired six year old is currently laying upon the bottom of the ofuro.

"At least you have a bathroom connected to your room. Most kids have to share with their parents." The blond remarks to the six year old.

"Yea and most kids your age don't have their own place, _dad_." Mizu remarks from the ofuro while the blond merely sighs and leans at the frame of the door. There were times when Naruto gets this feeling that Mizu seems older then he appears which could be a result of some ninja village using genjutsu to teach kids academy lessons at a very young age, although, considering Mizu didn't understand a lick of his language seems to throw doubt upon Mizu being a child jonin.

"You're still sore that I wouldn't buy you that handled game for your birthday." The eleven year old muses with a soft snort. "As though you need any more excuse to hang around inside. There aren't a lot of kids interested in electronic games here in Hidden Leaf."

"Well, who says I want to be a ninja?" Mizu grumbles while climbing out of the ofuro. "You said it yourself, not everyone who attends the academy goes on to be a ninja." The younger of the two remarks.

"Maybe I should see about getting you to attend the academy anyway. You need to go out and make friends your own age." Naruto muses while moving out of his new bathroom after turning off the lights. "I know you get lonely." _I know I am and I'm among my peers almost everyday._

"I don't want to make friends with those of my age group. They're just so... childish! When I'm in the park, I get reminded of puppies or kittens." Mizu snaps, not for the first time Mizu's eyes flash green and it seems as though the temperature lowers a few degrees.

The green retreats and Mizu's normal blue eyes are glancing away. "Well, it's not like you can rough house with kids taller and more physically stronger then you. I don't want to see you get bullied." The blond says while running a hand through his blond hair. _Because that sure isn't want I want for myself let alone for somebody I care about. It's not like anyone has ever taken my side in anything and I doubt anyone will do so on Mizu's behalf when they learn that he's my son._

In the end, Mizu marches to his room and slams the door. It wasn't the first display of Mizu's frustrations coming to ahead nor will it likely be the last. "There are times when he reminds me of Sasuke..." Murmurs Naruto while the blond moves to the kitchen to unpack a few groceries that he had a Genin team go out and purchase while they packed up a cart with their belongings they've gathered over the pass year of living in said hotel room.

They each had stuff to unpack now that they brought it all the way up here. It'll likely take a few days to unpack everything within the boxes too. Although they'll have to wait a week for the latest cheque to come before they can purchase a couch and a bed. It'll take a few months before the apartment will look like somebody lives in it instead of visiting.

As supper rolls around, Mizu comes out of his room and sits at the old ratty desk that's now serving as a kitchen table. A pair of old bar stools serve as the chairs too. The previous stuff that had been in the apartment had been tossed out and the Old Man only replaced the one bed and the appliances. It's up to the eleven year old to find replacements for the rest.

"Do you remember which of the boxes has the tv and the other stuff?" Mizu asks as goat stew is served, Naruto found it easier to make stew out of the various cookbooks he purchased then most of the more delicious sounding recipes. But then, Mizu is still helping Naruto with his reading and written skills, which are much improved considering where they were thirteen months previously.

"Yea, I put your name on them." Naruto informs the six year old. Mizu groans, it's clear that the child did the same to his own boxes which means that Mizu will need to check each and every box with his name on it in order to find it. The blond rolls his eyes when Mizu mutters something in his native tongue, from the tone, Naruto could guess what the six year old is cursing about.

"Are you going to go train at a field after school tomorrow?" Mizu asks as Naruto is filling Mizu's bowl for a second helping of stew. "Doubtful, we do have a lot of unpacking to do." The blond informs his adopted son before handing back the bowl now filled with another helping of stew.

"Ah." Is Mizu's reply while stirring the stew with a spoon. Naruto frowns slightly before focusing on eating his third helping of stew.

T ( = ] - N

Hinata stares over at her crush, Naruto Uzumaki while letting out a soft little sigh. The eleven year old Hyuuga is rather confused as to why the eleven year old blond is using a Henge to be with that odd little boy who's chakra paths weren't only odd but sporting green energy. Hinata wanted to ask about it but doesn't want to cause Naruto any undo trouble either. The very idea of speaking to her crush let alone asking him something so private causes her to panic and almost faint at the very thought.

_I wonder if Neji and Hanabi's investigate has turned up something..._ Hinata wonders, it's been close to two months since her little sister inquired about what's bothering her, more then what's usually bothering her and had managed to worm it out of her. Although Hinata is glad that some of the pressure is off, she is a little dismayed at the idea of her little sister investigating something she herself should have the nerve to do but also managed to roped their cousin into helping her too.

"Hinata... We have learnt who the child is." Neji says, startling Hinata a bit as it was lunch. "His name is Mizu Uzumaki and from what records we've managed to get our hands onto, he's Naruto's adopted son."

Hinata just stiffens while her mind races about what this means and more importantly, if it means Naruto isn't available. "We didn't find any medical reports and the picture we obtained, it's rather impossible to make Mizu out. Nor do we know where he came from, it's like he appeared out of thin air but as Lord Hokage hsa approved the adoption, there's a good possibility that Mizu's origins are black sheeted." Hanabi reports, her eyes glinting in contained excitement about this intel gathering operation, seeing it as ninja practice.

"He's also capable to altering his appearance with his black hair turning white and blue eyes going green. This transformation also effects any cloths he's wearing with their colors inverting." A pause. "It's clearly a bloodline limit, a superior one at that also grants him the ability to fly, phase through objects, and become invisible." Hanabi finishes.

"We have not confronted the boy to see if there are other special ability the boy may possess concerning his natural green chakra or have seen him preform any jutsu." Neji states blankly. "Although, there had been an incident where a kid matching the boy's altered appearance interfering with an ANBU operation little over a year ago."

Hinata nods, her mind a whirl at the idea that Naruto's involvement with this boy... this Mizu means that it could be something of a secret and if the Hokage entrusted Mizu to Naruto then they should stop their investigation at once. Although, as the eleven year old Hyuuga looks between her sister and cousin, Hinata becomes aware that perhaps they're not going to quit for those reasons. It's clear that Hanabi sees this as a way to put all those skills their father has been training her in to practical use while Neji will most likely continue to assist Hanabi, willingly or not.

"Are there any listings for Mizu's god-parents? Or adopted mother?" Hinata stutters, deciding to at least continue this if only to take the fall for involving Hanabi in all of this.

"None listed. There's no paper work for Mizu to attend the academy either. None of the listings for missing children matching Mizu's description have been found before the adoption or after." Neji explains before Hanabi could say anything and Hinata just nods.

"I highly doubt father will be pleased by the Hokage hiding such a powerful bloodline like this, let alone letting the current sole heir to remain out of school." Hanabi muses, pretty much saying something that Hinata had thought upon the revelation of Mizu's highly unusual abilities. "Particularly with having the boy get mixed up with Uzumaki... On that note, did you know that he's got the Kyuubi sealed in him?" Hinata's sister adds and Hinata glances over at Neji, only to find her cousin to be just as startled by this revelation too. "But we can't say anything to anyone about it because the Third created a law in hopes of keeping Uzumaki's status a secret, not that those involved are very good at keeping it a secret..."

"That certainly explains why Uzumaki can't control his chakra very well. Though, you would think that Lord Hokage would assign someone to teacher him chakra control." Neji states, it's as close to a rebuke of the Third Hokage's authority and judgment that her cousin will likely get.

"He might be hoping that his jonin instructor will catch on to Naruto's problem and set about correcting it." Hinata says in defense, although it's slightly hollow as Naruto's inability with chakra is hurting his chances of graduating to be a genin. The clone jutsu continues to be a thorn in Naruto's side, the blond has the other two down well enough but Naruto just puts too much chakra into it.

"Well, it sounds like you've got reason enough to speak with him, doesn't it Neji?" Hanabi remarks almost cheerfully at their cousin. Hinata can only guess when the usually emotionless mask will once more appear upon her little sister but for now, it seems as though Hanabi is enjoying not keeping her emotions under strict control, for the moment away.

As lunch ends, Hanabi stealthily vanishes from the academy courtyard, leaving Hinata alone with Neji. As Hinata heads to her spot at the back of the classroom, she wonders if Hanabi wasn't right about her having an opening in which to get to know Naruto in close quarters. It did cause her to wonder when, not if, this little investigation reaches her father, what steps he'll take to try and bring the matter before the council, after all, Naruto is rather young to be a father.

T ( = ] - N

"Sir, there's the head of the Hyuuga clan here to speak with you." The Third Hokage looks up from a ANBU report to watch as Hiashi Hyuuga walks into the office. Hiruzen Sarutobi mentally tries to recall reasons why Hiashi would wish to speak with him.

"Hokage, I wish to know what qualifications young Naruto Uzumaki have of being an adopted father to the boy known as Mizu." The head of the Hyuuga clan says to the Third Hokage. The old man blinks while his mind brings up the adoption papers Naruto filed about a year ago.

"Ah yes, I recall seeing papers to that effect little over a year ago." The elderly man says to the clan head. "I would have thought you would have recalled Iruka's little prank during his last year at the academy." The Hokage muses.

"Yes, I do seem to recall that particular prank. A rather thought out one but that does not explain the boy, Mizu, living with Uzumaki." Haishi states and this causes Hiruzen to stiffen while a number of things race through his mind.

"How old is this Mizu?" He asks. "Seems to be the same age as my youngest, Hanabi." Answers Haishi, which translate that the boy with Naruto is six to seven years of age.

Pressing a button, Hiruzen summons his secretary and asks her to have Naruto and Mizu Uzumaki escorted here.

] - N

Danny glances between the two masked ninja, while the halfa didn't want to be seen as weak, the amnesic ex-teen grasps his adopted father's hand. It helps him slightly with his nerves but it didn't stop the thoughts of being ripped away from Naruto and put through torture in order to learn whatever secrets he has. Somewhere in Danny's mind, torture and dissected became very interchangeable.

"Mizu?" Danny is startled out of his horrific thoughts to find Naruto looking very worried at him. His legs kind of refused to work and with a soft sigh, Naruto bends down and picks him up. His arms go about the blond's neck and feeling the eleven year old's arms wrapped around him causes him to feel safe, after all, Naruto has never harmed him and though he's given the blond trouble viva tantrums and such.

After a few minutes, Danny feels more then ready to walk and lets it be known, although he does keep hold of Naruto's hand, refusing to relinquish his grip upon it. They weren't far from the building and as they go up the stairs to get to the office of the Hokage, the six year old halfa wonders just how this particular encounter is going to result in and grimly prepares for the worst, although Danny really didn't want to leave Naruto, after all, the blond is the only one he knows and trusts in this world.

The first thought Danny had upon seeing the elderly Hokage had been, _Geeze he's old, ancient even._ And then the young halfa notices the few other adults in the room, one in particular sports white eyes, causing the amnesic boy to wonder if the man is blind. "Heya, Old Man! What's up?"

"Naruto, perhaps you can tell us how you came upon your... son." The geezer behind the desk says. The authoritative way the elderly man spoke, it kind of reminded the halfa of somebody, somebody also kind of on the oldish side of life.

"Well, ya see, I was coming in from a training field when I saw this green pillar of energy. It died and upon arriving at the site, I found Mizu laying there, naked and out of it." Naruto explains. "In the end, he wakes, I give him my shirt, then engage him in conversation only it kind of fails, he begins to cry, he clings to me, falls asleep, and I bring him back to my apartment."

Danny rather didn't want to be reminded of the moment it dawned on him that he not only woke without knowing his own name but not knowing a thing of the local language or customs. The amnesic ex-teen feels measuring look upon him and Danny swallows his embarrassment to not squirm under their looks. Even after a year, nothing comes to mind concerning his name or why he's here. _Likely due to not being in familiar setting._ The halfa privately reasons to himself.

"Then where did the name Mizu come from? If he has lost his memory?" The blond with his hair done up in a ponytail asks Naruto.

"Well, the forms needed a name and after thinking about it, I thought Mizu Uzumaki had a certain ring to it. Not that Mizu seem to care about what I decided to name him. Kind of seemed happy to have one." His adopted father explains and Danny privately thinks that last part could have been left out, not that the ex-teen feels like tossing in his two cents before a panel of strangers.

_Kind of surprising that he's not nervous about it though._ Danny muses, sure he might think of Naruto as a little slow when it came to books but the blond is the one who's feeding the both of them, making sure they had clothing, and manages the money. The amnesic Danny didn't know if he'd have the same restraint with money that Naruto shown to have.

At something, Danny had noticed how immature Naruto is for his age and yet when it comes to some of the more important aspects, Naruto's shown he's far more mature then his age. _He's been forced to grow up too fast, which could be why he holds tightly to certain childish actions to try and capture his childhood at the same time._ He thinks, rather stunned at this particular insight concerning his adopted father.

"And you, Mizu, what do you have to say?" The old man behind the desk asks him, which kind of startles Danny from his current thoughts to think of an answer that will, hopefully, satisfy them. "I don't know how I got here nor has anything here jogged my memory. I also get that I'm kind of a burden and that Naruto's way too young to take care of me, but since I got here, he's done a real good job of it, even though he's got school and other things to do in order to prepare for his graduation into a genin." Danny says, pausing to bite his lower lip for a second before continuing, very much aware that every adult in this room is paying him the utmost attention.

"The thing is, I feel safe with Naruto. He's the only one I really know here in this village and I've grown use to the idea of him being my adopted father." Danny admits, very much aware that he's still holding onto Naruto's hand. "He's the only family I have right now and I'd like for him to continue to be family."

Danny couldn't help but feel as though some of the tension hanging in the air kind of vanishes. "It's been a bit over a year since the adoption took place and it seems as though neither of you have suffered during that time." The man behind the desk muses. "But you both need adult supervision."

The geezer nods to himself, as if deciding something. "But until the one I'll have to supervise you both, I believe Haishi will be happy to fulfill that role as he's the one to bring this to my attention." The Hokage says and it takes Danny a few seconds to realize that the guy with white eyes is Haishi, the halfa mentally files that away.

"Inoichi is head of the Yamanaka. They have family jutsus capable of accessing the mind. I am sure that with his serves, you might be able to regain your memories." The old man says, pretty much volunteering the ponytail blond for such a thing.

_Gee, isn't that subtle._ Danny can't help but think while finally letting go of Naruto's hand, feeling relieved that it appears that nobody is objecting to his continue living with Naruto. _Does this mean I have to attend the academy now?_

T ( = ] - N

Naruto found it rather odd that he's in this office and yet, he's not in trouble. Mizu seems to be more interesting to staring at some point behind the head of the academy while swinging his feet. The blond looks away from his adopted son to glance over at a certain pervert leaning on the wall by the door, clearly more interested in what's written upon the note pad.

It's been four months since the incident where Ino's dad found that trying to enter into Mizu's mind is like running straight into a stone wall. Although, they did learn that Mizu is capable at possessing people, just not in the typical Yamanaka way but by phasing right into their bodies. _I didn't even know he was capable of that stuff. Or that bloodline limits can cover so many different things, but that could have something to do with his chakra._

"We do believe we know why Mizu has been acting out." The academy headmaster says and Naruto wonders if he's going to get blamed for it. "He possesses knowledge in most of the subjects taught here with the exception of history, chakra usage, and physical aspects of ninja life."

"He's going to advance a grade then?" Naruto asks while Mizu sucks in a breath. "Or is he entering into an apprenticeship with somebody?" The blond thinks to add.

"He's going to be placed in your grade. It'll give him a year to catch up on the aspects he'll need to graduate." The headmaster answers and Naruto just blinks, not sure which emotion he should express, pride that Mizu is that much closer to graduating or dismay at how easily Mizu trumps his accomplishments.

"Wow... and to think he has only been attending for close to four months." Naruto says, settling for pride. "We might even end up on the same genin team too." The blond says and Mizu finally looks away from the spot behind the headmaster.

The tension in Mizu's shoulders give way and the young six year old falls onto the back of the chair. It seems that he said the right thing, if Naruto's to go from Mizu's reaction, not that Naruto really reacted to get Mizu to relax... "When will he begin attending the class?" Naruto asks.

"Tomorrow." Answers the headmaster and a soft giggle comes from Jiraiya. With that, Naruto places a hand on Mizu's shoulder while walking to the door. The Toad Sage follows them, the blond haired boy and black haired boy out of the office.

"And to think, you're going to be turning seven soon too." Naruto muses while Mizu adds, "I'll be following in the foot steps of a few famous ninja too. Sure, a few of them graduated when they were younger then me but, well, if I had started attending after the adoption, I might be a genin already."

"And here I thought you'd still be opposing to become a ninja." Naruto muses, recalling more then a few times when Mizu throw a tantrum, ending it by saying how he won't become a ninja, all the Toad Sage did was hum. "So, where do you want to go to grab a bite to eat?" The blond asks before remarking with a sly grin, "Jiraiya's buying."

The man hums, clearing not realizing what he's agreeing too. Mizu snorts softly, but that doesn't cause Jiraiya to wake to the outside world. Naruto merely shakes his head, not for the first time wondering if the Old Man really expects the pervert to be a proper role model for either of them. Considering how incline Mizu is to spying on the women only places, the blond shutters to think about what kind of influence the toad summoner will have on the impressionable Mizu after years of exposure.

It's one of the reasons why the blond is trying to think of ways to get Jiraiya out of the village as Naruto doesn't want Mizu to become a miniature pervert. The idea of Mizu treating women the way Jiraiya does. _He'll be worst though, particular with his ability of flying, turning invisible, and allowing Mizu to phase through things._ Naruto thinks with a scowl upon his face while imagining Mizu giggling while flying out of reach of enraged women.

As Mizu steals a few bills from Jiraiya's pouch, an ANBU suddenly appears and informs the toad summoner that he's needed. "Well, supper will still be on him." Mizu says and the blond smiles while nodding in agreement.

**To Be Continued . . .**


	130. Time Loop: Celebrations: Harry Potter

I don't own Harry Potter.

**- o 0 o -**

The drums beat seems to cause the very air to tremble while a multitude of voice sings a song about All Hollow's Eve. Sure, Halloween is about eight days away but Harry didn't care as he rides upon the back of a massive wooden golem that's shape is a cross between an elephant and a ram. The majority of those participating in this parade as it snakes through the Forbidden Forest, heading to Hogsmeade before setting up camp across from the Hogwart's own lake.

All of those flying phantoms are actually tiny illusion generators, which is how they appear to move through the various objects, mainly trees but also certain incoming spiders and their webs. Although the fire that erupts when one of the specters go through an Acromantula is very real and boils the magical spiders alive. Although, if one of the Acromantula do end up in close quarters, one of the golems within range of said spider would quickly kill it before resuming their place in the parade.

The spells covering the various golems all work to allow the parade safely through the forest, seemingly causing a path to open up just a mile before the first part and seemingly closing back up a mile after the end part. Each golem acts as a magical amplifier taking a tiniest amount from him and magnifying it to ensure various effects of the spells they're carrying upon themselves. Not that it's a drain for Harry, after all, Dumbledore is the one who's been missing with time magic, causing time to loop for him, though why, the old man keeps sticking his nose in Harry's business, he really doesn't know nor really cares.

This whole parade is a result of spending hundred of thousands of loops as Dumbledore's little puppet before the Obliviate spell no longer worked on him. _The subconscious mind can only suppress so many experiences before bits of information begins to migrate back into the conscious one or when the magic builds up to the point that binders might as well not exist either. Sure, you can put binds on so I can only access an eighth of my magic but if my magic keeps growing little by little with every time loop without any adjustments to my growing reserves... Some genius, he shouldn't have stopped looping and relying upon his previous experiences to keep me enslaved._ Harry thinks as Hogsmeade comes into view.

Harry's sour mood and thoughts get pushed aside at the sight of the small number of inhabitants the village seem to come to the edge to see what's happening. Not that it remain uplifted as the sight strongly reminds him of how Dumbledore allowed the Magical Communities to decline so badly. _He should have ramified the taxes to encourage families to have as many children as they can, it would have helped keep the bloodlines diverse._ Then he shakes his head, banishing that kind of thinking, after all, Dumbledore's own time looped experience have been Oblivated every time time resets itself, it had been difficult bit of magic to work as the magic need to remain anchored in him but so worth it as Dumbledore's plans are now very predictable and much easier to counter.

The song's volume goes up as they begin to repeat the song anew with the golems beginning to preform their various acts before the watchful eyes of the local town. Their marching is a tad slower in order for the various acts to go through their routines but the looks upon the townfolks' faces were well worth it. As his section reaches the crowd, Harry begins tossing fake gold down into the thin ranks of the town's residents.

As they leave the town behind, some headed to their houses as those fake gold coins transform into fliers for a carnival being hosted by Harry James Potter. Unsurprisingly, none of the folk knew him on sight, although it likely didn't help matters that he's disguised as a handsome devil with bronze appearing skin, bright copper locks done up in braids, glowing purple eyes, appears to be an adult, a four foot tail sporting overlapping scales, and finally, sporting black antlers and horns while black leather pants cover his lower body, although glimmering jewelry graces his upper body and his antler prongs.

The volume of the parade increases and to his eyes, he spies that the fair grounds were already set up. The parade encircles the school and he's very pleased to find students rushing out of the castle to get a better look. He could only guess what look Albus is sporting at seeing this parade.

_Now for the grandest spectacle yet!_ He thinks as the parade begins to march to the hidden fair. Harry closes his eyes as he reaches forth to transfer the spell upon the fair to place it upon the parade, the flying illusion generators seem to buzz in his ears as they begin to work overtime creating the illusion of the parade morphing into the various tents containing a wide range of features, although most of them serve as inns for international guests, typical food booths, a temporary goblin bank, open arcade grounds that are enclosed with only three entrances, and, of course, rides and haunted houses to entertain and thrill kids.

With the disguising spell successful employed, Harry gets down from the golem carrying him. With that done, he begins to select which golems will work the fair while directing the rest into the still disguised, expanded tent where they can remain until November first where there will be another parade signaling the end of the fair. He takes a few minutes to straighten out the clustered necklaces and bracelets before dismissing the illusion hiding him from view.

Within minutes the international guests begin to pour out of the various port-key booths. He had done extensive advertising beyond Europe as the whole fair is covered in networks of spells, one of which is a powerful language spell to allow those from different languages to pierce the language barrier so that language won't cause a conflict within the fair. He's most satisfied to see how quickly the various golem employed in the fair are already taking the guests to their booked rooms or directing them to the check in desks if they hadn't made arrangements back in August.

As the guests settle in, teachers from Hogwarts come barreling down upon the fair grounds with some students following them, although unlike the teachers, the students seem awestruck by the fair. One of the golems head the group off, likely the one with the assignment of being the organizer that had been 'hired' to make this fair happen. Harry already knew what kind of arguments the teachers and Dumbledore will likely use to get rid of all of this fun. He merely shakes his head and walks off to tour the fair grounds to be sure that it was constructed as he had envisioned it.

By the time noon arrives, families are already out and about. Harry even spies those students from outside of the UK walking around accompanied with their teachers, after all, he had constructed at least three museums, five theaters with their own theater group to enact their plays, four movie theaters with eight movie rooms, an indoor market for certain companies to set up their own booths to sell their wares, and two zoos where one features actual magical animals and one containing muggle animals. He would have included pools and wave pools but Harry just made sure that each of the motels sported them, none of the animals were fake, Harry just replaced those from muggle zoos with golems while he captured like the basilisk or rented like the various breeds of winged horses, although he had to use illusion magic so that the Thestral could be 'seen' with the naked eye. He got the idea of using illusions to make Thestrals visible from watching The Last Unicorn.

Sure, that seems a lot but between expansion charms upon the tents. Magic is such a wonderful thing when used with a clear purpose in mind. Lamp posts line the streets of the carnival, ready to be used for when night comes. Ads boards are up, each sporting posters for the various companies that have rented space in the indoor market as well as posters for the various theater groups are there too. Each visitor is given a magical map that allows them to track other members of their party as well as where they are in the carnival, they also alter when they're within the various tents too.

Harry does get hungry as his nerves settle and he sighs before setting off to find a vendor selling breakfast style food. He doesn't need to pay for the food, although he does give the illusion of paying by handing over fake money. Noticing that he's close to a live theater, Harry enters and again 'pays' for a ticket. He's sure to keep to the darker area as he could be mistaken for a worker as he's still appears in his devil costume.

_I wonder if my Winter Celebration will have the same or greater attendance? Although instead of little over a week it'll be around for two whole weeks. I might even see an increase of businesses and maybe restaurants looking to get a piece of it too. The problem will be what kind of design I want to use and if I want it all under the same roof or not._ Harry muses before heading off to get out of his costume.

Not that Harry's in a rush to get called to the headmaster's office and have a discussion concerning his organization of this event without permission. Not that he particularly cares as the man had signed off on allowing him to throw his own parties for the holidays. _It just so happens I like to throw huge ass parties that involve everything from classic carnival rides to zoos and museums._ Harry thinks before mentally adding, _And I'm the one funding this party and not Hogwarts. Gee, you'd think he'd be happy with the positive publicity for Hogwarts and the UK in general._

The last time he threw a week long party, Albus had been very clear that such things aren't allowed within the castle. Harry smiles as he recalled how trashed Hogwarts was after that party. He had thrown it wide opens and made very good use of a certain room. _Just what kind of limits are there to how big it can get? I think last time, I got it to be the size of London fairly easily. That was the largest water park in the world though. I wonder if I can get it to appear as a prehistoric jungle complete with dinosaurs? Now that would be something._

T ( +

"So, just how much did you make from that celebration?" Neville asks as they rest in the hot tube that Harry thought up while walking thrice before the door. "I mean, as profit."

Harry hums, not sure how to break it to Neville that he bought pretty much all of the material from muggle sources. Then he had an army of golems take the bulk raw cloth and other such things to create what he needs for the coming celebrations of various holidays. "Probability more then what you'd expect."

"Those games you had were pretty fun." Neville says, changing the subject after about fifteen minutes of silence. "Earning those tickets and turning them over for special prizes that you can chose, so wick! Although it took me close to the whole week to get enough for one of those movie orbs. That's some fancy spell work, particularly when you have them under your pillow when you sleep."

"Yea, I know." Harry says smugly, sure, he's suppose to be a first year student. Even now, he's not sure why the Sorting Hat keeps sorting him, after all, it's not as though he's mentally an eleven year old. "You know, a lot of people wanted to purchase those while a few of the companies wanted to know who I ordered them from." He says to his best friend.

"Did you give them the name of the person?" Neville asks and he replies, "The maker wanted to remain anonymous."

"You know what would be great right now?" Neville asks after a few minutes. "Something cold and sweet."

"Oh? Is that all?" Harry muses and presses a tile that causes a mini fridge to pop up. The drinks were summoned from beyond the castle, though he's fairly sure that they won't be missed because that was the conditioned for them to be summoned. "What will it be?" He asks, causing the mini fridge to swivel to face Neville.

Neville slowly shakes his head but selects a root beer. He closes the mini fridge after selecting an Nestea. "You know, I am planning a Christmas festival." Harry says after drinking half of his drink.

"Is it going to be similar to your Halloween carnival?" Neville asks. "Not that I had a problem with it, but, well, gran wasn't thrilled at how much I spent on tokens for those games." The usually clumsy preteen adds.

"It's going to have a different style then Halloween. For one thing, no rides or as much theme styles either. Most of the buildings will be made from ice and snow, although there will be wooden posts that will be enchanted to hold it together. Might create overhead tunnels so nobody has to go out into the cold unless they want to." He then goes on to describe the various contests and activities that he has arranged, although he did admit that there will be more stores and likely actual restaurants instead of simple food booths.

Neville helps by evaluating those ideas and even helps tailor them a bit. Neville remarks about indoor gardens and he kind of likes that idea. "Hey Nev, how would you like to be in charge of this green touch project for my Christmas Celebration? I'm offering ten gold a week and an unlimited budge to take your designs and make them real." He says to Neville and his friend just stares at him with a touch of fear and awe.

"You can even keep the plants too, just remember that non-magical types work just as well as magical." He adds, sure he doesn't know if Neville's up for the responsibility to do something like this but he's more then willing to lend resources and golems to see if Neville has it in him to do so. "I can get you books on the subject and arrange for you to speak with those in this particular business too."

"All that just because I made that suggestion? That's a lot of responsibility, Harry, I'm not sure I'm capable of doing it." Neville says humbly.

"Ah, come on, Nev, you're being groomed to take over as the head of your family. You should be more then qualified to direct hire help to place a bunch of plants about a small and medium size courtyard." He says in encouragement. "You have until the second week of December before construction begins on creating the buildings."

Neville didn't seems to be able to form words after that and he's mentally making a list of things to send Neville's way.

T ( +

Considering the 'lashing' Harry received from the Halloween Carnival set up on school grounds, he came up with a different way to host the Winter Festival. Though it took a lot of spell work to float those base plates. It proved to be a great test of his sunlight to magic conversion spell, pressure resistance spells, and for wind sphere. As the plates had been rather rushed, he didn't have many of them, which means that there's only one tower to act like a motel, a tower for the contests, and the third acting like the ultimate mall sporting not only restaurants and shops but also museums, movie & live theaters, a water park, and a zoo with mostly magical animals.

The third plate floats the lowest out of three, but that might likely have to do with the number of expansion charms upon the tower. The competition tower floats the highest out of the three, leaving the hotel tower to float between them. The three towers are connected viva charmed ramps that also sport smaller plates that sporting a few of the gardens Neville designed, which also sport those shielding spells to protect the wind and from being so high up in the air. The smaller ones could be found within the hotel and mall tower while larger ones could be found within the competition tower.

All of the towers float over the previous fair grounds, which is why Harry has warded to keep the Hogwarts teachers from coming up. Actually, he had wards about to prevent marked followers of any 'dark' group from visiting the towers. _It's a good thing I got Dumbledore to sign that document agreeing that as long as none of my holiday celebrations happen on school grounds, he won't complain about the parties._

"Isn't that breaching that contract you signed with the headmaster?" Dean asks and he replies, "Not really as Hogwarts can't own the space over the ground, just the ground itself and as you can see, they're floating over the ground, there's no touching of school property."

"How are they staying up there, though? It must take a lot of magic to power whatever enchantments that allow them to hover there." Seamus adds while they wait to be taken to the train station, not that he needs to visit London, nay, it's just that once he's at the train station, either of them, he's officially not the responsibility of the school and he can use that port key to appear at one of the port key booths of the tower.

"The anonymous spellcrafter continues to wish to stay anonymous." He answers and knows that all of the other students with them are listening in. He could only guess how ready to burst Hermione.

With the extra security, aka wards keeping marked followers from visiting, Neville's grandmother relented in allowing her grandson to spend the majority of the winter holidays with him. Neville has the room to the right of his room and he only hopes that his best friend will enjoy his experience away from his grandmother's thumb. Though, Neville will be spending Christmas day with his family.

Soon the Thestral drawn carriages come to take them away. Being so close to Neville, he hears his friend take a sharp intake of breath at the sight of the Thestrals. Only a select few of the first years pause before moving to climb into a carriage. They weren't that unexpected as their history hasn't changed much unlike his own as he tries to vary his routine from loop to loop.

The carriage ride is rather uneventful and upon arriving at the train station, Harry pulls Neville to the back of the horde of students. Once they're out of sight, they take out their port-keys and within seconds, they arrive at one of the port-key booths. It takes them a few seconds to get their trunks onto one of the levitating carts before they follow their guide to their rooms.

Once within his rooms, he walks over to the bed and just lies upon it after kicking his shoes out and taking off his winter jacket, muggle made at that but then, muggle cloths were just cheaper and typically warmer even without some kind of temperature spell upon them. _Now if I can just prefect that automatic transfiguration enchantment, I won't have to worry about buying wizarding robes of any sort. Never again will I have to worry about switching between muggle cloths and wizarding robes._

_Hmmm, it's rather funny how much I've come to resent the magical community as a whole. I get that they like their tradition but they just seem to be totally disconnected from just what magic is capable of. It's like they're neutering themselves without realizing it... Muggles would make better use of magic then they do, it's because their imagination isn't imparted._ He muses before wondering if any other magical community is like the UK or Europe.

_You know, it would do me some good to explore other countries. I mean there are other countries out there that have been around for as long as Rome had fallen, so they must have their own traditions and magical practices. I mean, not all of the various communities invented wands to preform spells and to focus their magic._ Harry muses to himself as he gets up to answer the door.

Neville is standing on the other side, holding a token bag in his left. "You want to come to the arcade with me?" His friend asks and he agrees, he heads to pick up his own bag of tokens before putting on his shoes and jacket once more.

T ( +

_Maybe I should have given flying mounts a try... Might have made travel between the three towers a bit simpler. Aw well, I'll just do set it up for the next holiday._ Harry thinks to himself while looking over the report of profit he accumulated through this holiday.

"Might want to use golems instead of living ones... Shouldn't be hard to engrave the necessary rune schemes to hold the illusions to make them seem alive." He muses in the Chamber of Secrets, reclining upon the couch in the renovated chamber.

Ever since he's learnt to grant golems a limited AI. He's also learnt how to rope a golem into monitoring wards, which helps when he's trying to grow highly dangerous magical plants. Mixing metal, stone, and wood in golems allow for them to endure various kinds of secretion from said plants then if he just one of the three, at least back before he created that magical skin for protection.

Groaning softly, Harry once more turns his thoughts away from various feats he's managed to preform using magic. He focuses back to his plans for the next holiday, which is St. Valentine's Day. The various plates continue to float in the air but the building material has been taken away after the decorations, in particular the plants. He's currently working on plans on creating a castle using those plates already up in the air, he'll wait until spring to add more large ones.

Various clippings and sheets sporting various designs for floating castles litter the desk before Harry. Many of the sheets sport his drawings from various movies that have not been made and other from his own mind. As he pushes the images off to the side, he is sure to put the report into a drawer before grabbing a few pencils and a fresh sheet. Upon this, he began by drawing the plates that are up in the air with the large three making a triangle.

It takes close to thirteen tries but finally, Harry has the basic plans for creating a castle, including a love tunnel ride, although the boats will be flying through the tunnel instead of floating upon a river or some other water way. The only trouble Harry foresees is the creation of the material he plans to use to create the castle. He plans to try and make the castle seem to be constructed out of clouds, which will need to be soft and yet solid enough to keep people and objects from going into the floor or into a wall.

He's still getting the rune machine constructed in order to begin creating that material. He got the idea of rune machinery from the few times he visited a machine shop during the few times he's determined to learn how to sabotage his uncle's car. He would go on to purchase more books upon the subject and would move onto engineering text books, even taking a few university classes.

His previous rune machines work not unlike a computer program oddly enough as the runes in each part take raw material, typically water, sand, or random garbage really, and turning into something surprisingly permanent. Harry's working to funnel carbon from the air into the machine as raw resources as it would serve to clean up the environment by taking out a portion of green house gases.

With a snort, Harry leans back in his chair and glances over at a holo-picture, mostly just a simple ward connected to his memory to display a picture of Hermione, Ron, and himself using illusions. His emerald gaze studies Hermione's face, bring old memories to the forefront. Closing his eyes, he breaths out before looking up at the ceiling as a frown graces his face as he muses upon how often Hermione ignores her muggle roots for magic, something that someone might think he's done too, but the difference is, Hermione at least could intermingle with her classmates and achieve good grades without worrying about getting locked away by getting a better grade then a cousin of hers or being singled out by wearing that same cousin's discards. As such, Hermione and his experiences before Hogwarts were very different as Harry's never had the chance to experience life beyond chores under his aunt's watchful eye.

"You'd think she'd be disappointed after a year at Hogwarts... It's not like those fantasy books or comics, which is a pity really. Those works are very inspiring." He muses to himself out loud. "You'd think all muggleborns would try and aspire to the marvels that crop up in muggle fictional works."

In the end, Harry shakes his head, he'll follow that thought through at a different time, for now, he needs to snack on something before working on what kind of decor to use for the outside of the castle and how corny they will be as well.

T ( +

Feburary first, noon is signaled by the port-key booths flaring to life. Harry knows this by the face that his collection of leather bracelets on either wrist seem to vibrate just before they seem to shrink tightly at his arm. Because of his reserves, he doesn't feed the drain that the bracelets have started in earnest.

When he gets the chance, he walks out of the castle and looks up at the castle he created. He'll visit the castle later tonight to check on the wards to be sure that nobody is trying to tamper with them or add anything to them. He knows that many of his fellow students are looking up at the castle, although unlike him, they're faces likely sport longing and awe.

Dumbledore had tried to put his foot down upon students visiting that castle but in the end, he pointed to a clause in their contract and that ended Albus' latest argument concerning how he likes to celebrate his holidays. He's sure that if Dumbledore could, the man would try to overturn last summer's decrees that he's slipped pass the bunch of moronic men. He would call them old but save for the fact that he has lived through thousands upon thousands of years, which means that he's older where it counts, within his mind.

"I can't believe you're still getting away with this, Potter!" Shouts a certain first year blond. "Guess we all know who's the favorite of the school is." Pipes in Draco and Harry merely gives the three a look before moving off to his next class, not feeling the need to respond to the coward and the two bookends.

A clucking echos after him, it seems as though the three thought to try and send spells at him once more. _It's one thing to transfigure somebody into animal, it's another to cause minor transfiguration while having the subject keeping their human appearance._ Harry muses, it's not as though Draco and the two are the only ones he cursed with that bit of spell work, there's plenty of annoying habits and attitudes that he's come to be rather intolerant of over the course of the loops.

After all, nobody or anything will change unless he does something to change it. Trying to reason with the lot just isn't worth the breath anymore nor trying to argue with and threaten them. _One of these loops, I'll have to be sure to stop erasing Albus' experience and entrap him in a magical contract so he can show me where all his back up sites are and ID his programed minions. Then show me his various traps too, although, all of that will likely take more then a single loop and a great deal of patience, not that I possess much of the later at this point._ Harry thinks to himself as he walks down the halls of Hogwarts, his own personal hell.

T ( +

_You would think the ministry would have something better to do then to confiscate those plates to destroy them._ Harry muses, very much aware that Albus had pulled majority of his favors for this particular operation. Not that it matters to him, not when he's just finish taking the last of the N.E.W.T. examines as with Dumbledore's attention else where, he's managed to slip into the various examine.

He's hoping that the fact that he took those examines, he won't be expected back next year. He's currently on his way up to the book to see if his name has moved from the category of student to graduate. Harry's tried to take his N.E.W.T.s plenty of times in the past but Albus always pulls a bunch of strings so that they get missed placed or destroyed.

_I highly doubt that group will be appearing until autumn arrives._ He thinks to himself. Considering magical stasis spells exist, it hadn't been that hard to set up a trap where a whole room would act like a time limited freezer or fridge, keeping the group alive but mentally knocked out until the timer on the 'freezer' beeps, signaling the stopping of the spell.

_If this course of action allows me to graduate from Hogwarts, so much the better._ Harry mentally adds while taking a moment to click his heels, activating a bunch of enchantments upon his shoes and cloths, he walks up the side of a wall before walking over the gargoyle without giving it a password. Soon enough, he's in the headmaster's office, all of the paintings didn't even look at him or acknowledge him in anyway, but then, that's likely due to an enchanted plastic that he talked a few old Potter house elves to place over all of the magical paintings in Hogwarts to help preserve the paint. The magic upon the plastic and the various enchantments upon his cloths render him invisible to all of the paintings covered with the plastic.

Once he got the information he came for, Harry left, his mind going over what he plans to do in the coming, Hogwarts-free years. He's got almost a good three decades before time restarts and he plans to make the most of them.

**- o 0 o -**


	131. The Ghost and the Fox Ch 3: DP

I don't own Danny Phantom or Naruto.

**- o 0 o -**

"There isn't anything to report concerning Mizu. The kid displays that he's had been through an advanced class training but nothing concerning physical or chakra training." Jiraiya reports before they get around to why he was summoned. "The kid is relatively harmless, although he hasn't gone out of his way to befriend any kids his own age. Basically, Mizu's only reason to stay in Hidden Leaf is because Naruto's here. There's the typical friction you'd expect from kids learning their boundaries but in the end, Mizu does seem to look up to Naruto as a parental figure, as unbelievable as it sounds for a six year old to see an eleven year old in that particular fashion."

His old teacher nods while leaning forward upon the desk. "There are a few clans within the village trying to get me to dissolve the adoption. Many prominent clans wish to take the child in." The Third Hokage informs Jiraiya and he merely sighs, not really surprised that the clans were trying to 'step in' and 'save' the kid from the 'Kyuubi'.

"I doubt taking Mizu away from Naruto is any way to gain the boy's trust. He is very much capable of taking off and depending on a few things happening, I think Naruto will join him." Jiraiya goes again, just rewording a few things while adding the bit about Naruto leaving to follow after Mizu. "Mizu is rather mature and it's not as though the kid really needs a lot of parental involvement either. After all, for little over a year, Mizu was content to spend his days alone in the motel room playing video games and watching those movies Naruto scavenged from the summon discard pile."

His teacher sighs and he watches as the Hokage rubs his temple with one of his hands. That alone gives him an insight to what kind of pressure the various elements within the village were weighing themselves upon his former teacher. "Mizu can become a security risk and trying to use Naruto to control him..." He adds, shaking his head, while not particularly liking that image knew that there's a really good chance that it'll happen in the near future.

Jiraiya just watches as the Third Hokage looks his years. It isn't very heartening to think that within the coming months, it's likely that his godson and Mizu will likely be on the road away from Hidden Leaf, likely pursued by Hunter Nin.

T ( = ] - N

Naruto can't help but shake his head as Sasuke and Mizu face off. Ever since Mizu began to take classes with their grade, the Uchiha seemed even more moody then before and had oddly gone out of his way to snipe at his adopted son. _ Just what is his problem? It's like he's jealous of Mizu, but why would the 'Mighty' Uchiha feel that way towards a six year old kid?_

The girls in their class seem divided concerning this fight, many of them had found Mizu to be adorable and in need of being protected which is now coming into conflict with their 'love' for Sasuke Uchiha. Most the boys take Mizu's side more because they don't resent the six year old as much as they do Sasuke. _Yea, like it's really hard to see Sasuke as a bully after the last month of watching the Ice Prince go out of his way to knock Mizu over or verbally put him down._ The blond eleven year old thinks to himself, he would love to step in but for the fact that his son's eyes are sporting that glowing green color, meaning that if he stepped in, it could only enrage Mizu even more then he already is.

_Besides, it's not like Sasuke can hurt Mizu even without my son transforming. He's got enough control over his abilities that he can phase through, fire energy, and turn invisible while still sporting black hair. Just means it drains him a little more then it would have if he sports white hair._ He thinks, wondering just how Mizu will end this as Naruto knows that this fight is very one-sided, even if few of those here knew it.

"Hello Naruto. How are you today?" Hanabi asks and he glances to his right to find Hinata's little sister standing there. Hanabi and Mizu do get along, he just won't say that they're friends though. During the time Hanabi and Hinata's father took to checking in on them, the man decided they needed to be instructed in manners and had them attend lessons three times a week until Jiraiya arrived to take over.

"Rather ticked at a certain Uchiha for starting this." Naruto answers politely. "How have you been today? Learn any new moves from your father?" He asks while noticing Neji and Hinata coming out of the building with Iruka's teaching aid, a gray haired chuunin named Mizuki.

"I have been fine and I've almost mastered Water Walking." Hanabi answers while Mizuki doesn't stop the fight but decides to referee it, much to his chagrin. "Shouldn't he be stopping this?" The six year old girl asks him.

"You would think, won't you? After all, the fight isn't going to do wonders to a certain somebody's ego." The blond boy retorts. _It'll only cause Uchiha to get more pissy and broody. God, for somebody who's supposedly not interested in the people around him, Sasuke sure expects to remain center of attention._ Naruto muses while neither Hinata or Neji come to join Hanabi and himself.

Silence hangs between them when Sasuke moves to strike Mizu, it seems that whatever rules of the fight have been explained. "Its sad when the heir of a founding clan stoops so low as to attack a kid half his age to make himself feel superior." Hanabi states calmly while Sasuke's attacks go right through his adopted son's body.

"You'd think he's trying to prove something to someone by arranging this fight." Murmurs the blond, trying to ignoring the murmuring threats from those girls within ear shot. Naruto is rather tired of getting beat on simply by speaking his mind. _Don't I have a right to free speech?_ He wonders while frowning as he studies the horde of girls, they vary in ages and yet they're all crazy about the prick of a heir.

_Actually, it's just tiring to be the center of so much grief at all, from either the girls and the villagers._ The blond mentally admits while the 'fight' begins as it seems Mizuki has finished speaking. As the hand is lowered the volume of the horde of females only increases as they, as a horde, decide to take Sasuke's side, likely having convinced themselves that Mizu desires getting beaten up by a kid twice his age.

_I doubt I'll ever get the mind of a girl._ Naruto thinks, nodding wisely to himself while the cheers turn into outrage. Not that the blond particularly feels sympathy for their plight, as it is.

The blond notes how Sasuke grows more and more frustrated as nothing the older boy could do seems to connect. After a minute of this, Mizu vanishes just as Sasuke's hands begin to form hand signs and being startled, the Uchiha stops to look around but is blasted a few feet backwards by Mizu, who appears in the spot he had occupied since the beginning of the match.

"How dare he!" "I know!" "Sasuke!" "He cheated!" And so on, each of the witnesses couldn't believe what had just happened before their very eyes. Naruto merely sighs while out of the corner of his eye, the blond notes the look of disdain upon Hanabi's face. It wasn't long before Mizu has made his way towards them, Hinata and Neji arrive before the amnesic boy though.

Mizu looks rather peeved and one green flash later, the six year old addresses those girls. "Shut up your yaps, you harpies! I am younger then the guy you were cheering for! He's a bully and he had it coming! He's had it out for me since I joined your class and if you can't see it, then you're all better off never graduating because that just shows me and everyone that counts that you lot are all mentally defective and therefore MIAs waiting to happen!"

Then Mizu turns to regard Sasuke, "And if you try anything funny against me, be it a tip or a verbal remark, I'll find a way to stick you in the hospital, one way or another." Then as if remembering something, his son adds, "And that goes for Hinata Hyuuga and my dad, Naruto Uzumaki."

With that said, the black haired kid phases through the stunned crowd of girls to join the collection of three Hyuuga and Naruto. Without needing Mizu to say anything, the blond places a comforting hand upon his charge's shoulder while leading the way. The three Hyuuga encircle them, making it clear that the horde of upset fan girls would need to go through them to get to either Uzumaki.

T ( = ] - N

_Well, here goes nothing..._ Naruto thinks while checking and rechecking his pack which is packed with various storage scrolls. He sighs, but there wasn't much to it, after all, he failed his third try to make it as a ninja. "I'm going to miss this place."

"I still can't believe they let that prick graduate but not you." Mizu murmurs angrily, sandal sole rubbing upon the floor. "You filled the class with those clones too! Sure, they were warped but they were clones."

The twelve year old merely sighs while moving the already sagging knapsack up. While things had been looking up since the day the Old Man Hokage learnt about Mizu, it also started some count down too. It had shocked him at the beginning of the school year to learn that once word had gotten around about his adopted son's bloodline limit, every clan within Hidden Leaf had been aiming to bring Mizu into their clan, through marriage or adoption.

_He should have said something before that, about the deal._ Naruto thinks to himself. _They had their chance to cancel the adoption six mouths after the paperwork, after that, the ability to cancel the adoption should never come up!_ The blond thinks while moving to place a hand onto Mizu's shoulder.

Without a word, Mizu causes them both to become invisible and with that, they phase through the door. Naruto lets go of Mizu's shoulder and within seconds, an owl is standing where the blond had been. Spreading his wings, Naruto takes to the air, it had taken close to three months to get to the point where flapping while being this short has become second nature to him. _It helps that it's an actually, physical transformation instead of an illusionary one._

He's never been more grateful for the lack of attention people had in his capabilities or else they would have realized what's off with his Henge jutsu. The big hint should be the fact that genjutsu seems to be something he'd never get since he lacks the control to gently weave illusions upon the mind of others without anyone getting suspicious. Since his henge doesn't cost him energy to keep it up, none are tipped off about him not being who he looks like. _Which is how I managed to sneak into those ANBU classes about seals._

As Naruto silently flies over the village, the blond notes the number of patrols seem to be increased. Bitterly, he realizes that the council had expected them to make a run of it, particularly since he knew that his only family member was going to be taken from him. Likely in the name of helping Mizu achieve his 'greatness' and it would help the image of various clans if Mizu sports their clan name instead the clan name of a known prankster and local parish.

Mizu had reported a number of genjutsu trying to capture him not long after the Third told them about the council's 'deal'. Mizu did go along with the various suggestions of the genjutsus, mostly to keep them from trying to find another way to control Mizu. _You would think they'd figure he's immune to genjutsu if those mind viewing ones wouldn't work on him. Aw well, just means they put their eggs in a single basket is all._

] - N

Danny would glance over his shoulder now and again to make sure that his adopted father is still following. The amnesic Fenton is just glad that the charade they've been maintaining is over and done with, not that is stops him from feeling dirty and used. He hated acting like those genjutsus influenced him, Danny shivers at the training he had gone through with Root during the last two months. It had taken every ounce of his will to keep from blasting that loony, mentally f**ked Danzo into a wall.

While Danny doubts that the Third Hokage had approved Danzo hi-jacking him, he couldn't see how the elderly man could think that somebody like that bastard wouldn't take advantage of the situation as it was. It had given the seven year old a headache trying to sort through the various layers of genjutsu to find the ones he needed to fake. The halfa is particularly glad that none had ever made a large fuss about his pauses, they likely figuring it to the fact that the mass of genjutsu was 'warring' with him.

_But now, if I ever see that creep again, I won't haste to blast him. That man is a cancer, it won't matter what kind of situation we encounter him under again, he'll be lucky if his back remains in one piece._ Danny thinks darkly.

He learnt one important lesson from his encounters with that man and it's showing mercy to those without compassion is worthless as they'll find ways to make you regret it. Second chances were all well and good but there should be a limit to it as well. _Some people just won't be redeemed, who think they know best. Danzo is just an example of that._

As noon arrives, they finally decide to find a place to rest. It takes a bit before either of them is ready to move on. Naruto seals the garbage upon a fallen branch before transforming into an eagle. He only takes to the air once he's invisible, knowing that his dad will continue on their westward direction, although at some point they'll begin to go a bit south as they were aiming for the famed sea ports of Wind Country.

They needed to get away from the continent for a while and that's as good a place as any to find a ship or buy a ship to take them away from these lands. _There's got to be another continent out there just waiting to be explored._ The boy going by Mizu thinks to himself while the terran below slowly changes while he's flying above it.

T ( = ] - N

_Well old man, saying 'I told you so' just doesn't seem to cut it._ Jiraiya thinks after reading the letter a third time. _They should have been tipped off when Mizu seemed affected by all those genjutsus. Honestly, if the kid's unaffected by Yamanaka family jutsus, what hope would genjutsu have?_ The toad hermit mentally shakes his head at that, wondering about the time frame of getting appointed the head of a clan suddenly means the person stops using their brain.

_Maybe it happens when they're admitted onto the council, after all, Naruto is an official a clan head, what with having a son, and yet, he's bright enough to plan an escape no matter how increased the security had become since the time of the graduation exam to the eve after it._ He reflects. _And I doubt using Mizu's bloodline limit played a large part in the escape too._

"Only wait to find that out is to find them." Murmurs the author of a certain series of books. "Well, they certainly couldn't have gotten that far, still likely in Fire Country." Jiraiya muses, tipping his head up to look up at the sky.

The toad summoner does note the eagle soaring over the road side stand but since it doesn't move to land, dismisses it out of his mind as the bird likely on its way elsewhere and is circling to get its bearings. With a sigh, Jiraiya looks back down at the letter before folding it up and pocketing it, he's got a bunch of spies to speak with about locating his godson and his great-godson.

Soon enough, Jiraiya is on his way after paying his bill and the eagle long since gone.

**To Be Continued . . .**


	132. Undoing Time: InuYasha

I don't own InuYasha.

**- o 0 o -**

The night of the New Moon has passed and Inuyasha's demonic blood once more takes hold, transforming him back to his regular appearance. Black hair pales and begins to shorten while the rest of his body begins to become covered in silvery fur that stopped growing after a few centimeters. His skull stretches and narrows until his head once more is that of a canine's own, complete with upright, pointed ears upon his head.

The soles of Inuyasha's feet thicken into paw pads while his legs alter so he's walking upon the tips of his toes with blunt claws upon each toe. The palms of the half-demon's hands darken but remain predominately human with sharp, almost claw like nails tipped upon each finger and thumb. Shoulders widen but also narrow a bit, allowing Inuyasha the option of running upon all fours which is made easier with longer arms.

With a sigh, Inuyasha looks away from the stream and his own animalistic reflection. Once the sling containing food, a water skin, and his father's demon rat furred kimono along with a few other articles of clothing that he wears during the nights he's human as cloths tend to rub against his fur, causing him irritation.

That's not to say he goes about naked while in beyond the nights of the New Moon, only that Inuyasha wears a bulky shorts that stop before his knee. While it does cause irritation, Inuyasha had learnt to ignore it as its only in one spot on his body. He just knew that his mother would be disappointed in him concerning his lack of concern with wearing cloths to try and come across as a civilized person but Inuyasha just didn't think it worth while with his features on display for the whole world to see. He had even tried to wear a cape and a deep hood, only for people to think him a magic user or a infamous bandit.

It had been fifty years since that jewel had been seen and now it is scattered about the land. Inuyasha had once entertained the notion of stealing it from that priestess but thought better of it. It was clear that the priestess named Kikyo, wouldn't haste to kill those that come for the jewel, perhaps if he had been born 'prettier' lookin' he would have given it a go and seduced her but he isn't and as he is rather fond of life, he didn't give it a go. _I doubt she'd have bought my tale of being cursed by a dark priestess because I spurred her affections..._

_I'm getting old... falling pray to the desire of getting acceptance from short, lived beings._ Inuyasha thinks, ears moving backward and down upon his skull. _Next thing I know, I'm going to look forward to finding the 'one' to settle down with..._ The half-demon thinks to himself, snorting softly as he heads for the mountains where a wolf demon is said to possess up to two shards of the Jewel of Four Souls, that they increase the demon's speed.

Inuyasha can only hope he'll get there before somebody shows up to retrieve the shards from the young and hopefully inexperienced, wolf demon.

= + -

"What do ya mean he's gone? You're wolf demons and this is your territory! So where else does this guy have to be?" Inuyasha snarls at one of the remaining members of Koga's pack, towering over the very human looking wolf demons.

"Having us repeat it won't make him suddenly appear!" Shouts one of the wolf demons and with a growl, Inuyasha lets go of one of the wolf demons' vest and turns about face, marching off. The half-demon didn't know how to put into words his anger over this development, particularly the knowledge that at least two powerful person/s are struggling over the shards.

_Should I continue trying to get one of these shards? Or should I just give it up as a thankless and highly dangerous endeavor? Clearly the sides of this 'war' over the shards is already further along then I thought and both sides seem to possess resources that I lack..._ Inuyasha thinks to himself.

Growing tired of thinking, the half dog demon moves the sling so that the contains of the sling is resting by his chest and belly before planting the palms of his hands upon the ground. With a flicker of an ear, Inuyasha takes off on all fours, heading southward. The frustration within him ease, the act of doing something helps Inuyasha to relax and to simply enjoy the action of running and leaping about the mountain trails.

The thrill of the wind rushing through his fur, over his body, and when he's in midleap gives the half-demon the impression of flight.

= + -

A scent causes Inuyasha to stiffen and to scan about the tavern. With a frown, his elder brother approaches his table. "Inuyasha." Sesshomaru states upon sitting down at the table.

"Sesshomaru." Inuyasha replies with a slight frown. "What brings you here?" He asks, noticing that Sesshomaru is wearing armor, which is rather odd as Sesshomaru is more of a scholar then a fighter. "Since when do you wear armor?"

"Have you been having any strange dreams?" The full blooded dog demon asks Inuyasha after somebody brings a cup and a fresh bottle of sake to the table. The half-demon frowns as he pours his elder brother a cup.

"Nothing but fantasy." Inuyasha replies. "Or wishful thinking." He thinks to add before taking a sip out of his own cup. "You came all this way to discuss dreams? That's rather odd, particularly for you, Sesshomaru."

"Perhaps... perhaps not. Those dreams might be a sign that somebody has altered time, changing things." Sesshomaru says and Inuyasha frowns. "There are ways to do so and each have their instabilities that can allow those most changed by the act to collapse the new time line." His half-brother states before taking a sip of the sake.

An image of a more human appearing half-demon who's demonic features seem to be amber eyes, silver hair, and floppy ears upon their head. "If what you said about my recent dreams is true, then why would it be in our best interest to end this particular time line? What bits I have dreamed of our relationship suggests we are more often at each others' throat over something rather trivial, like a sword or over my mother." Inuyasha informs his half-brother.

Sesshomaru's eyes go to the cup of sake, which means that Sesshomaru seems to be aware of that. "There isn't much to be gained, restoring the time line. I rather not sport a collar and be under the whim of a emotional female." He adds before popping some shrimp into his mouth.

_I would be happier if someone else approached me about this. If it had been anyone but Sesshomaru, I would have called them crazy and that would be the end of it._ Inuyasha thinks to himself while eating more from his three dishes while Sesshomaru seems to be happy remaining silent.

"You plan to follow this path, do you not? To restore events to their original course?" Inuyasha finally asks as he finishes his cup of sake. "If you mean to do so, then I might as well aid you if only to keep you from getting beaten up. You're true self might be a fighter but as you are now, you'll fall before a holy man or woman as you lack experience to handle yourself in a fight." He says and his elder half-brother seems to relax slightly while a ghost of a smile appears upon his face.

_Just what have I gotten myself into I wonder?_ He wonders when his elder brother begins to outline the plan upon how they'll seek out to test the items to determine which of them are active and how they'll use them in order to correct the time line. Inuyasha merely smiles as his book worm of a elder brother details not just details of each items but also some of the myths that surround them.

**- o 0 o -**


	133. The Ghost and the Fox Ch 4: DP

I don't own Danny Phantom or Naruto.

**- o 0 o -**

_Interesting society we're getting ourselves into._ Naruto muses while glancing around the underground streets. Mizu and him wander about the animal underground city, Mizu in the form of a brown and white rabbit and Naruto himself in the form of a dull yellow/red fox complete with proper color details.

_A rabbit? Seriously? I would have thought a cat or maybe some other kind of pet of the meat eating variety._ The eldest of the two muses while stopping to glance into the window of a bakery.

The window display of the bakery is that of a manor house surrounded by forests and a river with some ducks. It baffles his mind about why a bakery would sport such a thing. "Huh, can you believe that's edible?" Mizu says and Naruto glances over at the current rabbit in startlement but nods his head as it makes an odd kind of sense considering the shop.

"I'm kind of curious about the seal that encircles the cake." The blond adds as an after thought, already heading into the bakery. The bell over the door tinkles merrily but none come to greet them, which could mean that the owners want to give them a chance to look around.

Mizu moves to browse the counter of glass that displays more sweets while Naruto tires to get a closer look at the seal ring that circles the cake. Though unable to move the display around to see the rest of the seal ring, he could guess how the rest goes. With a flicker of his tail and ear, Naruto moves to study the rest of the displays and finds yet again, more of those seal rings.

"May I help you two fine beasts?" Asks a female tanuki coming to the front. He could only guess what a sight they make or perhaps a more common sight in this society.

"Your seals seem to be rather uniform in nature. The seal master that did this must have a very steady hand." The current fox states and the tanuki hums.

"Yea, usage of stamps in the art of sealing is not a popular way most beasts like to create them, but for a business beast such as myself, it's the only way to be sure there isn't a mistake in making them when we use them as much as we do to preserve our creations for display and for transport." The bakery owner states. Mizu glances at him but Naruto just motions for his adopted son to give the tanuki his order.

When they leave, he began to look for book shops or a library as its clear that this society of talking beasts know how to use chakra and have been making head way into the art of seals. "We're going to be sticking around here for a while, aren't we?" Mizu asks upon their fifth visit to a book shop to browse their inventory.

"I guess the confinement of this place is getting to you?" He asks the rabbit. _Or should I say that you're feeling ready to explode out of that form?_ The current fox mentally corrects but doesn't say it simply because there are just too many sharp ears about to overhear such a private conversation.

"You're the one use to this kind of thing. Me? I like having the wide open sky above my head." Mizu states while kicking a tiny pebble with his altered feet.

"Would it trouble you if we do spend some time in this place? Or should we leave, giving you time to grow use to it until we come upon the next city?" Naruto asks as he realizes that if Mizu doesn't want to remain down here in this particular form, then perhaps they should move on when they wake. "I won't force you to tolerate something that makes you uncomfortable just so I can study."

Mizu sighs and just shakes his head. "No, we can stay, it's just that I'll be spending more time on the surface then down here." His adopted son states. "This place... It just touching some deep part of me which makes me uncomfortable."

Naruto disguised as a fox feels his ears move backwards while his tail whips back and forth. _So those old memories of his take in things but doesn't give out information._ He thinks while frustrated on Mizu's behalf and wishing he had the skills needed to aid Mizu in breaking through those blocks.

"Just be careful leave and returning to this underground city, will you? I rather not find out you've been made a meal of by some human." He says to Mizu, hoping that it reminds the younger to remember to change back into his current disguise upon returning to his side.

Mizu nods and he feels his body relaxing, his ears move up from their flatten position upon his skull. "Come on, let's head back to our room in the visiting quarters so we can eat some of treats we bought from the bakery." He says, moving to place a pawed hand upon Mizu's cloth covered shoulder. He tries to smile while sporting the features of a fox.

Mizu nods and take the lead, it would take them a while before they get to the room. Along the way, they found more and more beasts going about their business. _Must be because they're nocturnal types._

] - N

The halfa didn't know how to spend his time as Danny didn't want to assume a Henge to wander around the city upon the surface. He's currently floating about in his ghost form, mimicking one of Naruto's age group typically does, staring up at the sky to do some cloud watching. _I miss playing video games. Watching movies too, though I really miss the games._

Floating above the city, the teen turn child halfa hums a tune under his breath while tapping one of his feet. Arms crossed behind his head, Danny just lets his mind wander without thinking about remaining invisible. He's not really thinking about anything in particular and other then finding himself occasionally falling asleep from being bored out of his mind.

_Maybe I should grab a scroll or something to read, if only to occupy myself._ Danny muses and with a sigh, he rolls onto his stomach. He could use a snack and it wouldn't be hard to find some small time crook to possess in order to get a snack. He would love to rob them or make them appear more foolish then they are but they were trying to keep a low profile so he had to settle for small things like a meal or snack.

And so, the amnesic Danny Phantom slowly moves down to the ground to float above the heads of the population. It's slow going but finally, Danny settles on this guy sporting twin dragon tattoos, one on his back and the second on his left arm. He observes this thug for a bit and manages to spot at least four hidden throwing daggers beyond the katana resting upon the guy's right hip.

He waits until the guy is about to enter into a shop before taking possession of the guy. Smirking, Danny slowly wanders up to the counter, he stops occasionally to grab something seemingly randomly before reaching the counter. "Ring it up." He orders, being sure to throw in a sneer.

Soon enough, he exits out of the guy's body and takes off with the snack, leaving the tattoo guy slightly disoriented. He didn't go far in order to begin eating his snack. Once he's consumed everything, he tosses the garbage into the garbage bin before finding a hidden spot in order to Henge into the form of a rabbit before heading for an entrance to the underground city that chakra using beasts crafted far below the sewers of the human city.

Danny wanders about the underground city, observing the other beasts that are walking about the streets. The sight of mice, squirrels, rats, weasels, and other such critters walking about, it kind of makes him want to turn to say something to someone but there's nobody there. It's not the first time he's had that urge and Danny doubts it'll be the last time he'll have that urge. _One of these days, a name will come to me._

It doesn't take long to find Naruto as his adopted dad is in the library a block from the visiting quarters. "It's like you've created a book fortress." Is the first thing that comes out of his mouth at the sight of the two book towers on either side of Naruto the fox.

"Humm? Oh, no, a group were sitting at this table along with me. Most of those books belong to them." His currently disguise twelve year old father informs him. "These three books are what I've been using since I got here." The disguised Naruto explains while returning to writing something down in a note book from one of the two open books about Naruto.

"I think there's some manga here, if you're looking for something to entertain yourself." His adopted dad adds thoughtfully. He smiles before heading off in search for said manga section within the library.

] - N

"There just doesn't seem to be any sign of the brats anywhere around Hidden Leaf." Reports just one of the many squad leaders sent to search the surrounding area of Hidden Leaf. Lord Hokage sighs upon dismissing the ANBU.

Not even the famous nose of the Inuzuka clan have picked up the scent of Naruto and Mizu. The forests within a week's travel of Hidden Leaf haven't provided any trace of the pair. Mizu had only so much stamina and while it seems as though Naruto had broken through the various genjutsus woven upon Mizu, they shouldn't have gotten far with Mizu carrying Naruto.

It's clear that the dual had prepared their departure as little remains within the apartment. _Naruto shouldn't have the skills needed to vanish so completely on his own._ The Third Hokage muses, which means that perhaps he should take a look at Danzo and his operation.

T ( = ] - N

Ready to continue on to the city ports of Wind Country, Naruto checks over each of the storage scrolls, making sure that each are secure as well as color coded, he closes the pack before slinging it over his head and putting his arms through the straps. "Is your pack secure?" The blond asks the younger white haired boy sporting green eyes.

"I don't see it getting any more secure." Mizu says dry, crossing his arms across his chest. The blond hums and within seconds, there is now an eagle. Mizu turns invisible before taking to the air while Naruto himself leaps into the air. With a screech, the eagle that is Naruto raises up into the sky while flapping his wings, his legs moving to stay by his tail feathers.

The sun fully raises from the horizon as they put close to a kilometer between themselves and the city they spent three months in. _Well, at least we know which cities sport other such dual residences if we wish to vanish from human view if we ever run across a search party._ Naruto thinks to himself while flapping his wings a few times before stilling them from flapping, keeping them stretched wide and then after a few hundred beats of his heart, he would then flap his wings again for a short period, raising back up into the air before just keeping them out.

Though Naruto can't see his son, the blond trusts that Mizu is flying some where up front of him as unlike himself, Mizu's abilities at flying isn't a physical thing. _I wonder how far the hunting squads were spread? Do I have an entry in the Bingo book? If I do, it likely has something about me being a kidnapper..._

When Mizu appears for a few seconds before him and then vanish, the signal that it's lunch time. Naruto adjusts his course and heads for the ground. Once his talons are on the ground for about thirty seconds does the blond retake his original form, complete with the knapsack containing storage scrolls.

Mizu is already taking out some of the dry goods stored within that pack. He stretches and wiggle his slightly stiff body, after all, it's been three months since he's worn that shape and flown in the air. Naruto is glade to pig out on what's before him as he finds he is rather hungry, he hadn't been aware of how hungry he had been until Mizu did the signal for a break.

"You know, if you keep to a small form, I could fly us to the coast faster then what we're doing." His adopted son says and he blinks between bites, he considers the pros and cons of that action. _We could have done that from the beginning. But then, we wouldn't know about the chakra beast society or learn so many interesting jutsus they collect from watch human ninja battles._

"It has been a while since I've flown as a bird. I'm kind of out of shape..." Naruto admits and Mizu smiles a bit at his admission. "Although, I am kind of thankful that we hadn't thought this up or we would have missed out on the resource that the beast society can provide us." The blond adds while opening up a wooden thermos, the seals about it keeps the tea within warm while also allowing the bottle to contain more then its size would allow.

"It's not like ninja will seek us out while we're among those underground cities and out posts." Mizu muses. "But then, their Henge is just an illusion."

"It's good to know that you're as capable of physical transformations as I am, well, while you're sporting white hair at least." He says, smiling fondly over at his adopted son. "So, you have any more ideas you'd like to share?"

"Well, for one, we could always spend time on a forested mountain, cutting down wood, seal the logs away in scrolls, and then use them to build our own ship when we reach the coast. After all, you have that Shadow Clone Jutsu pretty much mastered, so it wouldn't take long to get the wood we need. We could also sell what we don't use for money." Mizu says and Naruto nods slowly, he hadn't thought about using those physical clones that way but it would save on a lot of things.

"It would give you time to make those plans for that engine you thought up to use instead of relying on sails or steam powered paddle." He says and Mizu nods, the now eight year old had been the only one to make sense of those books that were written in an alien language and set up to read from the left to the right instead of right to left.

"It shouldn't be hard to come up with something that can be powered solely on chakra. Specially since seals seem like a computer program of the universe." His adopted son, Mizu Uzumaki muses and he nods, he could see how that would be to their benefit.

As they finish up and seal the garbage into a fallen log, Naruto turns to Mizu and asks, "So... What kind of animal did you want to carry around?"

"How about you just do a sparrow? It's small and it would allow you to land on the ground." Mizu says before asking, "We'll stop at the nearest town or village to inquire about local mountains?"

Naruto answers, "Sounds good, although I'll leave the asking to you. It would do you some good trying to appear older then you are, especially as Hidden Leaf are looking for a pair of boys, not a pair of adults." With that said, the blond Henges into a sparrow, with a chirp, Naruto rapidly flaps his tiny wings to land on Mizu's shoulder.

Soon they're flying through the air, with both of them being invisible.

**To Be Continued . . .**


	134. Halloween Episode, My Style Part 7

**x 0 x**

There's nothing left within the discount bin that Xander could really use for his Soldier costume. No guns of any shape or gun parts could the teen find. _I knew I should have come when Wills and Buff wanted to come. There would have been more of a selection._ The supposedly too human member of the Scooby gang thinks while finding a collection of various plastic discards while he's searching for something to be used as a knife, broken stuff that should be toss into the garbage instead of put on sale.

Shaking his head, Xander notices the clock and with a scowl, he just grabs a few things roughly the same shape and size, he walks up to the counter. The plastic bits cost him a buck total but as Alexander Harris leaves the store, he slowly smiles as a rather interesting thought crosses his mind. _A little bit of superglue, paint, and it should work out._

- - - -

**Oct 31st**

Professor Harris blinks as not only does he find himself out of the lab but also within sight of rampaging creatures. It wasn't long before Alexander pats himself down looking for a cell phone only to find a prototype of the Escafil device resting in a lab coat pocket. "Oh, well, it's so good to know that I manage to have this on me but not a cell phone. I just know this is going to get me blackballed..."

The Escafil device pulses in his hand before glowing for about ten seconds and the light goes out. Shaking his head, Professor Harris of Alien Modification Division of Earth just pockets the cube before checking to see if he's got morph helpers on his cloths. Then, when he tries to morph into his crow, nothing happens.

"Damn it!" Cries Professor Harris and this causes another set of problem as the various rampaging monsters notice him. Much faster then he expects, Alexander manages to stay ahead of the incoming pack of odd beings. He focuses on his running and not what's going on around him until, finally, he just can't run any more.

Upon stopping and glancing around, Professor Harris finds that somewhere along the line, the little beasts' attention had strayed from chasing after him to finding something new to destroy. As Alexander catches his breath, it dawns on him that he's not as tall as he should be nor, as he moves a hand about his face, does he sport any facial hair as he had forgotten to shave over the last few days.

"Xander! Oh no, don't tell me..." Alexander blinks and glances up to find a rather young looking Doctor Rosenberge standing a few feet away. He's shocked at the red haired teen's outfit.

"Dr Rosenberge? What is going on here?" Professor Harris asks, although he doubts that this is the Rosenberge he's familiar with.

"Doctor? Really? Oh wait, ok, everybody's become their costume and we have to find Buffy! Also, could you pick up my body? I kind of left it on a porch..." Willow Rosenberge soon leads him to said body while he's trying to figure out what the red head means by people becoming their costume.

_This would be so fascinating if it weren't happening to me right now._ Professor Harris think while following the spiritual avatar of the teenager he is carrying. _Although that would explain why I can't morph into either of my morphs..._ Alexander thinks, he had tried to morph into his hyena morph but, like his crow, it was a no go. (Guess why his two morphs are a crow and a hyena to get a digital cookie!)

Alexander slowly shakes his head as he studies the various pictures within the Summer's house. The 'princess' seems to be rather pissy about not getting her way. The scientist finds that the spoiled, air-head is trying his patience as the woman clearly doesn't understand that they're safe out of view of the magical being rampaging about the town then trying to find a 'way' to return her home.

Professor Harris wonders if the teen's brain would be overly damaged if he just knocked her out to keep her from getting on his nerves. "Buffy." He jerks his head and quickly turns to face the man, for some strange reason, he is not happy to see the man. "I'm glad you're safe."

"Somehow, I doubt we're safe now that you're here. Did you remember to close the door when you entered?" He asks the guy in black. With a roll of his eyes, he walks pass the man to find that yes, the door is open.

Once the door is closed and a few seconds after some debate, he jams a door with a chair, he returns to the living room to find, unsurprisingly, the air-head fawning over the guy. _As long as she stops pacing._ He thinks as Ms Chase finally comes down from the second floor.

"Angel! Thank god you're here!" The spandex wearing teen cries and embraces the guy, which seems to annoy Buffy. "Everyone seems to be insane!"

He merely rolls his eyes and a soft thud comes from the kitchen, which causes him to smile slightly, glad that he ended one kind of situation before it arrived. _Hopefully, I'll come out of this with my sanity intact._ Professor Harris thinks as he finally opens a blank note book that he found and began to write in it, mostly mathematical jokes.

Then, Xander Harris takes the place of Professor Harris and he's not the only one as Buffy finally began to sound like herself. "Guess Willow and G-man ended the spell." He says before heading upstairs to check on Willow's body.

- - - -

**Two Weeks Later**

Xander blinks as he pulls out the blue cube from the borrowed lab coat. Noting the weight, it puzzles him and then he notices the heat that its generating. Wordlessly, he takes off the uniform clips and using a pin knife, manages to pop a covering to find a bunch of electronic stuff within.

Shaking his head, he sits down upon his bed as it dawns on him just what this could mean for him. Recovering, Xander puts the cover back on before clipping it to his shirt. It takes a few seconds but once each baggy article of clothing has a clip on it, he opens his window and within seconds, a gray tom who's name is Carl enters and meows at him.

It wasn't long before Carl allows him to pet him, the tom has been clipped and while the cat is purring, Xander focuses on Carl's fur and the muscles under it. As Carl recovers, the feline leaves viva the window and once the cat is out of his room, he closes the window and his door.

Taking a few calming breaths to help calm his excitement, Xander closes his eyes and focuses upon willing himself into the form of a gray tabby. Bones pop as Xander begins to shrink, he ignores the urge to look into a mirror, he didn't need to see his reflection to guess what changes his body is going through. The appearance of the cat's 'mind' means that his morphing is complete.

Meowing, Xander moves about the floor of his room before leaping onto his bed. A few tests later does prove that Carl is likely responsible for knocking down stuff about his room since if he in this form can reach those spots, then so could the tabby. Perched on a shelf, he studies the view with his tail lashing about as the feline in him doesn't like the scent of Carl, its similar to the feline's own only it lacks a certain something.

Shaking his head, Xander leaps from his position and once on the ground, focuses on becoming human. Upon returning to normal, he glances at the alien cube, he's summoning Professor Harris' memories and reviews them as he comes up with pros and cons about this ability.

In the end, he heads out of the house, being sure to add clips to his shoes, he has a general idea of where to go to acquire more animals without visiting the local zoo. His mind recalling the memories of flight that Professor Alexander Harris processed when it came to his crow morph.

_I just might acquire a Harris Hawk... After all, I am a Harris._ Xander thinks while heading for the local animal shelter in hopes that they're still open.


	135. The Ghost and the Fox Ch 5: DP

I don't own Danny Phantom or Naruto.

**- o 0 o -**

_"__I-wish-that-Tucker-and-I-to-be-sent-to-where-sixteen-year-old-Danny-is-as-well-as-a-way-to-come-back-to-our-world-with-Danny-in-toe!__"_

_"So you have wished it, so shall it be! Wait a minute, what was... Just what wish did I grant?"_

**- o 0 o -**

"Just what kind of wish was that, Sam?" One techno-geek (proud of it) asks upon materializing within a field not far from a road. Tucker glances around the field and sneezes before adding, "And I don't see Danny anywhere near here either!"

Sam sighs while glancing about, at the sight of a village or town, she begins to head for the road. "Well, he might be in that village over there, so let's get moving, the sooner we find Danny the sooner things can return to normal." She says and a few seconds later, she hears the sounds of foot falls behind her.

It takes them about twenty minutes to get to the village and when they do, they find the villagers wearing out dated cloths, which causes those natives to simply stop and stare at both Tucker and herself. They had slowed to take in not just the people that live here but also the buildings. "Did we go back in time or what?" Tucker wonders and she didn't know what to think of the cloths the villagers are wearing either.

Sam just presses her lips in a line while continuing forward in hopes of locating Danny as their friend should be somewhere close by or else they wouldn't have landed where they did. While they were both conscious of the villagers stares, neither Tucker or herself pay them much mind as long as they weren't going to confront them or run them out of the village. _Well, we could always shout out his name..._

They come across a rather large building that towers over the rest of the buildings. The sign seems to be in one of those Asian looking writings, not that Sam knows which country it appears to be. "Finally, some place that's got technology!" Tucker declares before heading inside, not that she could blame him as the window does show suck things as clocks and what appears to be parts to things.

A minute or two after Sam enters the shop herself, a twenty year old blond enters and greets them in what appears to be something like Japanese but it's not. "Well, that goes along with the sign, doesn't it? We're clearly someplace like Asia." Sam muses and this causes the, rather handsome man to look puzzled before shouting, "Mizu!"

An answering cry comes from somewhere in the back and the blond shouts something, there's an answering shout. It took a few minutes but somebody stands at the door, somebody that they hoped to see. "Danny!" Both Tucker and Sam cry out, if it weren't for the counter between them, they would have rushed forward to embrace their friend.

] - N

"Danny!" The amnesic teen who goes by Mizu these days just frowns at the name the two teens cried upon seeing him. He glances over at his father to find that Naruto just raises an eyebrow at him, which Danny answers with a shrug.

"Do I know you two?" The halfa asks curiously, after all, he had long since given up on remembering his life before Naruto found him in that forest little over ten years ago. _And now it seems, that past has finally arrived for a visit._

"How can you not remember your best/girl-friend/s?" The two shout, the girl in black saying best friends while the guy with the strange hat says girlfriend. That just causes him to become bewildered as he couldn't have had a girlfriend, they would have been, like four when they knew each other.

"I'm missing something, aren't I? I mean, how could I have had a girlfriend? We would have been, like, four years old when we parted." Danny states while his dad glances between him and the two other teens. "They say they know me." He says and Naruto's eyes light up.

"Ah, well, why don't I just go into the back to give you three some privacy?" While the other two seem to be whispering to each other, he could make out what they're saying if he wanted too, his adopted parent and him switch places. "Be sure to flip the sign to close if you three decide to leave the shop." The blond adds, to which he just nods.

] - N

"This isn't going to be easy." Sam states grimly, she does remembers the last time Danny forgot about her, that had been corrected easily with a wish but at this particular moment, Desiree isn't around so they can wish to correct this memory problem. "Remember how you two forgot about me that one time?" She adds and Tucker seems to wince as he recalls that situation.

"Man, this is so messed up. First, we couldn't wish him to come back, or when we did, we kept getting some other guy name Danny..." Tucker grumbles while Sam tries to resist the urge to bang her head against a wall or upon a counter top. "Just what is it you two wished for anyway?" Tucker asks her and she, honestly, couldn't recall it in perfect detail.

"Danny was complaining about the difficulties he keeps running into and I got tired of hearing about it. We made wishes, Danny wishing to be some place where his powers weren't too abnormal and I think I said something about him being a child or wanting to be a child..." She trails off before the black haired teenage girl turns to regard their friend and notices that Danny seems to have gone through some changes, just some minor ones like longer hair, a darker complexion, and doesn't seem to be as scrawny as he use to be.

_Wait a minute, what did Danny mean by us knowing each other when we were four?_ She thinks as she reviews what little their friend had said to them. She moves to face Danny, Sam notices that the blond has left but focuses on Danny. "What do you mean that we would have been four when we knew each other?"

Danny answers, "Well, I was five when Naruto found me naked in the forest. If what you say about us being friends is true, then we would have been four years old."

"You've been here for eleven years?" "You got turned into a five year old?" They cry out in disbelief but it does explain the minor physical changes Danny sports as he would have gone through puberty while eating another diet and likely experiencing a different life style. _As this world doesn't seem to sport much in the way of technology, which means not a lot in the way of pollution and more walking around._ Sam thinks while wondering just how firm those muscles were now...

"How can somebody change their age? I mean most of those who preform Henge jutsu just cast an illusion around them to hide their actual appearance. Even if you seemingly physically change your form, it doesn't really make you younger, it's just that you trick the world around you to make it seem that you're younger then you actually are." Danny says.

"Jutsu?" Tucker asks and Sam is reminded about Danny's wish, which would mean that there are people capable of using ecto-plasma as well. "What's a jutsu?"

"You didn't go through any Shinobi training, have you?" Danny asks, she watches as he crosses his arms over his chest. "What do you call those that manipulate energy and seem to summon the elements?" Her amnesic boyfriend asks.

"Typically, we would call those that use magic to be wizards and witches, but you use ecto-plasma as you're half ghost." Tucker says, coming through with the technical details. "It's why that energy you toss around is neon green in color."

"Half ghost? Does that mean I'm half dead? Everybody just assumed my abilities were just a Bloodline Limit..." Danny muses with a slight frown.

Then, Danny shakes his head and regards them for a second. "We didn't exchange names... The name my adopted father gave me and who I consider myself to be is Mizu Uzumaki." And Sam sighs but admits, that makes sense that if Danny didn't remember them, what were the chances he would remember his own name?

"You got adopted?" Tucker asks rather surprised by that, although she's just glad he didn't end up as a street rat. Who knows what kind of diseases exist in this world that he could have picked up from living that kind of life?

"Yea, Naruto adopted me and the leader of the village approved it, although they did try and dissolve it, we left before it could be official. I rather not wind up some mentally cripple who's considered a living weapon and being used as a breeding stud to improve various bloodlines or families." Danny states, his eyes flashing green and a scowl, though it's clearly not meant for them.

_Ok..._ Was all she could think of upon hearing that little rant, Sam gets the feeling she'll be outrage at a later date for somebody thinking of using her best friend and boyfriend in such a way. Recalling where that little rant comes from, she introduces herself and Tucker. "Well, I'm Sam Manson and this is Tucker Foley."

"Yo, dude!" Tucker says upon her introducing them. "And just remember, you're actual name is Danny." The techno-geek decides to add and their friend merely frowns, likely not feeling much attachment to the name Danny.

"Why don't we go up stairs and you can tell me about what's behind my memory block? Just let me switch the sign." Danny phases through the counter while still human and switches the sign.

Shaking her head, Sam wonders where to begin as well as wondering who the blond was. "What about the blond? Shouldn't you let him know about closing up shop?" She asks and Danny pauses.

"Oh, you mean Naruto? That wasn't him, that was just a clone. He's been gone since last night to go check the mineral wells. There's a small army of clones down in the basement, working on creating a expanding buildings using seals." Danny says.

"Wait, didn't you say Naruto adopted you?" Tucker asks and Danny nods. "But he's like, twenty years old..." Sam says.

"Yea, Naruto adopted me when he was ten, he's only five years older then I am... Well, at least I thought I was younger then him..." Danny admits and Sam can't help but wonder what kind of village would allow a ten year old to adopt a five year old...

] - N

_I wonder what Mizu will do now? I mean, this is the chance to find his actual parents..._ Naruto thinks, his clone had made a few connections about the two teens that appeared at the shop, particularly the dishearted they were upon Mizu saying something to them.

_Also, how did they know they could find us here? Do they know some kind of tracking jutsu that the shop seals can't throw off?_ The blond wonders while standing before one of the mineral wells, this one is slowly taking local elements within the ground and fusing them into really good iron ore that will become excellent steel for weapons for future commissions.

Breathing through his nose and exhaling out of his mouth, Naruto's mind begins to wander down the twisting paths of years past, recalling the ship they built after harvesting wood from a forested mountain. His shadow clones helped and when Mizu finally got around to creating more then four clones, work on that engine went faster since Mizu's clones knew what they wanted to do and thus didn't need instructions like his did. _I'm still amazed that none at that port ever wondered where our workers came from or retired to each and everyday._

It took a good four months for them to construct the ship but they did it. Once they had enough food sealed into storage scrolls, they set sail to the east and south. They would encounter islands that were inhabited by exiles from Wind Country or the children of exiles. They didn't stay for long on those islands, mostly because they didn't like the idea of having their throats sliced open or having their ship stolen.

When they grew tired of unsealing food, they would catch fish from the deck. In time, they would get to see a different set of stars. They didn't encounter much beyond thick coral reefs but by then, they applied seals to life the ship out of the water just enough for them to pass over them. They would soon learn that the reef bed they crossed had been purposeful created to keep raiding parties from where they originate from from reaching this nation.

Their ship was confiscated and they imprisoned, not that they stayed in the cell, within seconds of being left alone, Mizu phased them out of the old yet secure, sealed cell. They flew off after retrieving the scrolls and sealing the ship into one of them. They used Henges to move about that nation for a few years before they heard tales of a war torn land far to the east, beyond the lands they came from.

And so, with thoughts of settling down as they have grown tired of being hunted and wearing false faces, they journeyed in that direction, first viva flight and then using the ship. _It wasn't long to find a village close to the kind of region we were looking to settle. One with a panned out mine._ The blond thinks as he starts up at the next plateau where the next well is located.

With a flash, Naruto has been transported to the next well, this one fuses elements to create crystals, the crystal wells are new and are still experimental as they're mostly combining random elements to try and learn how to create the various gemstones. _And once we know how what that, we can begin trying to experimenting with seals in a whole new way._ He thinks smiling as he approaches the center of the well to take out the sampler in order to see the latest generation of crystals that this well has created.

T ( =

"I'm home!" He calls out in a sing song tone as he exits out of the room reserved for teleportation and summoning. It's been bit since he left to check on the wells. Naruto had also taken time out to do some fishing at one of the ponds that can be found about the mountain.

"You stopped to do some fishing, didn't you?" Mizu asks while phasing up out of the floor. Then a look of uncertainty flickers across his adopted son's face. "I think we kind of need to talk."

Naruto become rather sober upon hear Mizu's tone. "You want to go with them to see your parents." He says and Mizu smiles ever so slightly.

"It's a bit more complex then that, honor father." Mizu says and he just blinks at the currently white hair teen, wondering why Mizu decided to be so formal now. Within seconds, the white hair gives way to black and the glowing green eyes to simple blue ones.

Wordlessly, he gestures for them to use the office. Once they're in, he's sure to put up the security seals. Mizu begins to pace about the office while he walks over to sit down on the couch to watch his adopted son pace for a bit.

"You ever wonder where I got all of my knowledge from? I mean, I knew advance forms of math..." The younger of them says, trailing off. "Well, it seems I know why I have that block on my memory. I think either Sam or I wished for it."

"And Sam is?" He asks while puzzling out why anyone would want to block their own memory. "And what granted this wish anyway? A goblin or a kitsune?" Naruto thinks to add, trying to get Mizu out of this funk.

"Sam is the girl dressed in black, she's also my girlfriend before I woke here as a five year old and with that memory block. The one with the cap is Tucker, he's my other best friend and he wasn't the one to contribute to the wish that brought me here." Mizu explains and he blinks, mentally musing, _So Sam was in on the wish that brought you here?_

"Well, I'm from a different dimension and my powers weren't something that come down from my family. I am the first in my family to possess them, although an old buddy of my parents' was the first first." Mizu goes on to say in a bit of a rush. "And I have a way to head back to my home dimension, which will more then likely cure my memory block too."

"Oh and my actually name is Danny Fenton or Danny Phantom depending on my appearance." His adopted son says and he blinks. "But I don't mind if you continue to call me Mizu, I mean, it's not as though we'll see each other once I return home."

"Ok... Well, first off, I'd like to point out that you should know enough about seals to create the teleportation seal scheme. It shouldn't be that hard for us to keep in contact even if we won't be able to met face to fact. Second, if you can get sent here viva a wish, what's to stop you from coming back here viva a wish?" He asks Mizu.

"Well, from what I've learnt of Desiree, the seal option would be the safer then relying upon Desiree to cooperate so I can visit. Although, I'm not sure if chakra will work in my home dimension but I guess as long as it mirrors one here, we shouldn't have a problem." His adopted son admits.

Silence hangs between them for a few minutes. "You're always welcome to use the Uzumaki name. You'll always be family." He says to Mizu and the seemingly younger of them nods.

"That means a lot. It really does." The black haired teen says and he gets up to give Mizu a hug along with a pat on the back. "I doubt I'll ever forget about what you've done for me." The teen adds softly and he smiles.

"I can't imagine my life turning out to be as perfect as it is now without finding you that night. Who knows, I might have ended up a genin of Hidden Leaf and MIA shortly after." Naruto muses and Mizu snorts softly.

"Somehow, I keep imagining a cat landing on its feet whenever I picture you running into trouble." Mizu states in a dry tone and a few seconds later, they both leave the office.

"By the way, where are those two?" He asks curiously and Mizu replies, "They decided to see the sights and I think purchase some souvenirs. We'll probably leave tonight."

Naruto nods his head and they finally part ways, Mizu likely went off to check to see if he packed everything that he wanted. The blond can only hope that seals do function for Mizu no matter which dimension he's in as he really doesn't want to say goodbye forever to his only family he has at this point.

] - N

"Ok, that was worst then getting transported to that world..." Tucker says while looking rather green, Sam clearly felt the same way as she just nods. Not that it really affected him, not after the memories he has of using his clones to experiment with those various version of the teleporation seal scheme.

"So, your back." A voice rings out, one that belongs to a woman and Danny glances up to find the infamous wish granting ghost known as Desiree. "As you can see, I've been fairly busy since you and your friends have been away." The ghost says with a smirk, gesturing to the various things that circle about their position.

"You know, I really got to thank you for granting that wish, Desiree. Not only did I get a vacation but I also got some training out of it, which I'm rather eager to test out here at home." He says, it kind of sounded like the kind of thing his previous self would say and from the flicker of uncertainty, Desiree didn't seem that confident about whether or not he remembers.

And so, while Sam and Tucker recover, he moves goes about testing to see if he's capable of jutsus here in this world and if he is, then he'll get to see Naruto again. _After all, if worst comes to worst, I could just wish all these ghostly things away, particularly when I wish to have my memory restored._ He thinks to himself as he divides into ten, three of which will remain behind to watch over the pair of teens while the rest move forward to attack.

**The End**

To Readers:

I decided to end on a high note and before I ruin what I've already written. A lot of people seem to find this story, a cross-over between **Danny Phantom** and **Naruto** to be one of the best, I think that's what those of you who review are trying to tell me at least, and I would like to thank you for those reviews and hope you are not disappointed that I'm ending it here, like this. Hope to hear more from you, the readers, in the future!


	136. The Fog: Harry Potter

I don't own Harry Potter.

**- o 0 o -**

_That's not good._ Harry thinks while staring out side, taking note of a few stray animals that seem to be totally out of it. A few of the sparrows seem to have become rather large and beginning to sprout... horns?

He does a double take but the young wizard just stares unblinkingly as a squirrel's fur turns blue and the single bushy tail suddenly splits into two, though neither as fluffy as the original one. "I'm beginning to be thankful for the bars upon my window and the face you're unable to fit through them, Hedwig. I wouldn't know what to do if you began to mutant like those poor critters." Harry says while the snowy owl perches upon this wooden perch he placed before the window.

Hedwig clicks her beck and fluffs her feathers, Harry takes that as an agreement. "First it was that crazy house elf and now it's a mutating fog. What's next? Flying plants?" The preteen wizard wonders.

The snowy owls barks a bit but Harry's a little too busy watching as the few sparrows that he can see take on new colors while the feet alter while a second set of limbs come out of their chest. The birds' continue to grow larger, the becks altering so much that sharp looking teeth can be seen while the becks give way to a leather like hide.

Harry finally glances over to the squirrel to see what's going on with it. "Does that squirrel just spat out something green?" The young wizard wonders and Hedwig seems to make a kind of choking sound. "It's now the size of an ape... I sure hope I'm not going to be blamed for this..." The preteen sighs before glancing over at the repaired clock.

_They should be waking up in, like, three hours._ He muses as he finally moves to rest upon the bed, no longer in the mood to continue watching the mutative effects of the fog outside. Harry studies the shelf sporting the books his cousin have been gifted in the past, he couldn't fall back to sleep even if he wanted to and so, Harry spends the next few hours with his nose buried in a sci-fi book that's a collection of short stories.

"BOY WHAT DID YOU DO?" Vernon bellows after the front door bangs closed. _I wonder what a few breathful of the fog will do to him?_ Harry thinks while looking up from the book in his hands, his eyes going straight for the locked door as his overweight uncle comes thundering up the stairs while Dudley begins to whine about it being too loud for him to get any rest.

The various locks seem to only cause Vernon to become even more angry, which is rather ironic as his relatives who feel that there can never be enough secure locks to keep them from having to deal with him. _They can't blame me, they locked up my school trunk which has all my potion stuff in it as well as my school books. And I've only had the one year of schooling too, so I don't have any knowledge of how to produce this fog._ Harry grumbles to himself.

"Vernon! You're... you're..." He hears his aunt stutter but he tunes it out until she finally fainted with his uncle bellowing out his mother's sister's name. Harry spent the next bit imagining what kind of changes his uncle had receive, he comes out of it when he hears the tv blaring about news reports about a strange fog not just hanging around the house but throughout the town.

Hedwig barks something in alarm and the preteen moves to stand behind his owl to see what's wrong, only for his eyes to widen at the sight of the mutated creatures finally waking and bellowing. "Holy sht! You can't even tell what they were before..." Harry murmurs as this four foot, twin tailed, blue furred, three eyed thing seems to be fending off the advances of a pack of mutated sparrows.

The sparrows weren't as large as the ex-squirrel is, they stand about two feet tall and am little over three feet in length. They kind of reminded him of pictures of dinosaurs actually, only they still sport wings on their backs and are covered in feathers. Spiral horns grace their head, just after the eye ridge with what leather hide can be seen is a vibrant yellow.

The ex-squirrel then spats at the circling pack of ex-sparrows and he watches as the spot where the spit landed hisses and smokes. The pack chirps and hisses at the larger monster but it's the arrival of what likely had been a cat or maybe a hedgehog that ends the fight, for the new comer is not only covered in spines but managed to kill one of the ex-sparrows before the newly altered creatures knew what was happening.

He watches as the five foot tall, white and green marked thing makes short work of the ex-sparrow. Harry is rooted to the spot as he watches as the monster heads off, leaving discarded feathers and a few other things behind. There are screams as the neighborhood finally wakes up. It's not long before those human screams are followed by other sounds, like glass shattering or car alarms going off.

It's a bit before Harry realizes that he really needs a change of cloths as he finally becomes aware of something. _I guess I'm not use to this or numb._ The preteen wizard think and is more then glad to find that the locks upon his door were all unlocked so he can go to the bathroom to clean up.

A quick look down stairs confirms that none of his relatives were aware of what's going on around them. Harry also catches a glimpse of Vernon's now balded head. _I wonder if this is magically created or something else all together?_ He wonders as he walks into the bathroom with a change of cloths.

The Day Before . . .

Dudley found some package upon the ground that sported his freak of a cousin's name upon it. Quickly glancing around to be sure that nobody saw him, especially his parents, he picked it up and hurried to the side of the house to open it. What he found seems to be a Frisbee like metal plate, the center was thicker then the edges.

After a few minutes of trying to get one of the gems off of the metal and opening it, the 'big-boned' preteen just tosses it away, not carrying where it landed as he heads for one of the doors leading into the house. As he just hopes something is good on tv to stop him from being bored.

Upon landing, that metal disk's flat metal center soon begins a count down to midnight. The unseen note at the bottom of the box sports a picture of a very drunken group of thirty something year olds that include Susan, the 'Golden' Trio, and others who survived the Second Coming of Tom Riddle and a note that says, 'Toss into Death Eater Army and run like hell.'

As the magic upon the disk didn't detect any Dark Marks, it goes to its fall back activation to release a potion in the form of a mist.

Alternate Reality's Future . . .

"Merlin... what did we do last night?" Ron grumbles, not noticing that he had been resting his head upon Luna's belly or that he's got a few heads resting upon his own body. Various bottles of both muggle and wizarding drinks are scattered about while this strange floating stone slab hovers a good ten feet above their heads.

Flying brooms could be found leaning upon the various walls or upon the normal, wooden tables. A bunch of potion ingredients rest next to a cauldron that still has a few centimeters left within it. Various books are scattered about the room along with crumpled up notes and diagrams of various anchor spells which include wards of detection and sensory types for certain magics.

"Kreacher!" Croaks Harry upon his head hitting the floor and soon enough, the ancient appearing house elf appears with a rather large tray that sports hang over potions in each of the cups, enough for them all.

"Thank you, Kreacher." Hermione mutters when the house elf hands her a cup. The house elf served his master and his wife before the others.

"Merlin, what's that stench?" Neville wonders after downing the potion. "Did... did we brew a potion?" The master of the Longbottom family wonders upon noticing the cauldron resting upon the table that's to his left.

"Not sure... There's rune schematics over here." Susan says. Everyone within the room is up on their feet and after a few cleaning spells upon their cloths, they begin to take interest in their surroundings.

"Holy crap, it's pass noon!" Katie shouts and though everyone had drank that potion, they all shush the elder witch. Not that she cares as she just straightens her cloths before Appariting out of the room. Katie is soon followed by others, soon leaving Hermione, Harry, and George in the room.

"Huh, that's strange... Why would we create a mirror at the bottom of that stone slab?" George muses upon looking up.

Harry looks up and for a moment snorts at the sight of some monster moving towards this house. It's not until he sees the house does he curse but pauses. "That can't be right..." Harry murmurs as he really studies the house, the often setting of his nightmares. "Shouldn't there be... I mean, Uncle Vernon traded that car in..."

"That's Privet Drive?" Hermione asks Harry and the grown wizard just cocks his head to the side, rather confused about what he's seeing in the mirror.

"I would almost say that it is... Only... It's not how I remember seeing it last." Harry states and after a few minutes, the view moves to a hallway and he watches as a younger version of himself walks out of the locked room, he can see Hedwig perched upon a wooden perch but it's the sight of a very young version of himself that causes his jaws to open wide.

"That's you when you were twelve..." George notes while the 'camera' follows preteen Harry about the house. He gets a rather good view of a changed Vernon as not only is the uncle in the mirror now balded but also possessing fleshy tentacles instead of a bread or mustache. The other two members of the Dursley house hold look fine while a news report shows the town covered in a dense fog, the same they seen when the mirror had been showing them the outside of the house.

"That's the past..." Harry mutters but Hermione sighs.

"No, that's not the past, or to be truthful, not our past. I think we might have caused a split. Whatever we did last night, we made a large change that likely created an alternate reality that diverts from the time that fog showed up to what we're seeing now." Hermione says in awe and the two wizards turn to look at the adult witch, noticing That Look upon her face and just knew that they were in for a long lecture about something they don't really care about.

_Although, I'm rather curious as to how this will effect that world's Dumbledore's plans..._ Harry wonders thoughtfully while Hermione begins to inform them about theories concerning parallel dimensions and alternate realities.

Enjoy

To Readers:

I want to thank all of you who reviewed my previous story and I noticed a number weren't happy about the way it ended. One person noted that I developed the three young Hyuuga clan members but didn't follow through with more. I'll work on doing an epilogue of sorts for that one, featuring the Hidden Leaf side of things, hopefully I'll get it done sometime next week.


	137. Life Gift: How To Train Your Dragon

I don't own How To Train Your Dragon.

**- o 0 o -**

_"Legend tell of Berk once being held a stronghold of a dragon cult. For close to a century, this cult lived upon Berk preforming strange rituals and cultivating favors with the Gods in hopes of achieving what... nobody can say as no records remains nor were their any survivors to tell the summer traders what became of the cult."_

_"The settlement that the members of the cult had built decayed over the season and none attempted to settle the island until seventy years had passed after the destruction of the cult. The brave Viking who was leader of the expedition was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock I. Through the efforts of the scouts, they manage to drive the dragons that populated Berk away, the dragon colony had originally been started by the Dragon Cult that had settled upon Berk so many years before and the Chieftain of the time wanted them gone from the island before construction could begin upon the village."_

_"It is unclear if there had been a dragon nest upon Berk or if the dragons settled upon Berk during the seasons when they're not rising their young in the mist cover island home that no Viking has managed to visit. All that is known is that the dragons proved to be stubborn and continue to return again and again to Berk, raiding the new settlement which has caused the Vikings to take to capturing live dragons to use as in teaching the next generation how to defend themselves from the fire-breathing, winged reptiles."_

The six year old sighs softly but there's nothing more written about this Dragon Cult that first inhabited his tribe's island home. Hiccup's right index finger traces the runes on the cover of the book, feeling despair at the fact that he came to a dead end so quickly. His mom is suffering greatly this winter and the young boy just couldn't do anything to change it. With unfocused eyes, the child wonders if magic even exists since if such a mighty cult could vanish so easily, especially if they have been gathering the favor of the Gods for such a long time...

As the candle dies, the child gets up from the bench of the library, being sure to grab his cloak and to put the burnt out candle upon the fire place. The book he leaves upon the table and tightening the hood of the cloak, Hiccup opens the door, walking out into the freezing cold of the afternoon. The wind tries to push back his hood or open up the cloak, not that it works but the wind sure gave it its best try as the six year old fights to close the door behind him before heading out of the village to think about what it would be like to live without his mom around.

Slowly, the six year old son of the Chieftain, Stoick the Vast becomes more lost in his thoughts that he isn't aware of what's going on around him. Hiccup can't help but notice how hot he's becoming and with a few blinks, the child finds himself in a large cave with a pit of lava lightening up the chamber. "How did I get here? I don't remember falling down a hole..."

"There is much about magic people have forgotten about, child. It's as though with each passing generation, they continue to turn their backs upon it and walk away from it." A neutral voice says and the boy glances around the chamber but only finds a pair of glowing eyes standing down at him from a great height.

"Oh..." He murmurs not knowing what else to say. A huge dragon head comes down and the child notices how different this dragon's head is compared to the few that he's seen as not only is the head large enough to gulp him down whole, but likely a whole dozen villagers too in a single swallow.

The lava's light causes the scales to glow as the scales were prove to be pure white with light, pale yellow stripes along the jaw line. No teeth can be seen upon the muzzle, only snout spines in a neat row upon the top center of the muzzle. This dragon sports a number of pale brown horns that are long and spiral like that grow along the temple, each set getting longer more away from the eye ridge and more to the side of the head.

"What kind of dragon are you?" Hiccup asks with a touch of awe. While a little voice that sounds a little like his dad telling to back away and leave as quickly as he could.

"My species doesn't matter, child. What does is why you brought yourself here." The unnamed dragon says and Hiccup still can't tell if this dragon is male or female. "What is it that you desire, child?"

The six year old bites down upon his bottom lip, not sure if he should voice his concern about his mom dying before winter is over. He's scared of what his life would be like without his mom being around. Hiccup kind of knows that there's something is wrong about thinking such a thought, that he should just be concerned about what she's going through, but being just a child, Hiccup just...

"My mom... she's sick and it's so early in the season but..." Hiccup swallows slightly before adding, "A lot of people seem to think she won't make it through the winter." He feels his eyes well up with tears and he sniffles a bit while looking down at the ground, feeling ashamed for crying before a stranger.

"Yes, I can see how that would upset you. Losing a parent is never easy for one as young as yourself." The dragon says after a few minutes of silence in which Hiccup as used the cloak to wipe away the few tears that escaped and his slightly running nose.

"I don't want her to die but they're so certain..." He says and then finally adds in a small voice, "I know it's wrong but... I don't want her to die 'cause I'd miss her. I feel horrible about it..."

"Ah yes, you feel guilty to think about how your mother's death will affect only you and not anyone else. It's to be expected as you are only a six year old boy." The dragon says gently and he looks up into the blue eyes of the dragon, sniffling a bit as the mostly white scaled beast continues, "But to save a life, one life must end in turn."

"You mean that somebody has to die in my mom's stead?" Hiccup asks after thinking about it for a while and suddenly felt very ill at the very idea. "But... but I can't do that! I can't play God cause I'm not a God!" The boy just pales, suddenly not liking where this is going and if it's worth it.

"Oh, child, there are many different kinds of death, but you do have a point about you're not a God. This kind of thing is typically random, if your mother is to be spared from death then somebody has to lose something just as valuable as her life." The dragon informs him.

Hiccup's mouth moves but nothing comes out, his mind kind of gone blank. The dragon patiently waits for the six year old to recover. Hiccup bites his lower lip once more and something began to come to his mind. Deciding he has to know, he asks, "What if...what if somebody volunteers to have something valuable taken from them?"

"As it is given willingly, the price is not as... steep as it usually is but you must understand, few people are that generous of heart. Many prefer for others to pay in their stead." The dragon informs the boy. "It is in ones nature to want something without putting much effort into getting it."

He swallows as he looks above the dragon's eyes, kind of understanding what the dragon is telling him and knows that he is just like that. _Do I really want my mom to live? Should it really be somebody else to pay for her to live?_ Those kind of thoughts whirl about his head and the six year old begins to cry at the weight that seems to suddenly be upon his shoulders.

"I want my mom to live but I don't want anyone else to pay for it. Do you think that, maybe, I can be the one to die? It's not as though they can't have more kids if they're both alive..." Hiccup asks after he's done crying. "I always wanted a younger sibling..." He adds with a sniffle, his eyes are red and puffy from crying so much.

"If you are certain then walk over to that lava pool." The dragon says finally after staring seemingly into the very soul of the six year old and once Hiccup is standing close to the pool. The lava begins to move out of the pool and encircles him, much to his dismay but Hiccup stands his ground.

Slowly the lava begins to flow up from the base circle and once he's engulf in a sphere, his body seems to burn up. Within minutes, the burning overwhelms him and he blacks out to the smell of his cloths on fire.

**The End? Or the Beginning?**


	138. Life Gift 2: How To Train Your Dragon

I don't own How To Train Your Dragon.

**- o 0 o -**

A Few Thousand Kilometers South of the Barbaric Archipelago  
Ten Years Later  
Hiccup

Yawning, a grown gray scaled dragon's tongue curls up to touch the roof of the mouth, the dream that disturbed him fading away. The glow of dawn not yet bright enough to help in displaying the row of sharp teeth before the jaws close and the lips are pressed upon each other. As the dragon moves to get up to stretch out his tail along with his wings, the other three dragons begin to wake.

**"Morning, Stone."** The brightly colored dragoness purrs out while her head spines rattle as she shakes her head and neck. The she-dragon is just a few feet larger in the tail then Stone himself and comes from lands far to the southwest, a place of huge trees and rain. Along Flower's neck and back, special glads could be found, they often give off scents but when Flower is riled up, the glands can ooze a coat of poison. It's why Flower often eats foul plants. (Originates from South America and think poison tree frog for colors.)

**"Flower."** Stone states before turning to greet the other to the mated pair of White Dragons, who were on their way northwest the previous day. Both Flower and himself dwarf the pair, which likely is why neither made any hunger filled looks their way. The gray dragon couldn't see any difference between the two other then one is male and the other is female. He had only just met the two upon landing upon this stone island with Flower in tow and none of the four felt the need to find other sleeping arrangements, each of them are rather tired from their respective journeys.

Soon enough, the mated pair left while Flower and himself began to discus their travels since they left ran into each other, it has been two years since they have seen each other after all. Flower flirts a bit with him during their conversation, much to his chagrin but that soon passes as their conversation winds down, at which point Flower becomes rather sober.

**"Well, see you around, just as long as you stick away from the Barbaric Archipelago. Those humans are getting worse and from what I've heard, there's some kind of 'queen' commanding the local breeds into raiding humans for their raised animals."** The dragoness says to the gray.

That causes Stone to blink and to lower his back a bit while his tail raises up before thumping upon the ground. **"Really?"** The gray dragon asks, there's something very familiar about that region but he just doesn't recall where he's heard about it before. **"Why don't they just leave the region? Why stick around taking orders from a bossy draco?"**

**"Beats me but I would be careful if you keep going off in that direction. There's something wrong with those dracos."** Flower states. **"Well handsome, I'm heading home to see if anything has changed in the last decade. Take care, I wouldn't what such a strapping male such as yourself dying at the hands of a human."** The brightly color dragoness purrs, touching her nose with his before taking flight.

Stone watches as Flower heads directly west, likely going to turn straight south at a later date, likely when she reaches the eastern coast of that land. He's visit a lot of places and the lands lacking cities is among his favorite places to visit. Although, Stone didn't try to visit the rain-forests of Flower's home for he rather not find out if other females of Flower's species would consider him 'handsome', he has enough trouble coming from just one member of that breed.

_I wonder if Berk has changed much since I lived there..._ Then the dragon typically called Stone blinks as he wonders where that thought came from. After all, he originates from some place the humans call Spain, he's never visited this Barbaric Archipelago in the seven years he's been nomadic.

Shaking his head, Stone shoves that aside to begin looking for breakfast as he is beginning to feel the pangs of hunger. Stretching out his wings, the now lone dragon takes to the air in search of a school of fish. Although, something within him has already decided to head for this Archipelago regardless of what the dragoness he calls Flower has told him.

Berk  
Month Later  
Stoick

Watching young Ripple, his six year old daughter run up to Rotpelt and begins chatting up a storm with her friend, just hearing the two giggling causes Stoick to smile at the action. With a slight shake of his head, the chieftain continues on his way after kissing his wife upon the cheek. The sun still rising, lighting up the Viking settlement that had recently been attacked just hours before by dragons.

Shouldering his pack, Stoick heads for the docks to set sail once more for the dragon's nest. Other men and women were also setting out for the docks, each carrying their own packs upon saying goodbye to their loved ones. In his brother's company is his nephew, Snotlout, age sixteen. It is Snotlout's first voyage in search of the dragon's next although Snotlout had gotten through dragon training close to two years ago at age fourteen.

The sight reminds him of his first born, Hiccup who disappeared during his sixth winter. That winter had been hard on Stoick's family as they had thought they'd lose Valhallarama to winter sickness early in the season but instead of losing his wife, he lost a son. There wasn't even a body for them to confirm what happened to Hiccup, only tracks vanishing abruptly at some point out of the village. It's the not knowing what happened that hurts them the most as it still gives them hope that Hiccup could still be out there somewhere.

"Alright men! Let's keep this moving. The sooner we shove off, the sooner we return!" He says at the group holding things up by the ramps that lead down to the fleet of ships waiting for the final people to board. The warriors finally turn away from shore and walk down the ramp, not without the group shoving each other, clearly in good spirits, which is a good sign in his opinion.

Hiccup

Clinging to the cliffs under the dock, the gray dragon listen to the cries of the village as the ships depart. Cocking his head to the side, the unseen dragon moves slowly from his upside down position to the top of the cliff. He couldn't help but feel bewildered at the actions of the Vikings, he didn't question how he understood their language so quickly though.

_Why would their warriors leave? There was just a raid last night, shouldn't they remain to guard their village? What's more important then the safety of their home? Or their territory?_ Stone thinks to himself as he settles down on the ledge, resting his head down upon the ground while stretching out his forelimbs and unfolding his wings slightly.

Just letting go of his emotions, Stone's mind goes over his travels around the world. With a final closing of his eyes, it wasn't long before Stone's hide begins to display colors beyond just his typical dull gray. Allowing his heart to slow, the dragon falls asleep as he has nothing better to do until night falls which will allow him to fly away.

Week Later  
Ripple

Giggling, she scampers upon the back of the rocks while her current minders, Astrid and Ruffnut, the two young women seem to be cloud watching with their weapons resting over by the fallen, burnt log. Ripple jabs the stone with a stick while facing the group of her peers. "I, Princess Ripple, here by claim this mountain in my father's name!"

She goes on to add, "And I name this after my elder brother, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III! From hence forth, this mountain shall be called Mountain Cup!"

"Oh, come on, everyone knows your brother is dead!" Bilewedge snaps and many of the group agree, only Loomworm and Rotpelt remain silent.

"He's not dead! He's just on a world tour and he's suppose to be returning home soon." Ripple snaps. "He's also going to marry Astrid cause I know her and like her." The six year old daughter of the village leader adds.

"There she goes, engaging you to her brother. Sounds like you're in luck, a rich husband and the next leader of the village." Ruffnut muses out loud while Bilewedge and her get into a shouting match.

"She's young, she's allowed to pretend." The blond girl replies.

Hiccup

It's the shouting of human hatchlings that just causes him to sigh. Stone had been so close of sneaking off with one of the human books when he heard this group coming out of the village. The gray dragon panicked and leaned upon the few rocks that laying about, curling around them just in time for his hide to begin to take a rocky look to it. The poke from the end of the stick didn't help either.

_Whatever possessed me to make that deal with that Night Fury? Sure, it sounded so easy to steal one of their books in broad daylight. Sure, their fighters are gone, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous._ The gray dragon wonders, it's not often that he meets somebody who irritates him and is male to boot.

_Oh great, another grown one._ The current dragon pretending to be a rock thinks as he hears heavy foot falls. "Heya Fish! Come to join us in watching the rugrats?" One of the grown Vikings hollers, which causes the hatchlings to pause in their pointless argument.

"Sorry but no. I don't suppose any of you guys have seen my journal?" The newly arrived Viking asks and Stone feels his heart begin to race as he gets this notion that he knows where this 'journal' is.

"Nope, haven't seen it about, right guys?" And the hatchlings murmur their agreement. He pulls the book close to his chest while trying not to allow his tail to lash out.

A few seconds pass and the hatchlings begin to climb up onto him. They shoved each other, each trying to claim him. While the hatchlings do that, Fish finally speaks up, "Ah guys? Don't you think that rock pile is a bit strange?"

_Oh deer scat! I was hoping they won't notice._ He thinks, opening up the eye facing that direction slightly. "What you talking about? It's just a pile rocks that somebody dumped over here."

He is relieved that their weapons weren't within reach as gives him a chance to get away before they get them in their hands. The hatchlings would run before his slightly opened eye, obscuring his view of the grown ups. Stone could hear the change in pitch as Fish says, "Oh no... oh no, oh no no no! Get down form there now!"

The two laying on their backs sit up and glance to where Fish it looking. It seems that his tail swept one of his tracks a little too heavily. Seeing that the jig is up, he shakes his whole body, sending most of the hatchling off of him. He bellows, **"Oh scat! Get out of my way!"**

All but one get off and he's already bouncing off into the forest with the single hatchling clinging to his back, their hands gripping his wings. "Weee! This is fun!" The hatchling cries, he trys to throw her off by spreading his wings.

"Ripple!" The Vikings cry out and hearing them each up, Stone finally leaps high into the air. "Get back here, you devil so I can chop your head off!"

**"Oh yea, I'll get right on doing that, right after I get my mind fried by the so called Queen."** The gray grumbles to himself while that hatchling clings to his back viva his wing joint. **"Humans..."** He grunts while still holding onto the book, heading for the other side of Berk to see that Night Fury to get some answers concerning this area.

Then, his unwanted passanger's grip loosens and the hatchling begins to scream. With a groan, Stone quickly flips about to catch the human with his free forelimb. With that done, continues to raise high into the air while circling above the island, soon, he heads for the spot farthest away from the settlement, where the Night Fury should be waiting for him.

"Wow... so that's what Berk looks like from way up here..." The hatchling says, reminding the gray, hornless dragon of its presence once more. He merely sighs at the reminder, although he would rather have had the hatchling bucked off before he took flight as he didn't want to deal with humans, no matter their size.

Stone lands, being sure to cushion his landing viva his back legs then his front ones. As he puts the hatchling down as gently as the dragon could, the hatchling sways and lands upon the ground as the legs gave way. "Oh... My head is spiny." The hatchling murmurs.

**"You kidnapped a hatchling?"** The lounging black dragon says in disbelief and Stone growls softly at the much smaller hornless dragon while stepping over the fallen hatchling. Stone tosses the book upon the ground before the Night Fury.

**"It was clinging to my wing! What was I suppose to do? Wait for it to get off to take off? I don't know about you but I like my head where it is!"** Stone snaps at the Night Fury.

**"Well, what good is having the hatchling? And what do you plan to do with it?"** The Night Fury asks and the larger gray hunches over with his wings raising slightly off his back while remaining folded.

"Hiccup!" The hatchling cries upon wrapping its arms about his tail. Before Stone or the Night Fury could react, the larger gray is engulf in light and when it fades, a lean, muscular sixteen year old with wild red highlighted brunet hair reaching to his lower back, who's also very naked.

"**What just happened?**" Hiccup and the Night Fury wonder out loud at the same time. Hiccup speaking the Viking language as he can no longer possess a dragon's vocal cords and thus can't speak in his typical manner as Stone.

**To Be Continued . . .**


	139. The Ghost and the Fox Ch 6: DP

I don't own Danny Phantom or Naruto.

**- o 0 o -**

**Epilogue**

_Hard to believe that just yesterday, Naruto and Mizu where here and then, poof, they're gone._ Hinata muses as she tours the apartment where they had once lived. There's nothing remaining in the place, not even the tub.

Relations between the three young Hyuuga members and the two Uzumaki had become strained. Mizu especially had acted differently from the beginning of the school year. Not that either of the three had a chance to look into why they were acting different, not when they were occupied by what's going on in their own lives. The eldest daughter of the Hyuuga family head stops by the entrance to the apartment, various teams have examined the apartment throughout the day and now, evening is falling upon the village.

As she walks down the steps, a small explosion happens on the step before her and when the smoke vanishes, it reveals a box with her name on it. Glancing around, she picks it up and hurries on to a seclude spot to open it. Ducking into an alleyway a few blocks from the Uzumaki apartment building, she using a bit of chakra to slice open one of the ends.

Inside of the package is a bunch of thick file folders, one of them is entitled Root Division. It wasn't long before Hinata's eye widen within reading the first few pages and looking at some of the pictures that go along with them. She puts them back into the folder and moves onto the next, this one with Naruto's name on it.

And on it goes, each folder containing secrets that would likely see her executed if she ever breathed a word of just a hint of any of it. Hinata turns to gaze up at the fourth head, her mind a whirl concerning her crush's family tree, or perhaps to be more clear, the Uzumaki family tree. _Why reveal the existence of the Kyuubi in its third host?_

Grim faced, Hinata does what this little note tells her to do concern how to hide the files. It isn't easy drawing on her arm as it's got curves to it but the ink that she unsealed worked well as it's rather thick and lumpy so it clings to her skin. A bit of chakra later and it seemingly transforms into a tattoo. Holding the file folders over the site, shy heiress activates the seal and the files vanish.

Once that is done, she puts her arm back into her jacket and heads home, her mind occupied by what little she's read. _At least they have valid reasons for leaving. I don't think I'll ever look at the village the same way, let alone Lord... The Hokage._ The girl with pearly eyes thinks, she can think of only two people she can trust and she hopes they'll have an open mind but then, Mizu's abilities pretty much ensures that what files she has are real and they'll believe so as well.

T ( = ] - N

_Three months, three whole months, over sixty days and still nothing! Bumpkiss!_ Jiraiya thinks while sitting at a bar, nursing his fourth bottle of chilled sake. Normally, he would have preferred to leave the drinking away woes to Tsunade but the man just couldn't think of a more fitting setting to ponder how to find the pair of wayward Uzumaki boys.

It's clear to him that the two had managed to gain access to various forbidden parts of the village, how could they not when one of them can not only turn invisible but phase through solid objects? That there should have been enough for his ex-teacher to consider how strongly a bad idea it would be to make the pair feel threaten in any slight way by the village. Who knows what kind of documents they left with!

_I'd almost wish they would have tried to blackmail the village into leaving them be, at least there would be word that they're around. I could even backtrack where the letter came from._ The pervert novel writer thinks while staring down the neck of the sake bottle. _It would almost mean that they're looking for a place to settle, preferably in a city, be it in another country doing mercenary work like typical missing nin..._

Most normal rogue ninja on the run from their old villages try their hardest to make a living using the only skills they got, ninja ones. Depending upon their ranking, some are not as actively pursued as other as those of low standing typically don't know a lot of their chosen profession or have the connections an older ninja could make to get access to or outright steal higher class of intel. Not only were the two boys barely ninja but they likely learnt a lot of the skeletons within the village's closet.

That causes him to frown as he pauses to consider that thought. _Perhaps... just perhaps, that's why they've decided not to send any kind of message at all. They know what kind of lengths the village goes to keep those secrets. They likely had free access to any part of the village, why not the mission library?_ That thought chilled Jiraiya as it would mean that if it were true, they would have had time to plan for the typical tactics Hunters use as well as the unusual ones as well.

_They distanced themselves from those three Hyuuga within days of that meeting with the old man... Likely to protect the three as well as freeing up time to pursue the gathering of intelligence and perhaps, begin learning jutsus sealed or squirreled away._ The more he began to look at it not as a spur of the moment fleeing but the end result of months of planning slowly causes him to despair at the fact they may never catch the pair while also giving him peace, as it would mean that they're beyond the reach of the village.

He raises his bottle of sake in silent toast of the pair's good health and long life before gulping down the remainder of the bottle.

T ( = ] - N

The destruction of the village didn't come as much of a surprise to either of the trio of Hyuuga. For the pass six months, they had been waging a silent war with various fractions within the village. They had gathered allies and created enemies as well but then, they had a good two years to plot their course from not just the files left behind by the two Uzumaki and verifying the information within viva locating and spying upon those hidden divisions of their home, but through interrogation of various spies and double agents.

What happened during that Chuunin Exam just shoved the fact that their village is on the decline and not by outside forces but viva internal threats, namely Root. They had fed the Intel of the invasion to Root agents but that group had done nothing to protect the village. The seals they had managed to put up in their bunkers alerted them to when they were in use and how long. They had been in use minutes before the invasion began and stopped being in use when night fell.

_Of course, father didn't seem to care about how Danzo functioned, only that the man had enough people backing him politically._ Hinata thinks, her hand going to the thin scar that could be found just under her jaw. A gift from her father before they put him down and put those various seals upon him, turning the man into their puppet. _Of course the elders couldn't live forever. And such a tragedy they died before the village rebuilt itself._

"We did pretty good work on those dummies. Pein didn't even noticed the illusions upon them." Hanabi remarks and she turns to look at her younger sibling.

"The Yamanaka's jutsus work surprisingly well when paired with the 'art' of puppetry." Neji agrees. "It's surprising that Sand ninja haven't advanced their art much in that particular direction."

"At least the final rot of the village is out of the way. The problem will be rebuilding, particularly consider the kind of attack that caused that kind of damage." Hanabi remarks as she waves her hand over to the rather large gaping hole at the center of the walled village.

Hinata listens to the conversation between Neji and Hanabi with half an ear. While Neji and Hanabi had focused upon genjutsu and ninjutsu, she had focused upon the fuinjutsu. It had been rather difficult to get her hands upon the various scrolls and books that detail this particular branch of chakra art but it had paid off as she had not only figured out a way to take an enclosed space and enlarge it. She's gotten rather good at this and has plans to see if she can't alter how time flows within such a space as well, but for now, she is just listing various seals that they should use upon all future buildings of Hidden Leaf.

For truly, the time has come for them to make use of new innovations, particularly as neither Uzumaki showed up to defend the village. _Not all that surprising, really. They're not even living upon the continent any more or else my network of sentry seals would have picked them up._ Hinata thinks, although mentally admitting that there are some places none the them had visited and thus there weren't any sentry seals totally all over this land of warring countries.

_I wonder if we should wake Jiraiya? Sure, his body is destroyed but we that seal we slipped on him did store his soul. It wouldn't be that hard to insert it into one of our more durable puppets. He is a seal master and it would be nice to have somebody to act as a sounding board for my future projects..._ One of the leaders of the Hyuuga clan muse while the wind plays with her bangs.

For the first time, the fear that has weighted her down since finding those files seems to have vanished as had the wondering about whether or not Naruto and Mizu had acted correctly by fleeing the village, the continent.

_Perhaps one day I'll take some time to search for them and learn what kind of life they have lead since they left? Not right now, but six or twelve years? Sure._ She thinks with a slight smile as she turns to gaze at the head of the Fourth Hokage, the father of Naruto Uzumaki and Grandfather of Mizu Uzuamki.

There's still trials ahead of them but at least they'll be able to focus on them instead of waiting in the shadows, afraid to act under the light of the sun.

**So Ends the Epilogue**

To Readers:

As promise and I hope this clear up Hidden Leaf's ends as well as provide more character development of the trio of Hyuuga.


	140. Portal Maddness 4: Naruto

**I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, How To Train Your Dragon, Inuyasha, or Naruto!**

**- o 0 o -**

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, a twenty-something year old woman allows the book in her hand to drop to the table while the overhead lights of the library continue to hum dimly to Sakura's enhance ears. She's managed to pass off her floppy ears off as earmuffs, which isn't that unusual considering the season. She's just glad that there weren't many people within the library as then her headache would be so much worst as not only would she be listening to them but also smelling them.

_If only I hadn't ended up in that program, I might have returned home within days._ Sakura thinks sourly while finally moving her hand from her nose bridge, a bit of make up covers the gloves' fingers. Slitted eyes regarded the make up upon the index and thumb before wiping it upon her jacket, she re-frames from taking out a pocket mirror to see if her make up got smeared in anyway.

Upon escaping from the lab, Sakura had been horrified to find the scaly humanoid staring back at her within the mirror to be herself, she nearly took a knife to her throat or wrist. The scales were pale brown with darker patches of brown markings about her cheeks and forehead. Her pink hair had remained upon her head but had grown down along her spine, ending midway down her back in a point, which cause her irritation when she wears cloths.

It had come as a dull surprise that what had once passed as her breasts were pretty much gone, it's why so many people pin her as a man instead of a woman. Not that her temperament helps clear the matter up or her altered vocal cords, giving her a more neutral pitch to her voice as well. Nor did it help that her pelvis is narrow like a man's either...

Sakura knows that a reptile had been used on her but how she managed to keep her hair or sport those floppy ears mean that some mammal was used as well, although that doesn't really explain the overall maleness that she sports through no fault of her own.

With a groan, she pushes the book away, she's been researching in this library for over a month and still, there's no information concerning building a machine that acts like a conduit between the Alchemical forces of this world and a normal human. She's been searching for some hint about this machine once she managed to get things to hide her alterations.

Pressing her lips together, Sakura gets up and leaves the building to head to a secure location in which she can meditate through that information download that the Gate gave her. _If I can't find it in books, then perhaps I can find what I need in that internal collection._ She thinks, as she's not human enough to preform Alchemy that doesn't mean she can't find somebody to preform it on her behalf, the trick would be keeping that somebody from learning her status as a chimera and, sigh, a woman.

0 o - o 0

With a yawn, Naruto leans back on the branch upon which he is resting. Below him and pinned to the tree is the most unusual looking person sporting long silvery white hair, tiny floppy ears upon the top of the head, and sporting pronounced fangs and nails that seem like claws. The guy's cloths didn't seem to be in bad shape, all things consider as a good five years had passed since the displaced demon container had witnessed the strange event between the local priestess and his adopted son, Inuyasha.

"The question is, should I destroy the arrow or should I leave things to take their course?" He wonders out loud, not caring who or what hears him. Naruto looks up at the sky, remembering the woman who granted him a home upon him finally managing to return to his human frame of mind and recalling the trouble she went through because of her young boy who's father died the night of Inuyasha's birth.

Back then, he still sported certain animalistic features even in human form. Within days, the village already considered that they had become lovers but they never were, although within two years of knowing the pair, he proposed marriage to Izayoi and talked her into it for Inuyasha's sake if not her own as he had come to consider the brat something like a nephew/son by then. It took two seasons but Izayoi did agree to the marriage and thus he became moved from unofficial guardian position to that of Inuyasha's official guardian.

"The question becomes should I do so? Clearly this is a learning experience but on the other hand, any demon or human could slice his throat..." Naruto mutters softly. _It's a toss up, he's an adult and thus doesn't need me always hauling his ass out of these kind of things but he's in danger as long as he remains sealed..._

He could keep guard of his son while waiting for the spell to wear off, another option is to end the spell now and give his son a lecture about pursuing power, or he could cut the bark about Inuyasha and take the two away to a safer area where the spell can wear off without his son being totally defenseless. It never crosses Naruto's mind to just take off and leave things to fate.

"I wonder how deep the arrow head is in the tree?" The demonic chimera of an owl, weasel, and tiger muses before using his spiritual energy to 'feel' the arrowhead out without moving from his seat upon the branch.

0 o - o 0

The scaly beast that the locals call **drage**, not that Sasuke knows the translation of it would be in his own language. Mostly, he just associates the word with a creature that is large, covered in scales, flies, and, oddly enough, breaths fire. Sure, different varieties of these **drage** exist and have their own breed name but he never bothered to learn them as **drage** is good enough for him as he doesn't care much for the details, only that for every one he kills, the more the locals respect him and don't treat him as some-kind of servant.

What he lacks in brute strength, he makes up for in agility and successful battle strategies. Sure, these locals are tall, broad of frame, and rather fearless but some of their tactics always leaves the impressions that they want to die in battle instead of killing their foes, which seems rather Narutoish to his mind and often causes his mind to drift onto the subject of his blond team-mate, much to his annoyance. _Kill now, think later._

Shoving those thoughts out of his head, he goes for one of those that send tail spines flying as they struggle to get into the barn viva one of the side walls. The eighteen year old dimly is aware of the leader's scrawny, eleven year old son heading for the only blacksmith in town. Sasuke is kind of fond of the boy that they call **ælfsogoþa** or Hiccup, the reason might have to do with the fact that the boy is the one who typically forges his kunai but mostly, it's because the boy reminds him of himself.

_And there goes one of those self-burners._ Sasuke thinks while he 'dances' with the closest spine throwers. He's just glad that they lack eyes at the front of their heads as it makes it easy for him to keep out of the beast's line of sight, even if it puts him before the part the spews fire.

All in all, Sasuke couldn't find a better way to keep his fighting skills nicely homed as he believes that it's only a matter of time before somebody summons him back to Hidden Leaf. After all, that's what Seal Masters do most of the time, summon something from another world to the village.


	141. Wishbringer Omake: Ranma

I don't own Ranma 1/2.

**- o 0 o -**

**Omake:** Episode 82

Finally, Ranma managed to get Kuno to order the sword known as Wishbringer to grant her wish. Holding the sword before her, the current female Ranma is just trying to think of a way to word her wish before it dawns on her that not only could she cure herself but make it so Ryoga never sleeps in Akane's bed again or for Shampoo to transform into a c-c-feline either! Laughing, she heads for a private place in which to make the wish.

"I wish that all those suffering from Jusenkyo curses to be cured of them tonight, returning them to their original birth forms and further more, for all future people or animals who get touched by the waters of Jusenkyo various springs to only suffer their curses for a month." Ranma declares, feeling rather proud of his farsightedness along with doing a good to all those suffering from embarrassing water curses.

"So be it!" Wishbringer declares and the blade flashes a bright white before returning to normal. Then, suddenly, somebody hits him on the head.

"You used it already? What a disappointment my son is, not even giving any thought to your beloved father!" Genma declares, it seems that her father only arrived to see the sword flash brilliantly.

"Oh can it Pops! If you heard what my wish was then you would be singing a different tune!" Ranma snaps while pointing the sword at her father. "Not only did I wish our troubles away but I made it so we won't have ta worry about getting hit by Jusenkyo later either! So enjoy the last afternoon of being able to turn into a panda cause tonight, they go bye-bye!" She states smugly, holding the sword so it's none sharp edge is resting upon her shoulder while sporting a very smug look upon her face.

Slowly walking to the edge of the roof, Ranma notes that there's still a few hours left before she'll never turn into her current form ever again. Not that Ranma gets to leave the roof as Akane chose that time to throw a rock at her head while shouting, "You idiot!"

As Akane walks up, she's pretty much yelling about having dis-basing himself just to get that wish. It seems that the youngest Tendo wasn't pulling her punches and upon Ranma getting up, she began to list Akane's ugly traits as the young Saotome's mind forgets that she not only succeeded in getting Kuno to give her the final wish but also in making it. It seems that her grip upon the sword had slipped and it didn't land next to Ranma.

In the end, the fight ends as Akane summons a mallet and causes Ranma to fly through the air. Upon landing, Ranma decides to stir clear of the Tendo home for the rest of the night. It didn't take long for Ranma to find some hot water and then he headed off in search for something to take his mind off of the fight with Akane.

Midnight approached and Ranma finally headed to the Tendo's to sleep in their guest room, the one he shares with his father. As Ranma lies down to rest, Akane storms in and tosses a bucket of water at him. "What was that for?" He demands while glaring at the youngest Tendo.

"You didn't transform..." Akane finally says and Ranma blinks in one part confusion and one part anger. The memory of his wish then causes him smirk.

"Well, of course I didn't, Kuno did give me his third wish after all. Heck, even Pops here won't transform into a panda ever again." He thinks to answer. "Now, if you excuse me, I need to go change my cloths and my sheets." Ranma states while gathering up said sheets and pushing pass Akane.

_No more P-Chan either!_ He mentally includes.

Noon

Since he had woke, Ranma had been hit with cold water four times since waking and just before the starting bell rung. During school, he had been hit three times while in the locker room, none of the boys had believed that he had been cured the first time he had been hit with cold water and so they had to test it at least twice more. A minor threat kept there being another attempt.

"So, word around school says you're cured of that curse of yours." Ukyo says as she sits down to join him for lunch, Akane has been shying away from Ranma's company since the left for school.

"I not only cured Pops and myself but everyone who's touched Jusenkyo's waters." He informs his childhood friend, few had actually asked what his wish was, word for word. "Not that anyone seems to be thrilled with my getting cured..." He adds with a frown while glance over to the funeral that a bunch of boys seem to be holding over the loss of his female curse.

"Really? So you did go on a date with Kuno just to get cured?" Ukyo asks with a hint of steel and Ranma stills for a second before he tells Ukyo the wording of his wish.

That seems to cause Ukyo to pause before smiling. "So not only did you do something to cure everyone currently affected, you also used your wish to help those future victims as well. That's so thoughtful of you, Ran-chan."

Ranma can't help but feel as though he dodged a bullet there as he watches as Ukyo seemingly summons a grill and begins cooking okonomiyaki. He finishes his lunch bento and is soon eating one of the okonomiyaki that Ukyo has grilled up on her stove. A few show up and pay for okonomiyaki that Ukyo has made and he hadn't consumed.

Soon enough, lunch ends and the students head for class, although not before Shampoo and Mousse decide to show up to check to see if he can still turn into a girl viva cold water. Which causes him to explain what happened yesterday and the now changed nature of Jusenkyo.

Shampoo wants to go on a date to celebrate the curing of their curse while Mousse decides to attack him in gratitude.

**- o 0 o -**


	142. A Court for Every Season: Changeling TL

I don't own Danny Phantom, Naruto, Bleach, Oh My Goddess, Harry Potter, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ranma 1/2, and World of Darkness: Changeling The Lost.

**- o 0 o -**

Harry

"Ok... Does anyone know why I sport feathered wings but legs and tail of a lion?" The slightly altered time looping Naruto Uzumaki wonders while holding onto his tail. Out of the seven of them, Naruto's appearance is rather tame as he returns his gaze upon Ranma although he does glance at the new guy who's yet to introduce themselves.

Ranma stands seven feet tall and sports a very large frame that sports a mass of muscles. Saotome's skin is bright red while pale scars could be found about the arms, face, chest, and legs. The leather shorts seem stained with dry blood. Ranma's face is like that of a classic Japanese Oni sporting a thick eye ridge that has those fleshy horns growing out right after the eye ridges. The mass of white hair is like a lion's mane.

_Somehow, I doubt he's going to move as lightly as he usual does._ Harry thinks, kind of aware that it seems as though he's the shortest one present, which only makes Ranma seem even taller. His gaze turns when he hears a twig snap to find that the still nameless member of the seven trying to sneak away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ranma asks, his voice sounding like rocks falling down the side of a mountain. The closest member of the group, Keiichi, reaches out and touches the new guy's shoulder, which kind of surprises him as he thought the hand would go through the guy.

"Err... Just who are you people?" The new guy asks and he takes note of the fact that the guy possessing bat looking wings for arms, the wing spread between two of the fingers, leaving the thumb, index finger, and middle finger ready. There seems to exist this kind of haze about this one's form that suggests that he's just a shadow and yet, he's not as Keiichi's hand proves that under that haze there is a solid body there.

"I guess introductions are in order." Keiichi agrees but unsurprisingly, Naruto is the one who takes it from there considering out of the group, the blond is typically the most outgoing of the 'core' group.

"Name's Naruto Uzumaki! The big Oni is Ranma Saotome and normally, he's not that big or that musclar." Ranma simply snorts and crosses his arms while Harry just gives Saotome a bemused look. "The little elven guy over there is Harry Potter." _Elven? Merlin, I hope I don't look like a house elf..._

"The one that looks like he hasn't slept for, like, a few years is Ichigo Kurosaki." Harry glances over at the deadly pale, almost waxy appearance except for black marks under his eyes while certain facial features seemingly more pronounced. "The gear jointed one is Shinji Ikari." Shinji merely gives Naruto a dirty look while the blond goes on to introduce Keiichi, who had taken a few steps back and then bows after the demon container finishes that introduction.

"My name is Danny Fenton." Danny kind of stares at Ranma. "Are you really Ranma Saotome? As in Ranma Saotome from Ranma One Half?" The new guy asks, which causes Ranma to sigh.

"Yes I am." Ranma rumbles while the rest of them sigh. "Although, I am a looper like yourself, so I like to think I've grown from how I was when this started." Then Ranma adds, "We all like to believe we've grown since the time loops began at least." To which they all nod.

"So, everyone of you guy are 'loopers'? Then how do you know each other?" Danny asks, his rather large blue eyes glancing at each of them.

"You ever get 'wake' in a world that isn't yours? Or maybe you've noticed new people living around you? Strangers who seem to possess different skills?" Naruto asks, once more stepping in while they try to think how to best frame the question.

Danny nods a bit. "It doesn't happen a lot but yea, there have been new faces around Amity Park, not that I noticed anything special about them though." The winged arm teen admits.

"We call such crossovers Fusion loops or FUBAR loops. It's how we all know each other, most of us end up commonly end up in FUBAR loops together on a semi-regular basis now a days. The usual setting is typically in Harry's universe, which is usually a seven year loop at a magic school." The blond informs Danny.

"Although, to be honest, Keiichi rarely ends up in a fusion considering that he's living with a version of the Norns." Ranma admits, it's clear that Shinji and Ichigo's attention had shifted when Naruto began to explain about FUBAR loops, likely trying to access their space pocekt, not that he's been able to access his own...

"The Norns? As in the trio of women who control the fate of men? The Norse Norns?" Danny asks a bit alarmed.

"I wouldn't go around calling Urd a crone. She's rather proud of her looks." Keiichi explains with a hint of dryness.

"You might want to look more into the genre of Anime and Manga, if your world has Ranma One Half then you might be able to a hold of Oh My Goddess and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Not sure if you'll be able to get a hold of Bleach or Naruto though." Harry muses and Naruto nods in agreement.

"What about you? You're from an Anime?" Danny asks and he snorts softly.

"Nay, I am typically a book series or a series of movies... I think somebody mentioned once that in one universe I was a CGI cartoon series once, not sure who told me that one though..." He muses. _I wonder if there's a comic book version of my life out there somewhere?_ Harry muses for a bit as he rubs his chin while picturing how he would like to be portrayed as a comic book.

By now, Shinji and Ichigo seem to be frowning while Ranma stretches his body. "Does anyone know where we are?" He decides to ask while Naruto seemingly floats in the air for a few second before whatever effect causes the blond's feet to return to the ground.

"Don't really know, although that thorn bushes seem to be shifting slightly every few minutes." Keiichi notes and Harry glances at the hedge to find that Keiichi is right. "I also thought I saw a pair of eyes looking out of it too..." The handsome eighteen year old muses.

"Hedge... hedge... that kind of rings a bell..." Shinji mutters and then snaps his metallic finger and wooden thumb. "Changeling the Lost! We're in another universe created by White Wolf Publishing! You remember when we were werewolves that time and combated those spirits? That's where we are only now we're playing as abducted mortals who've been changed into one of Seemings." Shinji explains.

"You guys were werewolves?" Danny wonders while he groans, just hearing the world Changeling kind of brought out the memories that were something a kin to his many childhood memories of doing house work, only the torture being very more painful and his Keeper being much more beautiful and bizarre. _If I do look like a house elf, at least I know who to blame._

"I think we might want to leave now." Keiichi says to which Naruto asks, "Why?"

"Yea, I think that's a good idea." Ichigo adds in support of Keiichi's statement, which is why he along with most of the others turn to look at the Hedge once more. "I don't think we're ready to fight anyone just yet." Shinji agrees and they head away from the Hedge, soon enough they arrive in a backyard.

Danny

As they walk through the town, Danny is rather amazed at how nobody seems to be freaking out at the sight of them, well, Ranma did attract looks but then, the guy is tall and sporting a very broad shoulders. So different then the short, scrawny looking character he's seen while watching the show. He feels very uncomfortable concerning walking around in his current appearance.

The wing membrane of his arms are folded as best as he could make them, which feels rather weird as it means his hand only consists of two fingers and a thumb. The clothing covering his upper body is a poncho as he can't put his arms through sleeves of any shirts. As certain member of the group had lacked cloths, they had broken into the house and rummaged through the basement looking for cloths, which is where his poncho came from along with Naruto's tattered, modified jeans and baggy, modified long sleeve shirt, Ranma's heavily modified leather jacket, and Shinji's sweat pants and sweat shirt.

Harry, Ichigo, and Keiichi had been already wearing cloths when they all 'woke up'. Sure, Ranma and Danny had sported some kind of pants but that's about it while Naruto and Shinji had been butt naked. _Not that there's any girls around to see them like that._ He muses while glancing between Naruto and Harry, the two are the youngest members of the seven of them as they are both only thirteen, although Harry will be turning fourteen come two months.

During their rummaging through the basement, Shinji explained about the world they're now in and what they can expect in way of skills, problems, and power ups. Danny can't help but feel very much out of this depth, particularly as none of the others seem to be fazed by this set of circumstances. _Not that I should be complaining, I've been getting stir crazy for a while now..._ Danny mentally admits and begins to wonder just how one causes FUBAR loops as if this is an example of one.

Maybe it's because he's been the only one experiencing them but he's been feeling cut off from everyone, including Sam and Tucker. Not even Clockwork seem to be aware, although it does mean that he doesn't have to worry about encountering his darker, futuristic self anymore as he'll never turn into that guy. _Not that I haven't been tempted to give my hand at taking over the world..._ Danny bemuses before snapping out of his thoughts when Naruto says, "Is anyone else hungry?"

Blinking, Danny is just one voice in a chorus voicing yes. "So... anyone find a coin or something?" The other be-winged member of the group asks and Ranma holds up a bill.

"What do you plan to do with that? It's not nearly enough to buy us all a meal." He points out as Naruto takes the bill from the Ogre.

"Don't worry, with Naruto's luck in gambling we'll soon have more then enough for a meal." Shinji says and he just stares. "Just watch and see." The artificial looking member of the group finally adds with a sigh.

They enter into a restaurant with slot machines and sure enough, Naruto take the bill and gets four quarters. The blond picks a random machine and on the first try, Naruto hits the Jack Pot. Danny just stares in amazement at the younger boy, not sure what to make of that particular ability as they collect the winnings. With that, they head for a table so they may eat.

He sits next to Keiichi and Ichigo with Harry sitting across from him. "So... what's your dimension like?" Naruto asks as they wait for somebody to arrive to take their order.

"It's because I'm new, isn't it?" He asks with a sigh while leaning back on the bench. "Well, I'm typically a Halfa, half ghost half human, capable of switching between the two. I fight and capture ghost using my parents' ghost weapons." Danny explains.

"Sounds like you've got a lot in common with Ichigo then." Harry muses and he glances over at the orange haired teen to his right. "Ichigo's dad is a Shinigami and typically Ichigo himself sees the dead."

"Does that make him a demi-god?" Danny asks. _First one of them is living with the Fates and now I learn that another is the son of a Asian Death God..._

"Not really, Shinigami is just a group of empowered human spirits that herd whole spirits out of the land of the living while purifying hollow spirits who feed off of whole spirits and spiritual aware humans." Ranma explains and most of the others nod in agreement. "They've even created a city there, heck they even have an academy to train those with talent to become Shinigami."

"So... where does that leave Ichigo?" He asks curiously, rather interested to hear more. "And if his father is dead, how can his father be his father?"

"Well, when they want to interact with the living, Shinigami use fake bodies. They're very convincing ones at that." Ranma says and they all pause as a waiter arrives to take their drink order while leaving some menus for them to read through.

"How did we end up talking about Ichigo's life again?" Naruto asks curiously. "I mean, we haven't heard any of Danny's adventures or even about his group." The blond muses thoughtfully and he is rather uncomfortable as they all turn to regard him.

"Ah... How do you know that I have friends? For all you know, I could be a Gothic loner." He remarks and everybody but Keiichi snort at that. "Well, Tucker is into technology and is a strong believer in meat." Danny finally relents. "Sam is, well, strict Ultra-Recyclo Vegetarian and a Goth. We usually end up dating unless I run off to play Super-Hero in a big city."

And so began a kind of Q & A session as they would ask a question or for more detail about something he mentioned, which he would answer. As they wait for their meal to arrive and they've done digging for information about him, they told him more about themselves, their friends, and the various pranks they pull on each other.

He learnt that if either or both Sam and Tucker wake up, they'll likely be a bit unstable, typically diverging into porn and sleeping around. Something which he's kind of in the early stages of but which now that he's aware of how much of a slut it sounded to become a "ladies' man" he decides to not follow down that path. Another thing is, now that he's experienced a fusion loop, its more then likely he's 'waking' to the loop will now be varied. It also signaled that one of these loops, his friends will wake up and that he'll likely begin to see an increase in FUBAR loops.

Soon enough, Danny inquires about what universes they've lived in and is rather stunned to learn that there is a Star Wars universe out there as well as Star Trek. He even found it surprising to learn that Naruto, who's rather bold and care free, is a ninja, as in, stealthy, cloak and dagger ninja. "How can you be a ninja? You're, well..." He just waves, unable to find the words to tell of his disbelief about that.

"Loud? Excitable?" Shinji supplies before drinking from his soda. He merely nods in agreement while Naruto just rolls his eyes. "Well, ninja of his world have become rather... flashy." Shinji explains.

"Not unlike samurai, although if you're missing a pet, you can hire a genin team to seek it out or if you want a business rival done away with, you can hire a chuunin or a jonin, it depends on how hard they think it'll be to assassinate the guy. They're very versatile in what kind of missions they'll accept." Ranma says.

"Which is rather useful if you're a ninja and want to vacation, you can hire yourself to go guard, say, a famous pub in a town or city in the mists of a festival." Naruto remarks while using a spoon to fend off unwanted fingers or hands trying to take his fries. "Of course, not every country has a ninja village, which is why the Chuunin Exams are public. Trying to show which ninja village is the most powerful based off the performances of the genin."

Not knowing what else to say, he stays quiet as he munches on his fries, only to find that he's got like a dozen left. "So... what kind of Motley pledge are we going to abide by?" Shinji asks as he tries to think of a way to sneak fries off of another member's plate as it seems that it's acceptable to do so.

"How about... no stealing from another member of the group?" Danny suggests as he Keiichi donates his uneaten fries to him upon noticing the looks he's been giving Harry's fries.

Ranma hums while Naruto tosses out, "How about agreeing to avoid making pledges beyond those between us? From the sounds of things, this whole society seems to sport a lot of political pledges, even the courts seem to demand a pledge of loyalty just to make us of their resources."

"Or we agree to hold the pledges between us to be more powerful then those made to a court and leadership?" Ichigo states as he hums thoughtfully at that thought. _That would offer more security considering we're not native to this world._

"So, we want to include in this pledge is to share our good fortune, give aid when bad fortune strikes, to not steal from each other, and to consider the Motley above all pledges make to one's court, if they decide to join a court, and a leader of a Freehold." Harry muses.

"That sharing fortune seems to conflict with the stealing clause." Ranma remarks. "Let's not forget that one persons' good fortune could be somebody's bad. We each seem to need different things, so I would settle on not stealing from one another."

"Are we going to agree to create a Hollow in the Hedge or not?" Ichigo wonders. "I mean, I rather not get too close to it, particularly if those True Fae can move through it like a fish through water."

This soon leads to a long debate concerning what could be found under which clause or if they should include it anyway. He's rather surprised to find Harry doing a very good job as a wordsmith until Keiichi informs him about that Harry's world sports magic and they can create magical contracts, which is why Harry's unusually skilled with words.

Breaks happened when the waiter shows up to take away their plates, bring drink refills, or whatever new food they order up. Finally, they decide to leave, although not before Naruto wins a few more times at the slot machines, giving them money to rent a hotel. They leave once the bill has been paid for.

They hang around a phone booth to review the various hotels within the city. The sun is going down and that kind of comforts him for some strange reason. They then leave to visit a list of hotels.

Keiichi

As his dancing companion moves off to visit with another, Keiichi sighs softly and heads for the snack table, having noticed Shinji trying to catch his eye. The dance is a Spring Court funded event, although few of the other courts have done more then send a token number of Changelings. "So, what's the mood with the Winter Courtiers?"

"Just a thought that the funds for this event could have been spent on aiding those member of the Freehold down on their luck." Shinji states with a roll of his eyes. "Of course, according to Naruto, the Autumn Courtiers wanted to use the money to purchase Tokens that humans find and auction off online."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Naruto wanted to become a member of the Autumn Court then the Summer. Gryphons are known for their military skills." Keiichi states, although the blond had been the last of them to pick a Court, for a good two months, Naruto had been the only one to remain Courtless while they were spending time integrating themselves in their chosen court.

"Personally? I think he just want's access to Fae magic more then caring about their agenda." Shinji replies. "Although, he's a good face for that court though, very friendly and out going enough that it frees up a number of individuals from feeling as though they have to be social."

"I guess as long as he displays some of that Season's Mantle, they won't care if he doesn't share the same persona type as is common and typical of that court." He muses and Shinji nods. "Still feel lonely as being the only member of the Winter Court out of the Motley?" Keiichi asks while Shinji rolls his eyes.

"I've gotten use to it. Although, you have to admit, the Summer Court is over representative in our group." Shinji says as he just nods at the Manikin's statement.

"Considering that both Danny and Ichigo are Darklings, you'd think they'd shy away from anything to do with fire." The pilot of Evangelion Number One remarks. "That reminds me, Ranma wants us all to hook up at Naruto's condo one of these days."

"Which day is good for him and the other two?" He asks, not that surprise as they've been in this world for a year now. They had spent a week crafting their Motley Pledge and they swore by it before they decided to seek out the local Freehold to engage in the typical life of a Changeling.

"Next week any time, Naruto says Harry willing to meet either next Wednesday or Thursday, which kind of leaves us to hear from you as I'm good for Wednesday." Shinji says.

"I think I can make it Wednesday night." He informs Shinji. They both kind of allow silence to hang between them. "So... how's been your classes at the university?" They both inquire about the same time before they blink and then chuckle slightly.

"I'm almost done with my engineering degree. You?" Keiichi asks, they were both are the only ones from their Motley to be part of their respective courts. He's still adjusting to the fact that as a member of the Spring Court, he's to indulge in his desires instead burying them. _Naruto could have fit into this court like a fish in water, but then, he could have joined any of the three, only reason he never considered Winter Court is he's not one for hiding or running away._ He thinks while picking out the Beast member of their Motley.

"My film classes are coming along nicely." Shinji says before adding, "I'm still waiting for Harry to get back to me about creating a token out of glass lenses that will see a Seeming without me being around to activate it."

"You didn't ask Naruto, did you?" He asks, half curiously half frightful. Keiichi still remember the kind of things Naruto managed to convince Harry and Ichigo to do when they were Uratha. Sure, a lot of what they created helped make protecting and monitoring their pack's territory but when the experiments blew up, they really BLEW UP. They had to help fund the rebuilding of the town's buildings, although they're all glad that they decided to stop experimenting at the manor house after that Pandora Box punishment.

"No, I asked him to try to find me a studio who'll rent out a set building for me to record that movie I've written up." Shinji remarks before adding, "Are you sure I can't talk you into taking the lead? You've got the looks needed for the role, after all."

Keiichi feels the familiar swelling within him at the compliment. "Sorry, but I rather not become a house hold name... I mean, in this world at least." He explains and Shinji nods.

"Yo, you two! So, is it going to be Wednesday or Thursday that we're hooking up?" Naruto asks upon seemingly sneaking up on them. He turns his head to regard the blond teen sporting feathered wings. The faint scent of wet, rotten leaves seems to hang about Naruto, much like how some frost seems to hang about Shinji's metal parts while the temperature seems to be a bit chilly.

"We're meeting Wednesday evening." Shinji says to the out going blond. "Your place too, so you might want to stock up on food." The current Manikin adds as a way of a reminder.

"Sure! I'll remember that. Now, if you excuse me, I've got a few ladies waiting for a drink." The blond says, grabbing a platter that's pretty much empty of food, a few adjustments later, and Naruto is walking away from the table with a few glasses of red and white wine.

"You'd think he'd just settle for courting a single lady considering that in mythology that gryphons mate for life." Shinji remarks as Naruto rejoins his group of pretty Changelings, most of them likely of the Spring Court from what he can see of their Season's Mantle, although one of them seems to be of the Summer Court.

"Well, he's still human enough to sleep around." Another Changeling a few feet away remarks upon overhearing Shinji's remark. He blushes slightly as he turns away from watching Naruto to look into his almost empty glass of wine.

Typically, he wouldn't think of cheating on Belldandy, he couldn't help but notice how attractive and desirable many of his fellow Fairest are. Which kind of causes him to be rather divided about what to do about all of this. "I'm having trouble concerning the trend of following my desires and not cheating on Belldandy." He confides to Shinji after trading his now empty cup with filled cup while they put some distance between them and the table.

"You can always pledge to have no other woman but Belldandy and vow it to the Wyrd." Shinji observes and he blinks, rather surprise by going so far as to remain faithful to Belldandy. "Of course, there's the little matter that there might be a True Fae representing her in this world."

He blinks and sighs. "So how to I follow my Court's creed while staying true to her? I doubt she'll forget about such a slight." Keiichi says.

"Well... You could always go out with guys instead of girls... You know, she might be more then a little turned on by that and you can at least say you didn't cheat on her with another woman..." Shinji admits. "I'm sure Naruto or even Ranma might know how it works... I'm they were drunk when they did something like it but then again... You can never tell with Nabiki and Sakura added into the factors."

Keiichi just stares at Shinji while admitting that those two girls likely had coerced the two at one point or another. Although with Nabiki, it likely had to do with her using that temporary Drown Man Spring to be the boy in that circumstance. It's a given that Sakura has set Naruto and Sasuke up on more then one occasion. There are some stories concerning Sakura that he often wonders if some of it were just exaggeration...

He's rather glad he never had to go through watching his friend 'wake' to the reality of the time loops, particularly watching them become obsess with sex and porn. _There's always my sister though..._ But he ignores that thought as his sister doesn't visit enough to need to be woken up.

"Well, good luck trying to manage that problem then. Although, you might want to bring it up with Belldandy about what to do if you end up in this kind of situation in the future. After all, if she can't visit you in this world, there might be other worlds where she can't visit you either." Shinji observes before they part ways.

With a glance about, he decides that he should be able to leave as it's clear that the dance is winding down. He is sure to stop by the table to leave his empty wine glass before leaving the community center that his court rented for this dance. It shouldn't take him long to get to his apartment block from here, after all, that's where most of his fellow Court member rent apartments within the same block if not the same building.

**- o 0 o -**

**Danny:** Darkling - Lurk Glider, Court - Summer  
**Harry:** Wizen - Drudge, Court - Autumn  
**Ichigo:** Darkling - Gravewight, Court - Summer  
**Keiich:** Fairest - Muse, Court - Spring  
**Naruto:** Beast - Windwing, Court - Autumn  
**Ranma:** Ogre - Bloodbrute, Court - Summer  
**Shinji:** Elemental - Manikin, Court - Winter

**- o 0 o -**


	143. Life Gift 3: How To Train Your Dragon

I don't own How To Train Your Dragon.

**- o 0 o -**

Berk  
Hiccup

"Hiccup!" One flash later and Hiccup stands naked where there had been a gray scaled dragon. The shapeshifter sighs while the black scaled dragon merely huffs out in laughter.

"Would you quit doing that? I need to hunt or fish and I can't do that when I'm like this!" Hiccup snaps at Ripple as the afternoon is rather chilly. It's been a learning experience for him regarding why humans wear cloths along, he's a rather quick learner as it's only been a day since the little girl first caused him to become a human.

**"Ah... take it easy on the hatchling... She doesn't know any better."** The Night Fury remarks a tad too eagerly and Hiccup gives the dragon a dirty look, only to look over at Ripple when the child sniffles softly.

"But... it's so... sparkly!" Ripple exclaims cheerfully before she asks, "When can we go home? I miss mommy and I want oatmeal too! With some cut fruit too!" The young girl crosses her arms over her chest and looks at him expectantly.

"I would love to take you back to your village, the problem is that I now lack the wings to do so. As for the hunger, you should have eaten some of that fish, blackie here fried up for you last night." He reminds the strange little human who seems convinced that he's her elder brother. _Not really sure why she's capable of causing me to become a human either..._

"But I didn't want to eat fish for dinner last night. I wanted duck!" Ripple explains as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

Hiccup exchanges looks with the Night Fury, as if hoping that the other male understood that reasoning. **"I'm a dragon, I'm not suppose to understand humans."** The black dragon states. **"You know, it's kind of fun watching that light show where you turn into a human. Then watching the two of you is rather entertaining to boot!"** The Night Fury remarks with a dragon style grin.

"I'm hungry!" Ripple whines and Hiccup just sighs while looking back at the little human hatchling. "I miss my friends and Pot-Belly-Sir-Gruff-Oink!" _Do I really want to know what a Pot-Belly-Sir-Gruff-Oink is?_ He wonders while just staring blankly down at Ripple.

Finally, he turns to the Night Fury and asks, "That reminds me, why are you sticking around? Shouldn't you gone to join your raiding buddies and enjoy human raise beasts they grabbed from the local village?" He kind of hears Ripple huff at being ignored.

**"Who says they're my friends? Or that I partake in what they grab?"** Snarls the Night Fury, causing Ripple to yelp and hide behind him after a high pitched yelp. **"Sure, I might destroy a few of those posts but that's only to try and cut down how many dragons these Vikings kill! And from what I've seen of those dracos, I'm likely better off staying away from their homes!"** The black scaled dragon snaps and then the other snaps his head to the right while walking off into the forest with his nose stuck up in the air.

In the end, Hiccup turns to regard the human hatchling and sighs. "Look, we wait for me to turn back to normal and then I'll take you back to your parents, ok? Which means that no more doing that thing that you do that causes me to become like this, alright?" He tries to reason with Ripple, not really sure if she'll listen to him, it's been little over seven years since Hiccup had anything to do with young dragons.

"Ah... but it's so sparkly to see it happen! Besides, why can't we walk to the village?" The human child asks Hiccup.

"For one, my feet are very sore and for another, I don't know how to navigate while on the ground. I also get this odd feeling that you will expect me to carry you once you're own feet get sore or you just get tired." He gives as an answer while rubbing a spot behind his neck where he think a bug has bitten him.

"Oh... I can make myself a flower crown!" Ripple chimes in, her eyes were looking towards the small grassy clearing a bit pass him. Within seconds, the young human seems content gathering flowers as he just stares at the little human.

_That's it, I'm so getting that Night Fury to take her. Her magic likely doesn't work on him, at least, not that we know of..._ Hiccup thinks just seconds before he heads off to where the black scale dragon took off to in order to convince the other to take the human hatchling back to the village.

Astrid

They all stare at the headstone that had been hastily set up to mark Ripple's passing. She feels especially guilty about what happened yesterday and blames herself for being so complacent concerning watching over the group of children. _If we should have been more aware of our surroundings, it was Fishlegs who noticed something wrong and if it weren't for his journal being stolen, then we all could have been killed by that beast when it judged we were too complacent to be on our guard..._

Then as she leaves the site, a slightly familiar cry rings out. "Hiccup!" Then something bright flashes and a young man's voice curses. Astrid just stares for a few seconds, not sure if she should be allowing her hopes to get up but soon enough, she recovers to race into the woods to find a naked young man glaring down at the daughter of Valhallarama and the chief of their tribe.

"Ripple!" She cries out, doing her best to ignore the naked member of the opposite sex. Astrid has her dagger out while Ripple runs up to her and begin tugging on her hand.

"Astrid!" The young girl with a crown of flower cries while pulling her after the naked man. "You remember my brother, Hiccup! Hiccup! Where are you going?"

_Oh yes, let's go after the one not wearing any cloths. I'm so sure that we won't be able to catch him later, it's not as though he can be hard to spot._ Astrid think dryly while Ripple lets go to run after this so called 'Hiccup'. "Ripple! Your mother has been worried! We should get you home, I'm sure we can organize a search party to capture this guy." She manages to say while chasing after the pair, not at all wanting to tackle a naked man.

"But if we don't bring him along, then he'll leave again!" Ripple whines while she highly doubts the probability of this guy managing to leave the island stealthily. It wouldn't take long to organize a search party, particularly since Ripple's mother will likely head it.

They did catch up to the guy as he seems to be wheezing heavily from running away. "I am really beginning to hate you." The guy states while glaring at Ripple before trying to run once more. "And now is a good time to help out, you lazy scaly lizard of a dragon!" The naked young man snaps which causes her to freeze to glance around.

Suddenly a large shadow moves overhead and just as 'Hiccup' gets grabbed by said shadow, Ripple manages to hug the guy's legs. "Oh come on! You're home now, so, go home!" The guy says while she tries to wrap her head around the idea of a human working with a dragon, particularly one who's scales seem to shine blue under the light of the sun.

_Well, that could explain how he got here and plans to leave._ A part of her reasons while she feels rather flat footed in regards to what's going on before her. Finally shaking her head, she throws what she can at the fleeing dragon, which happens to be her dagger.

With a pained bellow, the dragon lets go of the naked young man while quickly raises up into the air, her dagger still in the back leg of the beast. Astrid quickly manages to grab the naked guy's arm and keeps him face down in the ground, ignoring the rather long brunet hair sporting red highlights. "Now, who are you and where is that dragon going?"

"Deer scat! What's your problem? I returned her! Why couldn't you grab her and take her to her parents?" Her captive asks and she gives the arm a bit of a twist, which causes 'Hiccup' to gasp in pain. "Name? They call me Stone! And for all I know, that dragon has left this island! It's not like he and I are allies or anything. We only met!"

Astrid closes her eyes, she can't tell if he's telling the truth or not. "Then why did that dragon help you?" She asks, keeping her boot firmly placed upon the upper portion of this guy's back. "And what's your real name?"

"Oh come on! I answered your questions, why don't you just let me leave? It's not like you'd believe me if I told you anything about me! I don't believe what happened to me and it happened to me!" Counters Stone but this time, giving his arm a twist doesn't cause him to answer either of those questions.

With a sigh, Astrid takes some rope from her pouch, usually she uses it for traps but it's all she has on her. Manages to grab the other arm, she ties the two behind his back as securely as she can. As she causes the naked guy to get up off the ground, it's then that Astrid notices that Ripple isn't around.

"I really protest this kind of treatment! I haven't done anything wrong!" Stone protests but she just ignores that, after all, he could easily be scouting around the island a raiding party.

Astrid and her captive find Ripple humming to herself while drawing in the dirt. "Ripple! Why did you leave?" She asks and the young girl glances up.

"Well, I wanted to give you two a chance to know each other." Ripple explains as though it was obvious. "So... when is the wedding?" The little girl asks curiously, which only causes the blond to sigh.

"He says his name is Stone, so he's not your missing brother." She decides to try and shake Ripple of this, likely, harmful delusion. "Your brother has been gone for ten years, Ripple. He's not coming back."

Ripple stares at Astrid with wide, almost teary eyes. "But... but... he is..." Ripple murmurs and she can't help but feel like the bad guy.

"Come on, let's get you home." The blond young woman says, pulling Stone with her as he was trying to inch away from her. Ripple sniffles and nods, much to the grumbling of the captive Stone.

It takes a bit but Astrid finally manages to get Ripple and Stone into the village proper. More then a few stopped what they're doing rather abruptly to stare at her naked captive. Although a few would then look at Ripple and then look between the two. The attention only causes her cheeks to redden more then a bit, already imagining the teasing that she'll get from various member of the village.

"Ripple! We thought you were eaten by that dragon! How did you survive?" Rotpelt asks upon approaching them as they head for the Mead Hall.

"Well, why would I be eaten?" Ripple asks curiously, which reminds Astrid that the gray beast is the one who carried Ripple off, not that strange black one. _What happened to that one?_

The blond feels uneasy at the thought that the gray dragon is still out there, somewhere without being punished for kidnapping the chieftain's only daughter. She just keeps marching until they are before the doors of the Mead Hall. Rotpelt had joined Ripple, although it wasn't long before Ripple's mother comes up the steps.

"Mommy!" Ripple cries out, running down to meet Valhallarama.

Hiccup

He hadn't liked being marched through the Viking village or having his hands tied behind his back. Hiccup hadn't cared about the humans gawking at him, no, what worries him is whether he'll be able to escape before that little girl manages to do that thing that keeps him from transforming into a dragon or just touching him period.

Then, Ripple cries out 'Mommy' and it snaps him out of his thoughts. Hiccup stops breathing at the sight of the adult coming up the stairs. _That woman..._ He feels something stir within him and his eyes seem to burn, though why, he didn't know.

A strange mixture of relief and sorrow overwhelms him, he really wants to hide from her. "Ripple! Oh, my little girl! You're alright!" It really hurts hearing that come out of this woman's mouth.

And then, the woman looks up and looks at him, a memory of tired eyes seem to flare up within his mind. He wanted to move but his body seems to rooted to the spot. He finally begins breathing again when the woman turns to address the one who tied up his arms.

"Astrid, you didn't happen to take this one's cloths, did ya?" The woman asks in a playful tone, although there's this underline tone to that. Hiccup feels his captor stiffen and then stutter a bunch of non-sense.

The woman approaches them while Ripple holds onto the woman's hand. Hiccup notices the look of happiness upon the young hatchling's face, although how long it'll last is the question as Ripple hadn't eaten any of that rabbit that the Night Fury supplied them, including the fire the other had started to cook it as they know that humans don't eat meat raw.

"And just who might you be?" The woman asks and it takes him a few seconds to realize that she's talking to him. He found words escape him.

"He claims to be called Stone." Astrid states. "He some how managed to convince a dragon to try and help him in escaping from me too." The human adds. "He says he's not friends with the beast, but it took a dagger in its back legs to get it to drop him."

"Mommy, isn't it great? Hiccup's back home!" Ripple says while the woman studies him with a great deal of confusion.

"He's not your brother!" His captor reminds the hatchling while the other hatchling who's name he doesn't know move to stand next to Ripple. The woman's free hand take hold of his jaw and twists his head this way and that, not that he gets why she does so.

The woman lets go and he watches as her gaze goes to something on his chest. "What the..." He hears Astrid mutter and within seconds, he stands before the village as a dragon. The village gasps while the woman before him eyes leak.

"Hiccup... my little boy..." The woman says softly and he moves his body down so his forelimbs read upon the ground. He bows his head while Ripple moves to stand to his right.

"Told you he's Hiccup!" And then, Ripple touches his neck, light flashes and yet again, Hiccup is human. The woman reaches out to touch him but then pulls the hand away.

He looks down at his chest to find something now being featured upon his chest, the rune of Sacrifice in bold black. "My son has returned to us! Praise Odin! So somebody, give him something to cover himself with." The woman... his mother declares and this spurs the others into action.

It wasn't long before he's got a blanket wrapped about his waist. It wasn't long before, yet again, Hiccup is walking through the village, following his mother and younger sister as he can't bring himself to deny relations with this woman.

Astrid

The blond just watches as the member of the Haddock family walk down the Mead Hall, leaving her rather freaked out by not only witnessing a human transform into the very dragon who took Ripple by the simple touch by Valhallarama and then turned back into a human because of Ripple touching him, only the difference is that the rune of Sacrifice upon his chest, where it had glowed when Valhallarama touched Hiccup's jaw.

"That does explain how he got Ripple 'away' from that dragon, doesn't it?" Ruffnut says, it seems that her friend did ascend up the steps when the chieftain's wife had called for somebody to give Hiccup something to cover up with. "Kind of explains why that other dragon was willing to work with him too."

"Yea, I guess so..." She admits, not really sure what to make this this development. "But he said they called him Stone..." Astrid adds, not sure if the guy had lied or something more is going with him.

"Considering that gray hide of his, I guess we all know why they called him Stone." Ruffnut says before punching her gently in the shoulder. "But damn did you see how hung he is? I wonder how it translates to his dragon form or if it's because he's able to be a dragon?"

Her mouth opens but nothing comes out while she shakes her head. Then Astrid tosses her hands up and begins to walk away from Ruffnut. Her thoughts rather muddled about all of this, it didn't help that she did agree with Ruffnut about his... manhood.

**To Be Continued . . .**


	144. Leopard Claws: Naruto

I don't own Naruto or the concept for wereleopards from Disney's Gargoyles.

**- o 0 o -**

Naruto

Naruto stares once more at the four scratch marks that continue to remain upon his left upper arm. The blond fourteen year old had kept this black leopard from mauling the client that Jiraiya had accepted as a mission for him while the pervert enjoys the sights of the island various bath houses. With a sigh, Naruto just looks away from his arm to look up at the statue of some beast done in an ancient style.

"Is something wrong?" Jun, his client, asks while continuing to brush away at the dirt upon this skeleton, it seems to be a horse judging by the hoof that's uncovered. Jun's the lead archaeologist of a team that's trying to find grains of truth within the island's mythology.

Not wanting to admit that he's a bit concern about the fact that even after a whole day, the scratch remains, the blond teenage genin and student of Jiraiya replies, "I'm just hoping that the leopard wasn't sick. If it is, then we might want to use the buddy system to make sure that the cat doesn't try to pick off one of the team."

"You have a good point there. Healthy predators don't attack people unless trained too." Jun agrees while taking a moment to sit up straight before drinking from a water bottle. "Perhaps you should go patrol the area." His client adds and Naruto gives Jun a blank look, they both know that her father is the one who wanted Jun to hire a ninja for this trip.

A member of the team, a slightly creepy guy name Ryuugo, a specialist in mythical occult, seems to be giving Jun doe eyes. The blond had noted how the creep would hang around Jun's tent during the evening, when everyone is turning in. Often times, Ryuugo would get chased off by him simply giving the man a flat look while spinning a kunai about his index finger. Naruto's fairly sure that Jun's father knew about this guy's 'affection' towards his princess but couldn't stop Jun from taking Ryuugo out into the jungle as the man is renown in his chosen field.

_Although, where Ryuugo was when we were setting up camp, even I don't know._ Naruto admits to himself while crossing his arms over his chest that's covered in an orange tank top. Unsurprisingly, Jun is the first to look away but it's just too hot out for him to do more then smile upon this victory.

The Land of Rainforest is large land mass that's half the size of the main continent that sports Hidden Villages. Because of its location, it houses dense tropical forests that are among the oldest in the known world. The Land of Rainforest is more known for their rich culture then their local resources as they have little in the way of ore and the various forests growing upon across the land mass are protected, not that it had always been the case as they did have their own empire at one point that worshiped some kind of feline deity.

The empire fell into decline when the deity had been offended by something its worshipers had done or not done. Naruto's heard it repeated again and again with each storyteller making minor or major edits as to what the ancients' crime had been that caused them to fall into disfavor of this deity. Privately, the blond figures that the feline just got bored and went off to find something better to do then listen to people wishing for stuff or complaining about how their life sucks.

Stifling a yawn, Naruto turns to stare at Ryuugo, unsurprised to find the occultist staring away from the wall covered in writing to stare longingly at Jun. Upon noticing him looking at him, Ryuugo pales slightly and quickly turns away, although Ryuugo does clinch a hand into a fist. Suddenly, Ryuugo bolts away, turning a corner of the wall.

"Must have been something he ate." The soon to be fifteen year old hears one of the grad students murmur dryly, this is followed by some chuckling. Naruto sighs, if he had learnt anything from his time at the academy, people don't like being stalked, although for some odd reason, Jun seems to be rather blind in the fact that Ryuugo is stalking her.

Ryuugo

_It's not fair! That... that... brat just had to go and ruin it, didn't he? My one chance to bond with my beloved and that idiot teen just had to interfere! Now what am I suppose to do? Kami, I could only mark one other person, just one and it hadn't been Jun..._ Anger keeps Ryuugo in the form of a black leopard while he prowls some unused portion of the ancient city with growls, snarls, and hisses ringing out from the human turned leopard's throat.

Ryuugo's anger did get spent and the black leopard moves to rest out of the sun, not calm enough to transform back to his human form nor really caring what form he's in at the moment, he begins to consider going to _Her_ and explain how it happened. The occultist is fairly certain that _She_ would know how to correct this so that he can mark his beloved. Ryuugo shutters a bit as he realizes that if he does do so, he'll need something to offer in exchange for information upon how to solve this so that he can finally be with his beloved.

Finally, Ryuugo's nerves relax and within minutes, he is once more a man. Getting up off the ground, the occultist then pauses as he realizes that he doesn't know where he is in relation to where the dig site is or, for that matter, where the camp is. It takes him about a half hour to realize that all he has to do is follow his leopard track to return to the dig site.

Naruto

"It's still there..." Naruto mutters softly, it's been two weeks since that black leopard had tried to maul Jun and he had been scratched by the beast. Typically, the scratch would be gone in less then a day and yet, it's still there. Which is rather worrying as the blond is fairly sure that the fox is still within its cell within his body and thus, he still heals at an abnormal rate.

With a sigh, the fourteen year old grabs a spare note pad and writes a short note informing his current teacher about the leopard scratch upon his arm. Once that's done, he bites his thumb before summoning a toad to take the note to Jiraiya. With a sigh, he watches as the toad vanishes into the surrounding forest before looking up at the hint of the approaching dawn.

Then, without much warning then a cloth moving does he find himself under attack by a black leopard. He manages to grab the front of the muzzle and force the head to go up, using only a little chakra to aid in doing so. Wrestling with the feline, the blond ninja does his best to throw the wiggling feline over his head.

Once free of having such a heavy and angry feline pinning him to the ground, the blond ninja quickly creates a group of clones, which causes the recovered leopard to pause. When one of his clones moves to enter the tent to get his kunai pouch, the cat leaps for the clone. It takes a bit but he does manage to get onto the large cat's back while putting the black furred leopard in a head lock. The beast sounds furious at this but Naruto refuses to let the feline go as it's clear that the beast could very well find somebody new to attack.

One of the clones finally finds something heavy and hits the leopard over the head, knocking the beast out. After a few seconds, much to the grad students and his own surprise, the leopard transforms into Ryuugo. While not totally recovered by seeing a leopard become a man, he does use wire to tie the bastard up as its clear that the guy will try to escape.

_Why would Ryuugo want to attack me? It's not like I've done anything physical to him to scare him off..._ Naruto muses while Jun orders some of the grad students to ransack Ryuugo's tent to see if there's any evidence of how the occultist managed to find a way to transform into a leopard.

With his clones to watch over what's happening, he heads into the tent to get dressed or at least put on a shirt as he had slept in a pair of bangy pants just in case something happened at night. As it's rather warm in the Land of Rainforests, he just couldn't manage to wear any more clothing besides the pants. He didn't exit until his belt is secure only to find this... he just didn't know how to describe the feline other then huge, powerful, and female.

**"Well, you aren't you interesting..."** The feline entity muses while Ryuugo begs the deity to free him so that he may 'kill' the 'barbarian' unworthy of her 'blessing'. It's clear to Naruto that the entity doesn't care one wit about Ryuugo's groveling or attempt at flattery.

"Ah... you don't happen to know why this," Naruto points to the marks Ryuugo's claws made on his body, "do you? Typically, it should have faded in under a day about two weeks ago."

Ryuugo becomes silent while the feline entity seems to purr. "It's not that I'm complaining, it's just, well, usually _it_ doesn't let such things remain on my body for long." The blond ninja thinks to add, becoming aware that this just might be that ancient cat deity that was once worshiped across this land.

**"Yes, I can sense one of _those_ in you. I must admit, the Shinigami's aid in sealing _it_ within you is rather surprising."** The deity muses. **"I believe I like you, Naruto-kun. You are rather... divine and yet, it doesn't take away from you having your feet firmly planted upon the ground. After all, forgiveness is divine!"**

Naruto blushes, not really sure how to take this deity's compliments. "I think a lot of people would argue with you about me being anything but a demon, ma'am." He finds himself stating in a slightly dry tone but colored with embarrassment.

**"Yes, most humans are idiotic and often refuse to see what's right in front of them, sometimes no matter how many times they walk into it."** The divine feline says with a soft sigh and Naruto sighs, knowing that he can fall into that category as well. **"Take this one for example, he continues to try for her,"** the deity turns to stare at Jun, **"not taking the hint that she's firmly disinterested in him. He continues to believe that just because she's nice to him that she returns his feelings."**

Ryuugo reddens, pales, reddens, and then pales. "Yea, well, most of the girls in my class were aiming for Sasuke Uchiha as their boyfriend and that prick never gave them anything to cling too. Not that I'm one to talk as I pursued Sakura in much the same fashion. Not that I know much about relationships as I never really interacted with people... Not that I'll ever be able to, considering that my current teacher is a self declared super pervert." Naruto admits with a sigh and running a hand through his blond hair, he stops looking at Ryuugo mid way through that confession.

**"At least you're aware of the fact. Although, you must have had a lot of fun giving all that questionable advice a try, huh?"** The feline entity asks and he blushes.

"Well, yea. Sure, it didn't grant me a good reputation but I have so much leeway in the manner department because of it. The looks on their faces when I followed it were just so enjoyable..." Naruto admits with a grin. "Not that it helped so much with getting Kakashi to pass us though..." He admits, his smile gone.

"He was the worst teacher to assign to a team that sported a avid self styled loner and a social out-cast." Naruto admits before frowning and giving the deity a suspicious look. "Ok, what are you doing to me? I mean, it took years to get comfortable playing the fool and you just stripe it away like that." He snaps his fingers, slightly angered at the fact that he suddenly feels very exposed.

**"Nothing more then giving you a much needed release of your internal pressure to stay in character. Not that I don't understand why you took the role of the fool, so few would see you as a serious threat but it means that they won't take you seriously in any real situation either."** The deity responds and Naruto just looks a bit grim as he has been getting tired of nobody ever _listening_ to him, be it what he leaves unspoken or what how he says things.

"I guess..." He admits and then sighs. "You're not going to answer my original question are you? Or is it because I should already know the answer to it?" He muses out loud and glances down at Ryuugo, studying the creepy stalker for a few minutes as he goes through what he knows about the guy. "He could only mark one person and he wanted to mark Jun, but I got between them and got your mark instead." Naruto says looking over at the female deity to know that he's right.

Ryuugo clearly wants to say something but is likely unaccustomed of ranting and raving before an audience. "You didn't even bother to ask her if she wanted to be marked, did you? Of course you didn't..." Mutters Naruto, shaking his head, knowing that it's useless to talk with Ryuugo, not if the man is willing to make a bargain with a higher power and force that power upon an unsuspecting person.

"Am I going to be wearing your mark for the rest of my life? I think a lot of people how know what I carry will become suspicious of me as it still upon my skin." The teenage ninja asks the deity.

**"Would it be so bad wearing my mark?"** The deity asks and after a few minutes of staring at each other, the feline sighs softly. **"How about this, it'll only appear whenever you are in your leopard form? As you sent that note, why don't we tell your current master that Ryuugo here, found an old folk remedy for you that caused the mark to fad? That's rather believable, don't you think?"**

Naruto breaths out of his nose, tension in his shoulders fading. He nods while filing the fact that he can now transform into a leopard. "I guess, although, does the Kyuubi affect this leopard form or not?" He decides to ask and for the next few minutes, he learns more about the ins and outs of this 'blessing' of the feline deity's.

"So... what will become of him?" Naruto finally asks after a period of silence. "I doubt you want your existence to be revealed like this or because of him." The blond states.

**"Yes, what will I do with you? You already paid, or is that bribed, me with cat nip to get this modified blessing. There's always that unnamed favor you owe me... Looks like I'll be taking you up on it rather earlier then expected."** The feline deity muses and then, without warning, the two fade while the rest of the group leave until he's alone outside of his tent. The signs of the fight erased.

Time begins and Naruto turns to regard that spot upon his arm to find it blank of the claw marks. He stretches a bit before heading for Ryuugo's tent to throw some random things together to make a convincing fake medicine to explain why the leopard claw marks are gone from his arm.

**- o 0 o -**


	145. WizardBadger: Harry Potter

I don't own Harry Potter.

**- o 0 o -**

"I guess you've never heard of Therians, have ya Harry?" The gruff man asks, startling the young wizard. With a sigh, the built thirty something year old presses his lips. "I know that wizards and witches have something call Animagus, but that's a talent they train. With Therians though, we don't need training, at some point, something within us just snaps and we transform into our inner beast."

"One could say that the magi learnt to that particular path of transfiguration from studying natural occurring shape-shifters, often called therianthropy, Therians for short." Kevin tells him. "None really know why therianthropes occur but they do. Of course, not all Therians are capable of using magic, which is why we don't have much of a presence in magical communities around the world. Although, considering that in the past, typically one person born for every two hundred humans are born to be a Therian, although that percentage has been undergoing a series of changes since the beginning of nineteen hundreds."

Harry just stares at the man, feeling rather taken back by that. "How long lived are Therians?" The twenty year old asks, finally deciding that if he's going to be even more... 'special' he might as well get the facts. It's hard to dispute what Kevin is telling him, not when he had spent at least four days of living in the forest as a badger. _I would have thought a feline or maybe take after my dad and be a stag..._

"It depends on how you balance your time as a beast against your time as a human. If you split your time evenly between the two, a very long time as doing so some how causes time's 'touch' on you to be almost non-existent. Besides, it's more likely that you'll die through violent methods then by old age. I've yet to hear of a Therian doing so and I've tried to stay in contact with those from different countries." Kevin admits. "The average life expectancy is four decades once a Therian transforms for the first time."

"They're killed by humans in either form, huh?" Harry asks and Kevin sighs. "That's not really reassuring to know." He murmurs while looking down at his hands. _I'd almost think that this is a result of some ancient family magics..._ He muses to himself while trying to keep from vomiting as he suddenly recalls just what kind of meals he had during those four days.

Harry finally takes the water and pills to settle his stomach. It takes a few minutes before the pills take effect. His tension in his upper body loosens. "How is it that the... common folk not know about Therians?" He asks as to how this group of people manage to slip through the media.

"Who says we hide? There's a subculture all about people calling themselves Furries or Therians. Why hide when there's million of people claiming to be what we are?" Kevin muses and it's then that Harry finally places the smell that's coming from his host.

"How many claim to be werewolves then?" Harry asks while trying to find some feature that goes with the animal he smells coming from Kevin. "Why would anyone want to admit to being unable to control themselves during a full moon?"

"Oh, but they edit it so that they don't suffer from such things." Kevin goes on to explain to him. "They typically turn werewolves into wolf Therians. You'd be amazed what they've done to vampires... Or maybe not."

Harry presses his lips together as he turns away from Kevin to stare at the wall opposite of him. "So... what happens now? What kind of expectations do you and the rest expect from me?" If it's one thing he's learnt, it's everyone expect something from you.

"Nothing beyond keeping yourself from the media's eye, but then, you being a wizard, you already do that. I also think you won't have to be convinced to keep what you are from your fellows either, after all, they do, at time, learn how to transform into animals." Kevin remarks and Harry nods his head in agreement.

_Not that any of them would expect me to become a badger animagus..._ Harry muses to himself while sighing. It's not as though he's stayed close to Hermione or Ron since they began working at different jobs. Ron managed to get onto his favorite team as a reserve keeper and Hermione pursuing a career in law.

Harry himself has dived right into rebuilding his family's holdings and trying to figure out what to do with his godfather's holdings too. He's been buying up land in and around small villages in Scotland. What he plans to do with the land grants are pretty vague, it use to be a toss up between creating farms and all magical towns or creating a magical amusement park.

As soon as Harry feels steady on his feet and has had a good, warm meal, he leaves the boar Therian's rented cabin. Once a few feet away, he uses Apparition to appear at the 12 Grimmauld Place in London, hoping that the family's library might hold some information about Therianthropy. If only to confirm that such a condition is as old as Kevin alluded to.

After all, it's not as though Harry's lacking on forested lands to roam as a badger.

**- o 0 o -**


	146. Time Loop: Space Age: Harry Potter

I don't own Harry Potter.

**- o 0 o -**

Harry sighs while looking down into his mug of cider, wondering what to do now. It's been over a few hundred loops since he began hosting holidays within sight of Hogwarts on those floating platforms. He's even gotten tired of creating the first magical amusement parks too or zoos.

About his wrist is a special magical item that helps prolong the Polyjuice Potion within his body. The other magical items upon his being is a thick collar that animates a fake, eleven year old version of himself while the twin rings upon his index fingers grants the puppet the ability to use magic. The various earrings upon his eyebrows and ears allow him to influence the faux boy.

There's even an enchantment in place that gives the faux boy his very own name, leaving him without one. Not that it matter much, it just means that those capable of using magic just don't pay him any mind, which is a pulse but also a negative as it means that he doesn't get refills of his drink or for his food to arrive more as an after thought.

Each magical item the anchor wears is something he himself created and enchanted within hours of Hagrid leaving him at the Leaky Cauldron. He's come to enjoy the time between his birthday to the day before Hogwarts begins as it's the time where none really take the time to spy upon him. And then, a thought crosses his mind.

_I wonder how high in the air I can have those platforms hover at?_ He wonders, after using those platforms regularly since he began throwing those festivals. Although the problem will likely be about circulating air within the shield and keeping the air from escaping. _Might be a good idea to have a large garden in hopes of filtering the air._

After a few minutes of musing about it, he gulps down the remainder of the cider in his mug. With a slight grin, he's found something to do, after all, if he manages to pull this off, he could give space travel a try. _Or underwater travel._ He thinks to himself, dropping some coins upon the table before leaving.

Picking up his hat, he heads for the door. With a wicked grin plastered upon his face and the snow drifting into the tavern, he causally casts a warming charm upon his cloths. He just walks, not really in much of a hurry as he did set up his tent between two buildings. The entrance of the alley sports an illusion to keep others from noticing the tent while an enchanted set of planks keep the snow from piling up on them.

Upon entering into his tent and with a flick of his fingers, the dangling crystal strings light up. Taking off his hat and cloak, his boots seem to vanish just as he steps off the 'porch' but they appear again when Harry is a few feet away. He walks over to the table and sits down upon the couch. Picking up the remote and pushing the power button, the enchanted television comes on.

He channel surfs to find a movie and then puts the remote back onto the table. The anchor then picks up a sketch book along with a pencil, resting the pencil behind his ear, he flips through the sketch book until he finds a futuristic looking sketch. Taking the pencil from his ear, the seemingly grown wizard begins to add to the rough draft of the metallic appearing building.

He knows that the final product will be something totally different but at this stage, it's about putting everything you think you'll need on the building and then slowly taking or modifying it. He already has the necessary shields, they just need to be modified to be more air tight and to be strong enough to keep outside influences from getting through.

T ( +

It had taken him four years to create the final product, each of the previous platforms had allowed him to test and modify each of the shields, particularly allowing him to find out how being that air tight will affect the structure along with the living things within. _Not that I used actual animals... Those golems worked out rather well._

Not that it should surprise him, Harry's got a lot of experiences with creating golems be they based upon himself or using them as a work force. They didn't need to eat, sleep, or want to be paid, which almost means that they don't gossip or need to socialize at all. He use to give hiring unemployed witches and wizards a try, only for them to take their time with any tasks he's given them, take long breaks, and often take unscheduled time off among some of the things that ticked him off. And then Harry thought to give mundanes and Squibs a try but he ran into other troubles with that too.

Since using man power failed him, he began to puzzle out how to create his very own golems. The Black Library helped in that pursue and so did the Ministry's own collection of books. Then spending time going to mundane schools gave him ideas of how to make use of his materials so they don't need as much magic to be animated it. It took him a long time to figure out the trick of enchanting ropes string about the golem in mimicking muscle groups. Putting on a fake skin and the ropes ripple under the skin, giving the illusion that the golem is a living body.

He needs people to think they're alive as he does send them into the mundane society to purchase things. While he can put shades to cover unblinking eyes, it's harder to have people to ignore how the golem isn't breathing or if the person is touching the golem's arm, how their muscles don't flex. Sure, he could have just slapped a much of magic over them so nobody think of such details but he was trying to create a golem that can pass as a living being without using a lot of magic.

_Well, considering nobody has yet to figure out that the Harry Potter at Hogwarts is anything but a real boy, I'd say that it works. Smart move to give it something that mimics a circulatory system and filled it with clone blood of myself._ He thinks, although there are still a few details he'll have to work on or else go ahead and perform that cloning ritual. It shouldn't be that hard to animate a blank body...

Giving his head a minor shake, he focuses on the grid that he can see from his position upon the platform. A very light blue shimmers, the glow rippling throughout the shield surrounding the floating structure. Sometimes the ripples meet and a darker blue flares up for a few seconds. Glancing down, all Harry could see is clouds.

He smiles at the scenery of his new home, although he knows he's got a long way to go before he can set up a home on the Moon or even on Mars or even orbiting the Earth. Harry didn't know why but magic done by humans seem to fail after two years unless it under the Ozone layer of Earth. The anchor plans to learn just what kind of magic can survive off world but for now, he just wants to enjoy the moment.

_It's nice not to be attending Hogwarts... It's not like the school has anything to offer me anyone either._ Harry muses while moving away from the window to flop onto the couch while the large screen tv playing a Star War movie.

o V =

Harry studies a map of the UK upon the table sporting a bunch of pins. Each pin represents an area that he's searched. Not all of the pins came from this single loop, no, he's searched during previous loops too, but still, he's yet to find the ritual site that Dumbledore set up. He's even dug down to below sea level and still, nothing.

The anchor rubs his chin as he moves to stare at the model of Hogwarts which includes separate models of the school's different floors. Each model even sport tiny dolls that move about while sporting neon names over their heads. He downs his whiskey and moves to sit down in his chair.

"I'm missing something... I know it..." Harry mutters while using his right hand to run over his collection of earrings on his right ear. His left hand is touching his right elbow as his gaze moves between the various models of Hogwarts and the map on the table.

He watches as a ghost doll moves through a wall between two classrooms. "Dumbledore could influence the ghosts but without the ring, he couldn't have complete command of them." Harry says with a slow smile, nodding slowly. "Just because I removed Albus' memories doesn't mean I removed his set commands." The anchor admits with a sigh, which also means that commanding ghosts to search for this ritual site would be his best bet.

He glances over to one of the three golems and uses magic to order the faux person to go fetch the ring from the Gaunt's Shack, after all, the magic on the ring won't harm the golem at all. He then climbs to his feet and has the two remaining golem follow him as he'll need the Elder Wand to undo the enchantments on the ring. It's been a few thousand loops since he united the three Hallows.

Exiting out of the tent that he, once more, set up in Hogsmeade, in one of its alleyways. Harry turns and within seconds, the two golems are soon wrapped up in the illusion of two prominent members of the school board. It takes him a bit to do himself before they march off toward Hogwarts. With the Chamber of Secrets being open, it shouldn't be that surprising to be seeing member of the board popping up without appointments.

Once he's sent Filch to bring Dumbledore to the main gate, Harry takes a moment to check on his faux twelve year old to see if he's roaming about. Then he sends his body double to check on the Weasley twins, not wanting them to be using the map. By the time Albus arrives at the main gate, the anchor is secure that nobody is awake to witness him disarming Dumbledore and taking the wand Hallow for his own.

He'll use the Hallow to transfigure his current wand to appear as the Elder Wand. Harry wouldn't be surprise to learn that this would likely be the first time anyone had thought of such a deception but then, Wizards and Witches do flaunt their wealth and power. If they have a powerful artifact that can only be used by them, they'd wear it or be sure to casually use it in public.

"Ah, Minister Fudge, what a pleasant surprise." The headmaster says and he merely smiles before casually summoning the Deathstick from Albus' pocket. The fact that the wand comes doesn't really shock him that much, after all, he's welded this particular wand plenty of times and just before time restarts does he remain the master of this wand.

A simple stunning spell from the Elder Wand causes Albus to freeze and it doesn't take more then a second to modify the man's mind. With that done, he takes out the yew and dragon heartstring wand from his pocket, holding it in his left hand, he uses the wand in his right to transfigure the yew wood to alter until the wand is the Deathstick's double. Putting the faux Hallow into the headmaster's pocket, they part, the headmaster heading back into the school while he and his golems head for Hogsmeade.

When the golem sent to retrieve the Hallow Stone, he has the golem hold it and then with an over powered cancel spell, the magic protecting the ring and the soul bit vanish but so does the magic animating the golem holding the ring. Harry winces a bit at the but levitates the ring off the floor and takes it from where it's hovering. With pressed lips, he reanimates the fallen golem without using the wand as he doesn't want to accidentally transfigure the golem into a woman as that's the kind of cloths and look he had done when making that golem.

Harry takes the wooden 'car' that he crafted and enchanted to fly. He takes it out of the closest and flies it high over the Forbidden Forest. Once there, he calls forth all of the ghosts native to the UK. It takes only ten minutes for all of the ghosts to appear. Many look rather hasty but also curious too.

"By the Resurrection Stone, I have summoned you." Harry addresses the crowd of ghosts. "And thus, I have need of your serves. I seek a site of a temporal ritual, preferably one that Albus Dumbledore has visited and used. If any of you know what I speak of, please approach and tell what you know." He then waits to see if any of them will volunteer before he makes it an order.

T ( +

Harry studies the jewelry box that took him four years to find. He had already visited the old site that Dumbledore had used previous but it hasn't been in use for decades. Then, Peeves had informed him of a jewelry box Albus had forbidden the poltergeist to ever touch after he had been placed with his aunt.

It helped that Albus is dead and thus most of the enchantments that surround the jewelry box have wasted away without being able to feed off of the man's magic. Even with the Elder Wand, the anchor had trouble finding the box previously years. Harry had even used Moody's magical eye in hopes of locating the box but even equipping the eye on a golem didn't yield much.

He could have order a ghost to be his eyes but he rather not involve such an unreliable element on top of the various paintings too. Harry didn't know how Fawkes fit into the security but then, Harry still doesn't get why the magical bird even found Albus to be worthy of his company. _At least I know where to go to get phoenix tears, ashes, and feathers._

Harry then moves to his pensieve and reviews memories of memories that belong to Albus Dumbledore for a spell that would allow one to teleport into such a tiny space. Less then a few seconds have passed since he dived into his memories. Once he's ready, Harry teleports into the expanded space within the jewelry box, making a note to think of a way to make use of such an interesting bit of magic. He's pretty sure that there's a number of ways to use it in the future.

"Well, it's nice of you to finally arrive, Mr Potter." A woman's voice chimes in and he turns to find two beautiful women and a young preteen lounging about a ruined ritual space. "We have so much to discuss after all." The one sporting a darker skin tone then the others.

Harry just gulps and backs up a bit, not really sure what to make of the three lounging about. "Really? I would have thought you'd be expecting Albus Dumbledore..." The anchor trails off, not liking the fact he doesn't know a thing about the three or that he'll be able to overpower them if they decide to get violent.

He's not sure what it is about them but they just have this aura about them that made him feel as though he's outclassed and outgunned.

**- o 0 o -**

To Reader:

Like you can't guess who they are or why they want to speak with him.


	147. A Tiny Accident: Harry Potter

As Harry sits upon the bed within the Hospital, the eleven year old tries to sort out the various details that lead him to his current situation and appearance. With the tip of his tail moving against his knee while his two hands rest upon his fur covered legs, the famous boy looks out of the nearest window. Unlike at Hogwarts, he's very much alone in the room as the nurse has been gone for close to five minutes now, grabbing him something warm to drink.

_It started that day Malfoy tried to fling something into Neville's cauldron. Of course, being a simple minded prat, he didn't think twice about the consequences or of somebody getting between the item being thrown and Neville's cauldron._ He admits, recalling how the explosion of Malfoy's potion had flung that potion about the room, some of it into other cauldrons and then they would explode.

Harry rubs his forehead before running a hand over the fur covering his head, it had only been their third potion lessen too. He makes a face, recalling the smells that assaulted him along with the overwhelming sense of being off kilter. _It's amazing the House Elves managed to rid my robes of that stench in a single night. But then again, perhaps I shouldn't as they did manage to repair all of Dudder's old things too. Making them seem almost as good as new._

With a sign, he leans back, allowing his back to touch the wall not far behind him as he recalls the march to the Hospital Wing. _Trust the Slytherins to stop walking just because they don't have the common sense to take off their footwear._ Harry thinks dryly.

He recalls how the rest of the Gryffindors grouped upon the beds, waiting from an adult to arrive. Harry had been the only one to take out his wand to try and alter his glasses before moving onto his footwear. The glasses began to trouble him within minutes of them walking away from the Potion Classroom, likely due to the alteration done to head in general. He recalls how nobody even bothered to crack open a textbook to relieve the boredom, but then, some likely didn't grab their book bags when they left.

_Oh yea, can't forget the bristling match that started when Snape left to retrieve Madam Pomfrey. Honestly, you'd think they'd know better then to start picking a fight. I swear, most of the guys just used the accident as an excuse to act out._ He muses with a scowl. "Not that Malfoy was ever punished for his part in the accident. Heck, the only reason nobody was punished likely been because a member of the Slytherin House would have been given detention."

_The defense of him not knowing any better fell short because Malfoy grew up in a magical home and likely taught by the 'best' tutors money could buy. They should demand their money back, the prat clearly didn't learn anything during those years._ Harry thinks with a sigh. _So glad I don't have to worry about that anymore._

Harry glances over to the door and to the nurse has returned. "Thanks." He says while taking the mug from the woman. The nurse smiles warmly before leaving the room, likely to attend to the needs of another patient.

It takes a bit before Harry recollects his thought concerning past event. Rubbing the front of his throat, he then rotate his neck about, causing minor sounds of popping and a small sound of something cracking. He then takes turn rotates his shoulders a bit, the mug switches hands and he kind of get an idea of what he had been musing about when the nurse arrived with his hot drink.

_Oh yea, Professor McGonagall arrives at the end of the school day. She just marches right into the back, not even trying to reassure us. Heck, Snape showed more interest in us then she did. After an hour, she just marched right out, not even trying to comfort anyone. And she's the Deputy Headmistress!_ Harry thinks while drinking from his mug.

_The least she could have done was speak with the rest of the house if not the school about treating us normally._ He thinks to himself, recalling the jokes featuring bananas, monkeys, and picking bugs off each other. _Although, to be fair, none of the other teachers seemed to have been motivated to interfere on our behalf, well, nobody did make such comments when Snape was around, but then, that's likely is because they don't want a months detention and loses points._ Harry mentally adds.

He recalls the beginning of the next day and how they were given a potion to protect them from parasites from the outer variety like fleas and inner ones like tapeworms. The potion is one that is typically given to pets to protect them from said parasites, which didn't really help their situation when the rest of the school learnt that little fact. Even Snape had to take said potion.

_If they have such a potion then everyone should be given it. It's not like humans don't have their own brand of parasites, what do they call lice?_ Harry thinks darkly. "Tapeworms live in anything's intestines too." He murmurs out loud.

As he finishes his drink, he reflects that this could be the best Christmas he's ever had, which is rather said considering he currently looks like a monkey and had just left his birth country, not really sure if his accounts will be transferred like he requested either. _On the bright side, I finally began to take control of my life._

The doctor finally comes in. "Mr Potter, I have your results here to go over with you." Doctor Feasey says upon taking a seat upon one of the chairs. "The results of your famous scar tell us that it is actually a Horcrux, the soul piece is surprisingly small, which is rather worrying."

"Why is that worrying?" He asks. Harry's right index finger moves up and down.

"It means that whoever created it has made a bunch of them before they made you into one. Don't worry, we can deal with it without killing you or doing you any undo harm." Doctor Feasey explains and he sighs.

"We also want to begin you on potions that will, in time, correct your previous injuries you have suffered during your childhood." This causes him to tense as he hadn't expected his health report to be able to hint about it. "We won't press you to talk about it but we do have people for you to talk to when you're ready to do so." The man explains. "Also you might want to contact a lawyer to begin to legal proceedings."

"I see. Do any of them operate in both... societies?" Harry asks, not sure if it's an acceptable to call non-magicals Muggles.

"We typically use the terms Mundanes and Magi." Doctor Feasey explains. "Now then, as to your changed appearance, we believe we know why none of your school nurse's cures work. It seems that the potion altered the expression of your genes. The cures were trying to remove a continuous magical presence on you when there wasn't one to remove."

Harry finds that answer to be rather believable. "We believe that going through Animagus training will allow you to regain your previous appearances." His doctor informs him. "We would like you to give us a copy of the potion accident and any of updates you were given about your condition."

"Ah... I don't mind giving the copy of the incident but nobody ever gave us updates about our condition." Harry admits before asking, "And how do I give you a copy of the incident?"

Doctor Feasey frowns, it's clear that the man's opinion of the staff of Hogwarts is going down. "There are ways to extract copies of a person's memory and put them into an artifact called a pensieve." The man explains and Harry wonders if such things are used as evident in court.

"Ah. Do you need the memory now?" Harry asks curiously.

"No, but we would want to deal with your Horcux. We have everything prepared, so if you would follow me?" Doctor Feasey says while getting up off the chair.

He unfolds his legs and then moves off the exam table. He's sure to grab his jacket which holds his shrunken trunk, he didn't bring Hedwig's cage as he didn't feel like imprisoning the snowy owl. He's sure that Hedwig will be able to find him when he needs her.

**To Be Continued . . .**


	148. The AA of PantherBoy 2: Harry Potter

- o 0 o -

**I Don't Own Harry Potter**

- o 0 o -

_Well, well, well... Looks like they did keep the pieces of the staff, just destroyed the head._ Realms muses before Harry could unroll the scroll that came with the fourteen cm bit of wood. The wereleopard just rolls his emerald eyes while unrolling the scroll.

"Any more interesting tidbits you want to pass along?" The eleven year old asks the sentience sword that feeds off of the blood of its welder. As the scroll unrolls, he can hear the snowy owl fluffs up her feathers with a soft click of her beak now that she's finished drinking from the bowl of water that Harry had provided upon her return.

_Nope, not really._ Realms remarks as he begins to scan the contents of the letter. Tomorrow is the day where he's to head for London to get aboard of some train that will take him along with the other 'muggle' raised students to Hogwarts, at which point they'll be given instructions upon how to harness their magic.

With pressed lips, Harry shakes his head at how flowery the explanation is about why they never destroyed the staff. Sure, they destroyed the top of the staff as none like that part of it as it bought up memories of punishment they suffered at the hands of the ex-Queen of Opar. Not that he really care much about what they did with the staff, unlike majority of his fellow 'brothers' in the Brotherhood of Leopard-Men, he only suffered at her hands for less then three months while some suffered for decades. _At least it explains why I couldn't 'bond' with another wooden foci, if they had destroyed it all, then I could have... Maybe._

"Mind doing a little scalping, Realm?" Harry asks the sword leaning next to the bed while holding the staff sliver with his left hand. The wood seems to melt and within a few seconds, the eleven year old is holding something akin to the few wands he's seen during those following times that they had taken to visiting that magical shopping district in London.

He whistles at the finely 'carved' cat head at the handle of the wand. The grip of the handle sports leopard spots. Such personal touches illuminating to Harry's true nature. _Looks like it'll pass inspection, although I could have done without the leopard head..._ Harry muses while putting the wand away.

With the wand in the trunk, the wereleopard transforms into his hybrid form before picking up Realm. The room expands as Harry rises the magical sword up in the air. Stepping away from the trunk and bed, he slowly began to go through his typical work out to keep himself in tip-top shape. Given his history of adventures whenever Harry was sent away, the wereleopard could only imagine what kind of danger they'll be getting into at a magical school.

_Kids learning to use magic? That's only asking for trouble._ He thinks to himself while Realm arcs in the space before him. Harry rather doubts the safety of the student populous and worries about what kind of things they teach their students.

o - T - o

**September 1, 1991**  
**Hogwarts Express**

Harry grunts softly as the noise from the platform intrude upon his nap. The young wereleopard had arrived near dawn to find the train waiting and once it became apparent that nobody was going to greet him, the black furred leopard-boy climbs onto one of the carts before selecting one, giving his wand a try by preforming a few wards that he recalls Realm explaining to him once upon a time.

It had taken a lot of effort on his part but Harry believed the wards were set up. With them up and deciding not to invite Realm to begin criticizing his attempt, the eleven year old laid out on the floor of the compartment as the benches were too narrow and didn't possess much in the way of a cushion upon them. _I never would have guessed magic could take so much effort... But then, none of my 'Brothers' have tried to preform magic either..._

_'Are my wards still up?'_ Harry asks, focusing his 'spoken' thoughts to Realm. Most of the time, he never bothered with this form of communication as he didn't care what people thought of him but he didn't want to alert anyone to the location of this compartment. It's why he had drawn the curtains across the window before setting up the wards.

_They are shaky, but they're up. Not bad for a first timer but then, not the greatest either._ The sword remarks and he just snorts softly while stretching his body a bit. _Not even sure how any have missed them either, guess they haven't bothered to reason that some of the students might be advance enough to ward their compartment cars._

Harry opens up the bag he kept out of the trunk so he didn't have to lug it up and down from the overhang. Slowly, voices of students seep through the walls of the compartment, signaling that the train is filling up so that it can then leave the station. It takes a few minutes for him to find his walk-man and a travel version of Chinese Checkers.

_Black._ Realm says as he fits the headphones of the walk-man about the sword's hilt. The play button clicks as Harry sits on the opposite seat of Void of the Realm, being sure to put the black marbles on the board before choosing his color, this time he picks red.

Once the board sports the two colors, it raises up and takes to hovering between Realm and himself. Harry faintly hears the music that is playing from the walk-man. If the eleven year old wanted to, he could have shifted to the hybrid form to pick up the music more clearly. As the students say their fair-wells to their parents/guardians, Realm makes a move on the opposite side of the board.

He mostly just leans forward and after a few minutes of thought, moves on of his own marbles. The train begins to jerk and the fair-wells grow louder, not that either really bothers the Chinese Checkers board hovering between Realm and Harry. The train's whistle sounds out while the murmur from beyond the compartment quiets down.

A some point, during the second side of the walk-man's tape beginning to play does the door leading out into the hallway rattle. After a few curses, somebody orders somebody to open the door, only causing it to rattle. Next comes a command to give the door the shoulder and this causes Harry to turn his head just so, allowing him to see the door a bit better without taking his focus off of the game of Chinese Checkers, knowing that if he allows his focus to shift, Realm will alter his side of the board just enough that he wouldn't notice it until a few rounds later.

The door just holds fast, just. Harry lets out a soft hiss as somebody tries to ram the door inward. He shakes his head while squaring his shoulders while pulling away from leaning towards the board. The emerald eye leopard-boy doesn't bother to ask Realm to reinforce the door, if the sword didn't want their game interrupted then Realm will ensure that the door won't give and if the sword didn't care... Well, he rather not 'pay' for the service by forfeiting at least four of his turns just to see that the door stays close.

_It's not as though we can't restart at a later date..._ Harry thinks to himself while wincing at the loud crack as the door and a rather husky built pre-teen enters into the room. Not even bothering to keep his eyes on the board, he turns to give flat, frank looks at the trio who wanted into the compartment.

"I wonder how much that'll cost your parents..." Harry wonders as he reaches out to grab the board. He feels it resting on his one hand then sees it as his full attention is upon the blond and his muscle.

"Your... your..." The blond stutters and Harry's lips twist up a bit. "I am rather famous, aren't I? Or it that infamous? Not that I'm prone to give people my real name during my summer vacations." The eleven year old sporting emerald eyes bemuses with a sly grin as he leans fully back.

"Your... Harry bloody Potter." The muscle who wasn't laying on the floor states and Harry chuckles at the god smacked look upon the blond's face, particularly as it's directed to said muscle. _Likely didn't expect him to speak, at all._

"Well, other then 'bloody' actually being James, then right on the money." He answers. "And I don't do autographs, you never know what you could be signing when you do." Harry adds, although dealing with these three were already growing tiresome.

The blond finally gathers himself and introduces himself while stepping over the as of yet door bashing muscle, taking a seat next to Realm, although the blond clearly sports a flash of confusion concerning the sword. "I am Draco Malfoy, hire to house Malfoy."

Harry raises a slight eyebrow before realizing that Draco is what is commonly called a 'Pure-Blood'. "Oh? Huh. Why are you on the train if you don't need to be? I mean, why send you to the train station when they could have used other means to send you straight to the school's property?" The emerald eye leopard-boy asks, mostly wanting Draco to confirm his suspicion of why Draco's parents would want him riding on a 'muggle' enchanted train.

This causes each of the three to look rather baffled while the one who broke the door finally gets up off the floor and the door. "What are you on about? All Hogwarts students arrive viva the train." Draco answers.

Harry frowns just enough while replying, "But you're a Pure-Blood, aren't you? Why would your parents want you to ride on something clearly 'muggle' in origin? Why not send you to school in a carriage or through the Floo Network? I was lead to believe only those muggle-raised needed to take the train as they don't have the magical means to travel to the school."

This seems to cause Draco and the two un-named boys to look like they were going to... Well, it just seems that they weren't use to thinking deeply on. anything in the case of the two muscle. Draco's mouth would begin to move but it seems that he stumped the other boy in a rather spectacular fashion. _Guess magic doesn't cure inbreeding._

"Yes, well, I... ah, I know people!" Draco exclaims in a fluster before paling and looking embarrassed about the out burst. "I mean, I can introduce you to the people." The blond hastily says in correction.

"That's nice..." Harry says in a droll way. "If that's all, could you please leave? We're rather busy with our game of Chinese Checkers." He says is a very dismissive way, following this up with a look that heavily suggests that they leave.

The trio retreat rather quickly, not even bothering to say a parting comment. _You sure have a way with your peers._ Realm says while the door is repaired and then the compartment glows briefly which means that Realm set up wards about the room.

Harry merely snorts softly while rearranging the board so that they may start all over again. It wasn't long before Realm requests that he changes the tape after they finished a game. It wasn't long before he becomes restless and he begins to look for something else to do that causes the eleven year old to remain seated.

_Vampire the Masquera? When did I pack this?_ The wereleopard wonders but it seems that those D&D books he had packed hadn't made it to his pack but into his trunk. With a shrug, he opens the book and begins to read it.

Some time later, the train jerks and that causes the dozing eleven year old leopard-boy wakes. Harry stretches a bit and yawns, while noticing that there wasn't much in the way of sunlight on the curtains. Putting something into the book as a bookmark, the emerald eye leopard-boy then proceeds to gather up a few loose ends and putting them back into the pack.

The echoing cry of Hagrid serves as a rallying point and once Realm is fastened onto his back along with the pack, they exit out of the compartment. Harry notes the robes that the other students are wearing and can only frown at them as school hasn't even started yet, so he saw no reason to wear the uniform unit class begins. As he walks through the crowd of students, he did notice a number of them stopping to stare at him.

"Don't ya know that you were suppose to change into your robes?" Somebody sneers and he snorts softly while moving closer to the spot where Hagrid is. A number of other murmur the same set of questions when he is with the rest of the new students.

"What's with the sword?" A girl who's face reminds him of a certain breed of dog inquires. "I doubt you'll be keeping it once we're at the castle." The girl adds.

"If the goblins couldn't take this sword from me when I visited their bank, what makes you think the staff will fair any better?" He asks, deciding to continue to ignore the questions about his cloths. "As Hagrid about it, he witnessed that particular event." He adds as an afterthought.

This causes a number of students to stare at Realm but with the older students gone, Hagrid then leads them through the woods a short way. "No more then four to a boat." Hagrid shouts and he merely stares at the boats they are to ride in, not really sure why the boats need to look so ratty.

"Bet magic is the only reason they're still sea worthy..." Harry murmurs softly under his breath while watching as the other First years climbing into the boats. Realm seems to mentally snort in his mind before he heads for one of the boats that lack four members. They gaze in bewilderment at him but shift their looks else where, like towards the castle that the boats are now moving towards.

It takes him a moment to realize that none of them could see the castle, not until gasps of wonderment causes him to give them strange looks. "What are you gasping about? It's been there all along." Harry murmurs which causes a few of his boat-mates to send a dirty look or two at him. _Must be some seasonal illusion that hides it from those on the lake._ He concludes to himself as the boats enter into a minor dock within the castle.

They climb out of the boats and onto the docks. A few of the students seem to sway on their feet as Hagrid begins to lead them towards the stone stair case. It wasn't hard for him to take point compared to the rest of the students, it seems that few of them were in as good of shape as he is. Not even Hagrid seems to be quick up the stairs, which means that he's at the top of the stairs before everyone else.

_'So... what kind of wards does this castle have?'_ He inquires to Realm while watching the group of students and their guide climb up the stone stairs. The lack of light doesn't hinder him at all, after all, he is part feline.

_Most of the wards seem to be warped or disabled. The latest bunch of wards seem more to connect the paintings, statues, and ghosts to a kind of information network._ Realm reports. _The warping seems to be due to lack of maintenance which caused weaken warps to combine to access power. It's likely the warping that allows the castle to seem to feature 'quirks' that suggest that the castle is 'alive' or even sentient when it really isn't._

Harry thinks this over as the rest of the group finally arrives. Hagrid nods at him before knocking upon the doors about three times. They open to reveal a very stern looking woman, clearly old as her hair is gray. Unsurprisingly, the woman takes a look at him and her look morphs into a disapproving look.

Then she takes out her wand and tries a spell aimed in his direction. The spell hits but nothing happens other then his cloths glowing every so briefly. He raises his eyebrows slightly at the woman's rather stunned, god-smacked look before the woman tries again. _What a waste of magic._ Is his only thoughts as he casually looks about the hall with a bored look upon his face.

"Are you wearing enchanted cloths?" The woman demands and he turns his head. "Never bothered to have them enchanted. It's my natural immunity that is keeping you from trying to ruin my cloths." Is his reply, his gaze very disapproving.

"You were suppose to put on your school robes on the train." The woman states and he snorts. "School classes hasn't started yet, so I didn't see the point in changing into them." He states in a cold tone.

"You shouldn't have brought the sword." The woman says in a stern tone while sporting another, sever look of disapproval. It's suddenly very clear to him that this woman is use to being obeyed and doesn't like how she is being addressed by him.

"The sword stays and don't bother trying to take it, Hagrid can attest to what can happen." Harry states and the woman glances over to the half-giant while he glances at the moving paintings. He didn't care what kind of authority the woman has, he already is regretting coming to this school so being thrown out would be a blessing in his opinion.

Maybe he had read one too many fantasy novels or gotten use to dealing with magic in certain settings, but the eleven year old expected things to be less uniform. Diversity was something he had been expecting but this... it was just too dull. _The castle isn't even hovering hundreds of miles in the air either..._ Harry thinks to himself, his expectations seemingly falling apart the longer he's standing within the castle.

The woman finishes her speech and then marches them through various halls. Hush whispers erupt at some points along the march, mostly fellow muggle-raised commenting on the suits of armor or the various moving pictures. The halls ceilings are high up and it seems that none of the paints or tapestries that high up. _I can use that, although how, I'm not sure yet..._ He muses and wonders how wide the ledges were, if they were wide enough then he can walk about on them to escape the notice of the various moving pictures.

They arrive at yet another set of doors, which he merely rolls his eyes as the woman slips into said room. "You could have been more polite to the professor." A bushy haired girl says, figuratively rounding on him.

"She wasn't polite to me and I found her attempts to alter my cloths to be rather disrespectful, particularly her expectation of us needing to wear school robes when classes haven't even begun. They are a school uniform after all and I doubt classes begin tonight as well." Harry explains to the noisy girl, which also had the effect of answer the group's own unanswered questions regarding why he isn't wearing the robes.

A few minutes tick by and finally the stern, authoritative professor returns, this time opening the doors fully. The sight that greats them is four rows of student tables and a fifth table for the staff. He follows the rest of the group without much thought as he casts his gaze all over the hall. It doesn't really surprise him about their reactions to the ceiling, which is rather impressive but nothing that remarkable compared to what he's read in various novels, comics, watched in movies, TV shows, and, finally, real life experiences.

It's the singing that grabs his attention and pulls it to the stool sporting a hat that sings. _Finally something that's got a lively personality to it in this castle._ Harry thinks to himself, not really bothered that it's in the form of a singing hat.

Polite applauds come from the students when the song is done. The stern professor unrolls a scroll and reads a name from it. As the names are read, it's clear that it switches back and forth from using the first name to using the last name. He notices when the blond, Draco, is called and how the hat simply refused to touch this one's head. _The hat didn't really sort him, it didn't even want to touch him... Which means that the hat is forced to honestly sort those that touch it._

As if testing this new observation, he paid attention to who the hat curls away from, shouting out a house name and those it doesn't, which takes at least a minute or two before supplying the house name. _The hat connects those it touches to the wards, any who it doesn't touch aren't connected and thus, do not benefit from the protection of the wards._ Realm supplies.

_'I see but that doesn't explain why it refuses to touch them.'_ Harry thinks at his magical sword. With a shake of his head, he hears his name being called and walks up to the sentient hat and the stool is had been sitting on.

He feels the hat make contact with his head. _'Why are you not linking in every student into the wards?'_ The eleven year old asks the hat.

_You noticed that, did you? I'm not the only presence in your mind am I?_ The hat muses and he gets this odd sensation that Realm is engaging into a private conversation with the sorting hat.

"Gryffindor!" Bellow the hat and is taken off while he continues to frown but does get up. Harry wanted an answer to that question but it seems that he won't get one unless the hat has told Realm the reason.

The loudness begins to cause a throbbing in his head, particularly as he draws closer to those sporting gold and crimson. He doesn't particularly care where he sat so when a free space opened up, he took it once he had taken his pack off while adjusting Realm just so. He leans slightly heavily on the wooden table and is rather glad when silence claimed the hall.

The last few names were called and then, as the woman takes the stool and hat away, the headmaster stands up to address them. _The one next to the guy favoring black is possessed. Seems to be the same guy who left that soul bit in your forehead._ Realm says and he turns his emerald gaze upon the pair.

He then blinks and turns away from the staff table and leans back. The color blind old man says some nonsense words, a signal to those preparing the food to send it up to the tables. He merely blinks for a moment, snorts at the meat heavy meal before him for a few seconds more and then begins to collect most of the meat within his range.

With the appearance of food, it seems to signal the start of table conversations. He listens with half an ear as various peers of his year brag about their linage and gives minor bits concerning their family history. He merely hums or grunts at the right times as he consumes every bit of free meat about him. He had gone without a hearty meal of lunch and so is very famished.

The bones quickly pile up on his plate, far faster then his neighbors but then, they were only eating halfheartedly, more concerned with visiting with their fellows. "Hey! I wanted some of those drum sticks!" Exclaims a crimson haired, scrawny like preteen.

Pausing ever so slightly to swallow before taking another bite, he replies, "Then you shouldn't be talking to your neighbors. You should either eat or talk, not do both at the same time."

Finally, his hunger is sated and once his plate is cleared up, he begins to pick up what passes as veggies and fruit at the table, he ignores the pumpkin juice for water. By then, his neighbors seem to have nothing more to say to each other but considering their sneaking glances at his direction, it's clear they want to know why he has a sword with him and likely what's up with the back pack. As he polishes off what's on his plate and doesn't add anything more for the next five minutes, a change happens and the remainder of the meal is switched out with desserts.

He is rather picky about what he takes from the offered selection as most of it was pastry in nature. When he doesn't take any more, he stretches his shoulders and glances at the wrist watch upon his wrist. Raising a slight eyebrow at the time, he exhales slowly and glances about the hall.

"Well? Aren't you going to explain about where you got the sword?" The crimson haired preteen asks in a rather demanding fashion.

He blinks and looks over at the kid. "It's private information and no, you can not touch it. If you do, I'm not liable for any thing that happens to you or to the surrounding area." Harry states flatly.

"It looks rather foreign, don' it?" Mutters one of his house-mates. It seems that they don't approve of foreign items.

"Hey! Your watch! It works!" One of the half-bloods exclaims in udder amazement and he just mentally sighs. His magical protection is like a second skin that covers his whole being. Sadly, the negative side to having this protection seems to be at the cost at his ability to use magic.

It had been something of a dream to him once he had gotten home from Africa to be able to place magical curses on his relatives but none of his attempts had worked, which left him believing that he's just a battery and not the live-wire. Then comes the next summer and he acquired Void of the Realms, suddenly he had access to magic, sure he wasn't the one weaving it but he could make requests and see them fulfilled. That had been more then enough for him, he could live with that but then Hagrid appeared and informed him that he should be able to weave magic, not unlike Realm, only to conclude now that because of his status as a leopard-boy, he'll always have trouble weaving spells.

The dessert plates and their personal plates vanish but before they're able to leave the hall, Albus Dumbledore once more addresses them. It's a request for them to sing the school song, which Harry meets with a look of disbelief. His headache starts up as the others begin singing it, each doing their own modifications and timing. He grinds his teeth while following after his house-mates once his pack is back on his back.

It takes a few minutes for them to arrive at this stair well possessing a bonanza of moving pictures. Then come before a certain one and upon giving the woman featured within the painting the password, the painting moves to reveal a room sporting the feeling of a living room. The primary colors used were the house colors.

With a soft grunt, he heads up the stairs, not really paying any mind to the older students. Once he locates the room possessing his trunk, he sets his pack down on the floor before going through the trunk. Upon finding that everything seems to be in order, he puts his pack into the trunk once he grabs his alarm. He discards most of his cloths, leaving on his underwear.

Realm sets wards about the bed and the trunk while he stretches a bit. "Add a silencing ward too, if you don't mind. I don't want to hear my room-mates or have them hear me." Harry says as he draws the curtains about the bed.

_I'll even include one that keeps them from throwing the curtains open._ Is Realm reply. He nods as the curtains glow for a few seconds. With that done and his room-mates finally filing into the room, he takes Realm and moves through the curtains.

Putting Realm next to the pillow and taking the undergarments off, Harry then shifts into his black leopard form. Circling about the center of the bed, Harry lies down, his tail curling about his head. It wasn't long before his mind quiets down enough for sleep to take him.

o - T - o

**September 2, 1991**  
**Hogwarts School**

The black furred leopard sporting emerald green eyes yawns upon uncurling his body. Getting to his feet, the predatory feline glances about his surroundings, taking a few minutes to remember where it is he is. With a shake of his head, Harry shifts into his human form and upon collecting his underwear, puts them on before reaching for Realm.

Moving the curtains to the left, he climbs out of the bed. He glances out of the window while stoutly ignoring the snorts of his room-mates, more then a little glad that Realm had put up those silencing wards about the bed. It takes him a bit to pull out his watch, checking the time, he then collects a shirt before heading down to use the rest room, being sure to take Realm with him.

Harry's shower takes up to twenty minutes to be completed, particularly as he had to go back up to get his shampoo and conditioner as there weren't any down in the showers. "Going to have to make arrangements to purchase more when what's in the bottles run out." The eleven year old murmurs under his breath upon returning to the room.

As he finishes getting dress, various alarms go off and his room-mates struggle to wake up. With a shake of his head, the eleven year old leopard-boy then moves to empty out his pack and exchanging various items for school books plus things to take notes with. Harry leaves the tabletop role playing books in the back. As his room-mates sit up and rub the sleep from their eyes, he has Realm and the back on his back as he leaves the room.

A few members of his house are drifting towards the showers or the restrooms. Leaving the common room, it takes Harry a few minutes to return to the dinning hall. Harry notices that members of the Ravenclaw house sitting at one of the four tables and not wanting to sit alone, waiting for members of his house to come down, he walks over to the table.

"Mind if I join you?" He asks one of the older students. They seem rather startled.

"Your a Gryffindor, aren't you?" One of them asks in a dull tone. At which point he hums a positive as he sits on the right of the student he addressed. "You know that this is the Ravenclaw table, don't you?"

"Your telling me that you always sit at this table? Even when one of the other tables are free? That you never move to sit at one of the others?" Harry asks with a hint of disbelief while looking away from the sudden appearance a cup of juice.

Each of the Ravenclaws seem to nod and Harry leans back a bit as he regards them. "Why? What's so special about this table? I mean, there isn't a table cloth sporting your house colors or are their carved heads of your house's mascot on the corners of the table and the bench. I don't see any silverware here proclaiming it belonging to your house either. That banner is gone too, so, why do you keep sitting here?"

From the dumbfound looks as the members of Ravenclaw glance about their table, seemingly looking at it for the first time. Although, one recovers to sneer at him while replying, "This table is where all previous members of our house sat and it'll be where all future members of the house sit."

"Here's an odd thought, do you think that this is the same table you sat at last night? As in, how are you sure that the tables haven't been rotated about the room? For all you know, this very table was used as the Staff table or even Hufflepuff table." Harry asks after a few seconds of thinking about it. "Besides, you all must be rather bored of viewing the room from this particular spot." He adds, picking up the cup of water and drinking it before touching the juice cup.

_Don't you know how to make friends..._ Realm muses to him and he snorts ever so softly while drinking more water. It seems that his thoughtful observation sparked a rather furious debate with those Ravenclaw students.

In the end, one of them uses a wand to carve an image of a rose onto the bench and the debate ends. _'Mind making that same mark on one of the other benches while repairing this one when breakfast ends?'_ Harry asks Realm and the sword merely chuckles, thus proving that Realm would cooperate on this little case of mischief.

The topic changes, particularly, they ask him about last night and why he is lugging about Realm. He finishes the juice before giving any answers, "I carry Void of the Realm about because I'm the only who's capable of safely using it."

It's more of an answer then he gave his house-mates but then, he just didn't feel like socializing and this morning he did. "It's not a magic sword... is it?" One of the Ravenclaws ask.

He smirks slightly as he replies, "What do you think? Besides, it's as much a souvenir as a weapon. I got it during a summer trip to the Far East."

"Must have been an exciting trip." One of the students says in a neutral way. His only reply as he picks up the refilled cup of water is, "It was."

"So... what do you think of Hogwarts so far, Harry?" Another asks, the topic being changed. Each member at the table seem eager to hear his thought concerning Hogwarts.

Harry sighs and it takes him a few minutes to arrange an answer, trying to cushion his reply. "Well... to be honest, I've never visited a magical school before or seen moving pictures before." The eleven year old says in a slow, deliberate manner. "I came here with little in the way of expectations and so far, I get the feeling that I should wait a week before forming any lasting impression of Hogwarts." He states, although he can't help but feel that the week will more then likely finalize how bad of an experience it'll be to remain here for the full year.

Most of those Ravenclaws at the table seem to think he's impressed while a minority seems to be frowning, likely thinking deeply about his answer. But before one of those minority could press to get a clearer reply from him, members of the other houses finally begin to show up. A few seem to just stop moving just as they move to pass the table as if they just catch his house-badge upon his robes.

One of those newly arrived Ravenclaws demands, loudly, "What is **HE** doing here? Why is _he_ sitting at our table?"

Silence falls all about the various groups as they all turn to watch the fall out of this. Harry just raises an eyebrow at the speaker while more then those earlier comers frown at the speaker. "He's a Gryffindor!" That same person explodes, pointing right at the eleven year old.

"Why yes, I did get sorted into that house. I wonder what gave it away? Was it the fact you can see this badge? Or was it because you witnessed my sorting last night?" He asks said rude Ravenclaw, which causes a few to snicker.

The teen's look of outrage merely causes him to chuckle. "So... when do we get our class schedules?" He asks, turning to regard to one sitting to his left. "I didn't receive one since I picked up my supplies." He adds.

"They get handed out today. Your house dictates which classes you take at what time." Said Ravenclaw answers while the rest of the new students go back to heading to their chosen table. He remains seated and even reaches for his water.

"Why aren't you leaving? Members of your house are over there!" Said explosive Ravenclaw bellows.

"You are rather high strung, aren't you? If you don't want to join us at the table, you could go sit with your friends in another house." Harry replies in a dismissive way before returning to the topic concerning his schedule. "Why by house? Shouldn't they review our previous school records to decide our schedule? Some of us are more studious then others and would absorb the school work at a quicker rate. Why drag those capable to advancing at a quicker pace to the pace of the slowest in the class?"

"Well, for one, few of the Pure-Blood students ever attend school before Hogwarts." Answers the older student sitting across from him. "It's rather frustrating, to be sure, but it's just how the school is. You'll find the teachers all teach the one subject to every year."

"Your the one sitting at the **WRONG** _table_!" Bellows that teen once more. Once more, silence descends but unlike previously, a teacher approaches.

"What's going on here? What are you yelling about?" The slightly plump teacher asks.

"He's a Gryffindor! He should be sitting over there! With his own kind!" Said complainer whines, being sure to point and gesture at him and then at the rest of his house.

The woman blinks and glances first at him before looking at the rest of the table. "I would say that you are the only one who shares that particular opinion. So either sit down and stop with the disturbances or find another place to sit at one of the other tables." The teacher states before walking away, Harry gives the woman a thoughtful look before trying to recover his train of thought.

"He should even be here!" The teen whines. "Oh shut it! Do you even know who he is? He's Harry Bloody Potter! If he wants to sit with us instead of with his house, let him! He was here long before any of you and he didn't want to be the only one at his table." One of the original early 'birds' snaps at said teen, a teen who decided to finally sit down at the table.

A few seem to relax upon hearing that, as it does explain why he was here at their table to begin with. a very reasonable answer at that. "Ok... If the only one teacher has always taught their class, then that would mean to save on writing up new tests or thinking up new projects that they recycle them. If that's so, then you pretty much know everything that there is to know when it comes to the classes."

"That... that might be true..." One of the Ravenclaws admits as the food finally arrives. "It shouldn't be that hard to disprove or prove. Could contact previous graduates to see if they still have their notes and homework assignments." Another says.

It wasn't long before the Ravenclaw students add their two cents in while Harry slowly fills his plate up. It wasn't long before all of those between second year through to seventh year begin to drudge up almost forgotten homework topics for this class or this test for such and such class had this question while owls enter and wheel overhead carrying mail.

It's close to the end of the breakfast that schedules are handed out by the heads of the various houses. Harry merely feels the beginning of a headache upon learning that the heads of houses being teachers at the school. He just knows that somebody at some point of time had abused their power as both a teacher and a head of house.

It didn't help matters for him to learn that said stiff teacher from last night is his current head of house either. _Oh lovely..._ The eleven year old thinks while he browses his schedule a look and then frowns at the fact that one of the classes takes place at night.

_This place is positively medieval... I'm fairly sure that they possessed star charts back then too..._ Harry thinks with a scowl as he gets to his feet. _'Mind giving me directions to my first class, buddy?'_ The black furred leopard-boy asks Realm.

_Just follow the arrows._ Is Realm's reply and suddenly, directing arrows appear upon the floor. As none of the others gasped at the sudden appearance, he concludes, is only meant for him.

He wonders just how many of the older students gave out correct instructions. Not that it's his problem as it seems that none of the staff plans to give the new residence of the school a tour so that they could find their classes. No maps were handed out along with the schedule either.

Realm's arrows take him into a dungeon level of the school. Entering into the classroom, he glances around the room and begins to curse. Harry can feel Realm chuckling and closes his eyes for a few seconds, taking deep calming breath before picking a table. He did wonder why he had to purchase a cauldron when one is already provided for him... _Unless they stole it out of my trunk..._ He thinks darkly as the first year students from the Slytherin house arrive with much 'fanfare'.

The small number of Slytherins seem to eye him while fingering their wands within their pockets. Harry smirks in a very predatory manner, being sure to make it a toothy one as well. That outraged a few of them but the arrival of other Gryffindors break up the mood of tension, for now at least, much to his private disappointment. If those students had chosen to throw caution to the wind, then it wouldn't be on his head if he defenses himself. If would have been one verses nine, clearly in favor of the nine, particularly if they received some training before coming to the castle.

"Mind if I sit here?" A rather round boy, one of his room-mates if he recalls, asks. Harry shrugs while looking towards the cabinet. "I'm Neville, Neville Longbottom." The other eleven year old pipes in and the leopard-boy glances over at Neville.

"Good to know." Is his reply before asking, "Any idea who teaches this class?"

"You don't know? It's Professor Snape." Neville says and it takes a moment before Harry also recalls something he learnt about during a previous chat.

"The Death Eater, eh?" Harry muses in a bemused tone. "I take it he's a git but no amount of complains have managed to dislodge him from this job either..." The eleven year old emerald eyed leopard-boy muses with a sly smile as he already has a slightly formulated plan concerning how to get this man removed from his position.

There isn't any doubt in his mind that this... 'Professor' Snape needs to be removed, the very fact that he has killed innocent people mean that the man was a criminal. _The question become though, how long would it for me to enact this dismissal?_ Harry wonders to himself but his thoughts are interrupted by the entrance of said man.

"There will be no foolish wand waving or silly incantations in this class." The man turns around while still addressing them, "As such, I don't think many of you will appreciate the subtle science, exact art that is potion making."

The man's eyes sweeps over them while continuing this vein, eyes focusing on those members of the Slytherin house upon the positive parts and upon the Gryffindor house upon the negative ones. "However, for those select few who possess the predisposition," The man comes to the very edge while saying, "I can teach you how to bewitched the mind, ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death."

Snape suddenly turns on him and verbally rounds on Harry, "Maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts already possessing abilities so formidable that they feel the need to flaunt their possessions." For a few seconds, it feels as though something is trying to crawl into his body viva his eyes but a blink forces that sensation to be forced out. This seems to startle the man ever so briefly.

"Why did you bring a sword to my class?" The Death Eater demands but doesn't even allow him to get a word in before adding, "It seems that you believe that being famous would entitle you to do as you will. Be rid of that thing, put it on the desk."

Harry snorts and gives the man a look of contentment. "If you want Void of the Realm then come and take it from me, otherwise, it goes where I go." Then with a smirk, "Now, will you come and take it from me, Death Eater or will you continue on with this class?"

A sharp gasp erupts from the students while the man still with outrage, hate, and a dash of fear radiates from the man's eyes. "That will be fifty points from Gryffindor for your disrespect." Is the man's reply. "A weeks worth of detention as well."

Harry chuckles before saying before the udder amazement of the students goes on to say, "Is that all? You think I would **respect** a murder and rapist? You think just because you were given the rank of Professor, I should respect you? Ha! It's the opposite effect! Having you on staff only makes all those sharing in your rank to be just as dirty as you! If they had possessed a smidgen of self-respect, they wouldn't remain at their post until you've been fired!"

"Heck, I think that Albus Dumbledore should be mentally examined for keeping you on staff! You can take all the points you want and give me all the detention you can toss in my direction, I don't f**king care! I won't serve the detentions and I don't have any emotional attachments to this system of points either." Harry is rather glad at how liveried the man became, the Death Eater is shaking in fury and outrage.

Within a blink of an eye, a green color spell comes flying at him. It hits but doesn't affect him at all. Harry just laughs while the man pales for a few seconds while disbelief very much evident in the man's black eyes. Before any even blink, Harry had gone from laughing in his seat to standing behind the Death Eater, the wand upon the ground while forcing the man's face upon the stones, keeping a firm grip upon the guy's arms.

"You really can't control yourself very well, can you? I wonder if Albus will be able to clear you of attacking a student? I may not be well verse in this communities' laws but I'm fairly sure that you're looking at prison time." He muses while keeping his foot resting on the back of the man's head.

"Neville, could you please use the fireplace to contact the local law enforcement? I believe they'll know what to do with him." The emerald eye eleven year old states and Neville nods slowly.

"We got to inform the headmaster of this! He'd know what to do." The girl possessing bushy brown hair says.

"Oh please, as if the man isn't already on his way. As headmaster, he's tied to the wards of this school." He replies, then notes the strange looks he's getting from the Slytherin portion of the students.

Most of the girls seem to be... well, looking fondly on him. Most of the guys mostly look very pale and look ready to faint. The remainder of the guys, like two of them really, seem to be looking rather thoughtful.

Neville returns with four older wizards and a single elderly witch, one of whom seems to smile ever so slightly at him holding down the Death Eater. He steps off of the man while Realm lifts the wand up off the ground, it is hovering before the woman for a second before the woman takes it from its hovering point. A single spell is casted upon the wand and the first result is a silvery, misty version of the green spell, this causes the five to stiffen.

"Using an Unforgivable on a student? Upon Harry Potter no less? I doubt even Dumbledore will be able to wiggle you out of this one, Snape." The woman says. "Copper, take the man back to headquarters. The rest of you, begin taking witness accounts from the students, I'll be accompanying young Potter here to the hospital for examination."

As they are about to head into the back, Harry had to head back to his seat to get his pack off the floor, Albus Dumbledore finally appears, looking slightly worst for wear. "There's... no... need... for that, Madam... Bones. I'm... sure... that... Madam... Madam Pomfrey... can examine... Harry."

"We better hurry up and head for the hospital then." Harry asks after looking at Albus Dumbledore for a few seconds and is looking at Madam Bones. Out of the corner of his eye, Albus seems to pull himself up while the leader of the magical police looks rather bemused, barely holding back a chuckle.

"Well then, we'll be speaking with you at a later, Headmaster. Come along Mr Potter, we don't know what ill effects you possess from surviving your _second_ brush with the Killing Curse." Madam Bones says, the effect of that announcement causes Albus to pale a great deal more.

As they use the Floo Network to arrive at the hospital, the woman remarks, "One would wonder what the Headmaster has done to cause such a response of mistrust. It's rather rare to find someone your age that is so disenchanted with him."

"Let's say that upon hearing that it was him who thought my relatives were... proper guardians for me causes me to wonder if the man is of proper mind as its clear the man isn't in the prime of his life." Is his reply as they make it to the desk. He stays silent as Madam Bones requests, rather strongly, for a certain healer to attend them.

With that, Madam Bones directs them down a hall, likely to a room for an examination. During this walk, Harry is conversing with Realm about having Realm 'fudge' the examination spells to make it seems as though he's a healthy young eleven year old.

**To Be Continued . . .**


	149. Alien Girls & Werewolf Principal:Digimon

**Angel of the Hazard  
**

**I don't own Digimon.**

Note: I know updates for Angel of the Hazard are slow, sluggish even. Here's a little something from me, just me. Just a lonely one-shot.

**Age Ten  
**

Takato sighs, once more he feels so... clumsy. The class laugh as he remains sitting in the water, his face crimson from embarrassment and red hazel eyes staring directly downwards. As he finally feels strength return, he stands up in the pool and with some help from a teacher, gets out of the mud of the pool and bank. _'Would I still be this clumsy if I had remained a girl?'_

As a towel is draped about his shoulders, Takato is lead somewhere to sit down. Inquires about if he's hurt are directed at him but the ten year old boy murmurs that he's fine. It takes a bit but he's mostly towel dried, although his socks are put into a bag before being put into his bag.

"Did ya have a good trip?" Kazu asks and he smiles rather nervously. "No big, you just got to work on looking where you're stepping, ya know?"

Kenta joins in upon going step by step through what they saw happen and the likely reason for why he didn't pay that much mind to his surroundings. Not that Takato felt it right blaming Jeri's sock puppet for him tripping and falling into the pond, but it did kind of play a small part of it. The color and the setting reminded him of his brother, when Tai had entertained her using sock puppets during a camping trip once, the memory just sort of caught him off guard.

_'At least nobody seems to think I'm a... girl liker. Funny, really, at one point in my life it was a disgrace to be a boy liker.__'_ Now though, he'd be hard press to know what's going on with his birth gender. Adapting to being a boy had been kind of trying as she hadn't been one of those tom boy types before the hold gender shift happened. He had such a hard time to remember which washrooms to use let alone learning to go while there were others in the washroom with him.

_'Still... I wonder what I would be like if I hadn't become a boy...'_ Takato muses and then snaps out of his thoughts with the mention of why girls are so weird. "You can't think every girl is an alien, Kazu... Remember when you became obsessed with proving that the principal was a werewolf? It'll only get you in trouble if you pursue it, you know."

"Oh come on! Why else would Jeri still be playing with a sock puppet? It's likely some kind of advance alien gizmo! I bet the mother ship is taking scans of us right now!" Kazu says in a slightly harsh tone. "After all, how else would you explain what happened when we were eight? Aliens are among us! And I think they've replaced girls cause they, the aliens, find it easier to pass themselves as girls!"

Takato bits his lower lip and looks away, the mention of when the Digital World appeared in the sky continues to generate interest, though not as much as new events have happened to draw public attention to other matters. He, of course, avoids that subject as it only reminds him of what he lost. It's likely that Kazu mentioned it to cause him to be silent and soon enough, between Kenta and himself, Kazu plans out a hasty operation to snatch Jeri's sock puppet. He didn't like the idea of them stealing it but knew that by this point, him saying anything would some how get twisted around in such a way that they'll make it seem as though he agreed to help them in their plan. _'I wonder if Tai was ever like Kazu when it came to something like this?'_

Try as he might, Takato couldn't imagine it, likely due to being Tai's younger sister. He knew that Tai typically acted differently when she had been around. Slowing his pace, space quickly stood between the pair and himself. He angles himself so he is walking next to this boy sporting a rather dark tan. This trip is a combination of his age group, pretty much every single one of them from either class groups.

"Hey! Give Jeri back her puppet!" Takato sighs and the boy to his right seems rather startled out of his own thoughts. "It's an alien device!" Kazu counters.

"Times like these I wonder why I consider them my friends..." The ten year old wonders out loud while watching as Kazu sulkily hands over the sock puppet to a teacher.

"At least they keep things from getting dull." The other remarks with a slight, bemuse smile.

"Tell me about it. Last time was the Principal being a werewolf..." Takato replies with a bit of a bemused look.

As Kazu and Kenta drift back to be with him, the other speeds up a bit, not that Takato could blame him, it's clear that Kazu plans to complain about the unfairness of not being able to take the puppet apart in order to find something of alien make within the puppet.

_'Some field trip...'_

**It ends here  
**


	150. Portal Maddness 5: Naruto

I don't own Naruto or Thundercats 2011.

**- o 0 o -**

"Hey! I'm not the one who punched a vase because it was, and I quote, 'being perverted!' Right teme?" Naruto snaps after listening to Sakura complain endlessly for a good twenty or so minutes about their current situation.

_Not to mention you guys have a slight scent of urine about you._The blond humanoid sporting canine features, known more commonly as Naruto Uzumaki silently adds sourly. Even in under the shadows of a forest, the pair are sweating, although they deny it whenever he brought up the idea of taking a break to drink from their water containers.

Sasuke grunts in what sounds like agreement with what Naruto had stated, which seems to cause Sakura to huff. "I don't see why I was the only carrying it." And the blond seriously begins to wonder why he sported a crush on the girl upon hearing that.

"You were carrying it because you said I was clumsy! Then there's the fact that you declared that Sasuke-teme needed to have both of his hands free!" Naruto snaps as he glares over his shoulder at the so-call brains of the three of them.

Once more, Sasuke grunts his usual 'hn' which again sounds like agreement with what has been said. He rolls his eyes and pushes a bunch of branches away to reveal a road. There's a sign post on the opposite side of the side.

"Greetings. Your... servants are rather noisy, don't you think?" Naruto glances to the left to find a man sporting the features of a feline sitting upon a log.

"Greetings and it's the one with pink hair that's talkative, the other just grunts. You'd think she's be able to keep her mouth shut given where we are. You never know what will show up just to see who's being so noisy." The blond ninja says as he sets his pack down, it's rather bulky but then, it holds his orange jumper within it.

Having fur not only made wearing it itchy but hot. He left the black under shirt and shorts on. About his waist is his ninja headband as it kept sliding to cover his eyes. He had been forced to put away his belt pouches, although he did re-bandaged those weapon pouches onto his hip and lower portion of his leg.

He sits down on the log and cracks his neck. "So, been on the road long?" Naruto asks after a few minutes of silence hangs in the air.

"Still got a few days before reaching Thundera. I'm Bengus." Bengus says as way of introduction.

"I'm Naruto, currently a nomad along with them as my back up." He says with a wide grin.

Then Bengus gets up, being sure to grab his pack and walking stick. "It was nice meeting you. Good luck in your travels then." He nods and replies, "Dido to you as well, sir."

With the cat themed man gone, he moves over to make room for his team mates. Glancing their way, Naruto wonders why they seem so... ridged. With a shake of his head, he pulls his pack over to him, taking out something to eat. Silence hangs between them for close to thirty minutes, at which point, Naruto puts on his pack, getting ready to head out when somebody breaks the silence.

"Naruto... who is this guy?" Sasuke demand suddenly and the blond glances over to find his team mates rather tense and lost. "And what is with the odd sounds coming from you both?"

"Huh, what's wrong with you? Bengus here says we're not far from his home, Thundera. As for 'weird' sounds, we're talking, duh." Naruto replies, giving the pair a flat look. "You guys need to get your ears cleaned out or something?"

"Naruto... You guys are making gibberish sounds." Sakura states slowly.

"It seems more then just your appearance has been altered." Sasuke says in a flat tone. His fur bristles at the display of distrust in their eyes, it brings to mind the villagers and how they look at him.

"Yea? Well, maybe it's not me who's the problem here! We're suppose to be a team and yet, here you are, ready to do what? Put a kunai through my heart? Or is the plan to knock me out? Take my stuff and tie me up, leaving me worst then defenseless here?" Naruto snaps at the two, getting up off the log.

"I sure as hell don't get what I've done to you guys to warrant distrust! Not since we became a team at least." He says to the pair. "We're suppose to be a team and yet, here we are, as though we just became a team yesterday! Well guess what? Screw you guys! I don't need this from you and I sure has hell am tired of it from the villagers!" Naruto says.

"**I AM NOT THE FUCKING FOX AND THEREFORE AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR KILLING ANYONE, ESPECIALLY THE FOURTH!**" All the hurt feelings finally being unleashed. "**I REFUSE TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE! SO SCREW YOU, SCREW HIDDEN LEAF!**" Naruto rips the ninja head band from his waist, tossing it at the pair.

"Screw you!" And with that, Naruto sprints off, chakra fueling his muscles. He puts a lot of distance between them and himself.

At a river, he stops and wipes the tears that are trailing down his cheeks. His sniffles a bit as he uses the back of his hand and arms to clear the other side of his face. Wandering over to the stream, he looks down at his new appearance before looking angrily away.

He tries his hardest to shake himself out of his current state but he just keeps remembering everything that's happened to him. One tiny voice pipes as he lays on his back in the water, his belongings on the shore. _If we're really on a different world, then nobody there would know about me losing my cool. We might never return to Hidden Leaf and I'll never have to face any of the villagers or be hunted down like a dog cause they can't reach me here._

"I'm safe. I'm safe from their loathing, their hate, their pity needs... Free to be whoever I want to be." Naruto whispers out loud, suddenly feeling excitement and dread at the same time.

**To Readers:**

To read the previous shorts of this idea, check out chapters 74, 88, 94, and 140.


	151. Trainer Ares: Harry Potter and Pokemon

I don't own Harry Potter or Pokemon.

**- o 0 o -**

January 1982

A collection of papers can be found on top of the desk, one stack in particular sports articles concerning the owner of the desk, building, and finally global empire.

**Who is Ares Black?**

_That seems to be the question one everyone's mind as the death total among prominent families continues to climb this man's name is on the lips of every Witch or Wizard as it has been confirmed that this man has been..._

Another news paper on top of that one reads:

**Family Connection Confirmed!**

_As Sirius Black is released so to is information concerning Ares Black. It seems that the already infamous Wizard is descended from a Black who was shipped out to Africa during the..._

Ares drops the book he's been reading on top of the minor stack of Wizarding newspapers. The time-traveler sits down at the desk. After a moment of thoughtful pause, he places both hands on the handles of the two top drawers of his desk. A few seconds of this and a drawer drops down from the top.

Taking his hands from the handles, Ares pulls this hidden drawer open to reveal a collection of bank keys of vaults of various accounts, some ancient and other recently acquired. Tiny paper tags hang about the keys themselves, names of the previous owners and/or vault numbers. The seemingly young man moves the keys towards the back, a new tray appears, this one containing a bunch of papers and photos.

On many of the papers there are names in red ink. Ares takes a few minutes to go through the list and chuckles upon spotting the name Dolores Umbridge being in red. _Finally! I thought nobody would get around to doing her. Thought I'd have to do her myself._The time-traveler thinks.

He looks at the last page and notices that number totals, red meaning dead and black meaning alive. "Only eight left? Oh, there we go, that's the end of that then." Ares murmurs as the number eight becomes a zero and the number eight is added to the number dead. _And the one I would never forget will meet his end soon enough._

With a hum, he pushes the tray back like he had the one with the keys. The new tray reveals graphs and business charts. It also contains his shares in mundane businesses as, at this point, having any solid connections between a Magical business and a mundane one would only be the final push certain parties would need to 'hang' him.

His Hermione had helped him create a business outline once upon a time as they had been drinking heavily. Ares kind of forgets who it was who began the 'What If' game, and doesn't really care enough to do so either. Luna had just finished asking Dean a question about, What would he do if everyone in this room had been turned to stone.

Dean then turns to ask Hermione how would she create a business empire in the nineteen-seventies through the eighties. It hadn't taken long before his surviving best friend to summon, transfigure, or just plain draw on napkins concerning how she would go about not only using future knowledge but what she would change concerning the business world's global 'foot print'.

When they got kicked out of the bar, he would later show up to grab his coat the next day and ended up with the various papers that Hermione had either transfigure or summoned. With those papers, he would go through them and then, mostly out of boredom, used it to create his own plan, which got modified on a yearly bases until he was approached about going back in time to destroy the seventh Horcrux which wasn't him or the snake but some cloak pin that belonged to Gryffindor in the Chamber of Secrets.

_Good thing I found a way around all those Unbreakable Vows or things would never change for the Wizarding world._ Ares thinks to himself. _They never even asked if I felt that the Mundanes were... 'out of bounds' when they began interfering with the magical world after the third time Tom aroused once more or I would have been forced to tell them my thoughts on the matter._

He had collected a certain selection of hairs before popping them into permanent Polyjuice and drank it. Ares had been sure to have enough of his old hairs to retake that form using a longer then normal Polyjuice potion when he was in the department. Ares had shed the name Harry James Potter to take up his current name and looks, using his position as Head of the Black Family and of the Potter Famly to get pass the vows while making a simple request of his own.

With a shake of his head, Ares dismisses his past to focus on his present, particularly concerning his business empire among the Mundanes. Pulls out one of the date books from the tray and turns to the page where the date tab is to see if there's anything important happening today or tomorrow as he is expected to meet with various political figures from beyond Britain.

Taking out a cell phone, he phones his Mundane office to sell his shares in this company before it crashes. Ares is sure to ask for updates, which takes up to an hour and half of his morning. As the phone call ends, he puts everything back into the tray before pushing everything back into the drawer. Tapping the bottom of the drawer, it vanishes and he gets up to move before the enchanted wall that displays the shopping district of magical London.

Ares hums thoughtfully as he watches Witches and Wizards move through the street. Though he looks in his late teens, early twenties, he is actually in his sixties, closer to his seventies. His skin is so much darker then his previous existence as Harry Potter had been, so much healthier, and sporting a totally different color for his eyes, he achieved the purple color through a potion although without it, Ares' eyes are dark brown.

The deal with the Blacks and him claiming various extincted families titles by opening their vaults grant him pretty much all of the seats upon a certain council. Without certain families holding another collection of seats, they get channeled to the Black family, to him. _Sure, Albus is the head of it but he doesn't have anyone backing him as I won't back him. Finally, this community will be pulled forward while the Ministry is dismantled, it will only be charged to enforce the laws, not monitor them or reinterpret them._

With a soft snort, he glances at a recently opened store. The store sells magical items that are to function parallel to the technologies that will soon be developed. When the time comes, he'll be there to combine the two, to allow magical computers to interact with mundane devices. He even has an idea which software and game companies he will 'merge' with to achieve that as well.

Turning away from the enchanted wall, Ares heads out of his magical office. Once out of the office, he teleports to the Ministry building for the Wizengamot. With a bounce in his step, Ares walks through the doors, he had seeded the front of the room and hallway with special items that will allow him to teleport to this spot and out of it.

His entrance causes more then a few to glare in his direction but it didn't matter, not to him. _I own this council, they just don't know it yet._Ares thinks with a predatory smirk.

August 2011

"You want me to take Pokemon to the next 'level'?" Ares asks with a hint of disbelief. "The so-called Gold Butcher of Britain, the Destroyer of Worlds, Bane of Society to take Pokemon and take it to place it has never been?"

Those titles were given to him long before anyone learnt of his self appointed mission to merge magic and technology together. _Of course the idea of a global magical company had been alien at the time, it had all been about contacts between different families in different countries until I arrived on the scene._He muses.

"All of our sources say you are the best when it comes to merging these two elements." The chairman of Nintendo states in a matter of fact tone. "What you have done concerning magical edition of World of Warcraft shows that and that is what we need."

Ares can't deny that although what happened with World of Warcraft was more of an unexpected bonus as they had been trying to get the user more into the game. _Now not only are they in the game, they pretty much occupy their avatar. It wasn't that hard to link the real body so that it benefits from all that physical exercise the avatar experiences. Sure improved their bodies though._

"I'll see what I can do. My specialists will sent you something by this time next week." Ares says to the three on the other side of the desk. As he leaves, he makes a note to stop off at a retail store to buy a DS plus a Pokemon game so he can be familiar with the game.

May 2013  
**Field Test:** Day One

Ares holds the Pokeball in his left hand, four months ago, they activated the magically enhanced lot of land a few miles away from the Nintendo offices in Redmond Washington. With the activation, plant growth, berry plants among the list, was sped up and a variety of 'classic' Pokemon released, primarily the types that live in woodland, plains, rivers, and lakes. He sighs softly as he looks out at the map that's on the wall, it shows the minor portion of active land, most notably the Pokemon Center/hotel/shop.

_Well, might was well release the Bulbasaur._Ares thinks, taking out the PokeDex to be sure to check the gender of his starter and to enter in a name he'll give to his first Pokemon. Pressing the trigger, the ball opens slightly and a beam of crimson light shots out.

Within a second, the crimson glow gives way to a female Balbasaur, he is sure to check the screen of his PokeDex after all. "Hello there." He says, crouching down as the Pokemon homes in on looking at him.

Ares feels the currently shrunk balls hanging from his belt kind of dig into his thighs. The Balbasaur cocks her head to the side, regarding him rather curiously. "I'm Ares."

The Pokemon grumbles out something that does sound like the species name and parts of it. Then, after a few minutes, the Balbasaur moves a few paces forward. Not knowing what else to do, he extends his hand out and a vine comes from the Balbasaur, gently wrapping itself about his hand. They shake once before the vines withdraw back to where the Pokemon typically holds them.

"I think I'm going to call you Ojal, after all, naming you after a plant is rather dull and uninspiring." Ares tells the newly dubbed Ojal. He gets up as Ojal glances away from him, there isn't anyone in the main hall of the center as most of the others had already left to begin testing out the enchantments, they each have a starter, a PokeDex, ten potions, and five empty PokeBalls.

He heads for the way into the park, trusting Ojal to follow after. Most of the other testers are all board members of Nintendo and members of their family, most notably are their kids or grand kids. Although, if this week passes well, the next group that consists of animal behaviorists and those who filed paper work to enter into the beta phase as well. Although most of this first group sport one of the classic starters, a single member of the group was allowed to start with a Pikachu.

He glances down at Ojal, coming to a stop before the doors leading into the Pokemon populated park, a meadow. "Ready?" Ares asks and Ojal grunts out something that is followed by a nod.

Pushing the doors, Ojal slips out before he does but she doesn't run far, she merely seems to have closed her eyes and feeling the wind blow across her face. With the metal doors clicking, he walks to stand next to the Balbasaur. From where he stood, he could faintly pick up sight of a bird type in the meadow.

"Come on, we have a long day ahead of us, Ojal." He says to the Balbasaur. He has his lunch in his pack as well as some Pokemon Chow for plant types. As Ares and Ojal walk through the meadow, flying Pokemon take to the air while some ground bound types head for shelter, it's clear that the local population has already adapted to having humans and Pokemon picking fights with them.

After about eight battles with various Rattata and a single battle with Raticate, using three potions. With Ojal feeling rather low, he finds a place to sit as he takes out some water, pouring it upon Ojal's plant bulb. This seems to perk Ojal up and a vine snakes up and wraps itself about the bottle. Letting go, he watches as Ojal gulps down some of the water and once done, the Pokemon puts the bottle down next to his feet before laying down, eyes closed, bathing in the sunlight.

Smiling, Ares take a look at his watch before rummaging through his pack for his data screen. He moves his shades up to his forehead, Ares checks his E-Mails. While he can receive messages, he can't send them but that's part of the security measures of the park just in case they have a spy among their number.

He then brings up the digital book he's been reading. It was the chipping that causes Ares to look up, he finds a Pidgey cocking its head this way and that while looking at Ojal. A snort causes the Pidgey to hop back and semi spread its wing while looking up at him.

With a shake of his head, the time-traveler returns to reading his data screen. A bit later, he feels something on his shoulder and turning his head slightly, Ares finds a Pidgey resting on his left shoulder. The Pidgey seems to be peering down at his data screen.

"You're rather bold." Ares says, startling the Pidgey slightly as it turns to look at him, its beak almost pointing itself at his eye. The bird type chirps a bit before taking to the air, he tries to follow the Pidgey as it circles overhead for a few times and then comes to settle back down on the ground, not far from Ojal and Ares.

Ojal murmurs something and that seems to causes the Pidgey to tense up as the Bulbasaur yawns. It seems that Ojal is feeling better and the Pidgey seems to bombard Ojal with questions, he assumes that as like in fiction of the Pokemon world, all Pokemon here at the park can speak to each other. With a soft sigh, he pulls out his PokeDex, pointing it at the Pidgey and learns that the Pidgey is male.

As he puts the device away as Ojal begins to reply to the Pidgey. Ares puts the data screen away after closing the digital book, making sure to put it into his pack. As he gets up, one of Ojal's vines snake to grab one of his shrunken balls and watches as Ojal gets it ready before putting it down on the ground by the Pidgey. Then, to his bewilderment and yet bemusement, the Pidgey then activates the ball.

The ball only shivered once before the capture was complete. He picks up the ball and lets the bird type out. "Well, you never see that in the games..." Ares admits softly. "Well, I think I'll call you... Calum."

The newly dubbed Calum puffs out his chest while Ojal stands up, shaking her body once her belly is off the ground. Within seconds, Calum has taken to perching on his left shoulder. Taking a moment, he says, "When you get bigger, you won't be allowed to do this."

Calum chirps but seems to settle in. With a hum, he slings only one of his pack's straps onto his right shoulder before having Calum move onto his right arm so he can put his left arm through the left strap. Instead of returning to his shoulder, Calum moves to rest on his pack.

With Ojal taking point, he walks behind her. This time, before they come to rest for lunch; it's been five hours since the first day has begun, Ojal and Calum have fought off seven Rattata, three Oddish, and two Spearow. Before taking out his lunch, he fills a bowl with Pokemon Chow and place it before the pair of likely tired and hungry Pokemon. He fills the second bowl with water before he begins to eat his own lunch.

The pair take turns at picking at the food and drinking the water. It didn't really surprise him when a Rattata appears, clearly following its nose but bolts upon seeing Ares. Then a Butterfree comes flying out of the sky and lands on Ojal's back. This causes the Bulbasaur to begin bucking the Butterfree off and Calum watches along with Ares.

Ojal then glares at Calum while growling something. The Pidgey takes to the air and dives at the Butterfree, this drives the insect away and he shakes his head in disbelief at what just happened. "Well, at least you two are getting along." Ares muses and the two murmur their agreement.

_Sadly, as the wild ones get use to humans, they'll grow wary of approaching humans and their Pokemon._Ares thinks to himself, although the testing phase will last for a few years as they test out each environment and then the new species. The Legendary Pokemon will be release once we get each generation tested.

_Might want to think of installing one of those time wards to help speed up testing... Those Japanese schools have those that allow you to be in a time sphere without speeding up your age._ He then spent a few minutes thinking of how to make such a suggestion. _Although I might want to use them to grow food on my farms, if only to keep up with the demand that'll place if we do so. Shouldn't be hard to increase inventory, just take what food that hasn't been purchased after two years of being on the shelf. Those preservative spells and ward upon the packages should keep them fresh for up to ten years._

As lunch comes to a close, they did have a few more Pokemon visitors attracted by the Pokemon food, he begins to clean up. Stuffing the grabage into his pack, he heads off to a bush to do his business, careful to put the tissue into a ziplock bag, he stuffs that into the outside compartment of his pack. As he finishes zipping up his pack, the two Pokemon come back from their own bathroom break.

"Ok, we'll head back to the center, although this time, we'll go through the forest. Be on the look out for Berries to harvest." He says hitching his pack up slightly. "Any objections?" Ares asks and the two shake their heads no.

With a nod, they head to the forest to the east, Calum flying for a bit before perching on Ares' pack. They then began to encounter more insect type Pokemon along with Bellsprouts. They also found berries and picked them, putting them in a special pouch on his belt, kind of a phany pouch.

Ares didn't see anything he wanted to add to his collection. Most of those he wanted have yet to be released, after all, they were still working on Eevee's evolutions paths, particularly those to Leafeon and Glaceon. Of course trying to create a place for the fossil types to thrive in a seperate environment, they're thinking of placing them underground, in a cave system that will be linked to each park no matter what region the park is in. Although it'll likely have to be done as a yearly event that lasts up to a week, maybe two.

_Might need to help promote the idea of creating check points._Ares thinks to himself as he takes out some Oran berries to feed to Ojal and Calum as he is down to his last potion. The pair were likely tiring and he looks about for a spot for them to rest.

The spot isn't far from a river and the pair take mighty gulps from the river before they find places to rest comfortably in a patch of sunlight. Before taking out his data screen to continue to read his book, Ares stares into the river, watching some Goldeen, Magikarp, and Poliwag within the water swim about.

He found himself in the perfect spot to watch a Fearow snatch a Magikarp out of the river. The caught fish Pokemon just wiggles in the Fearow's grasp as the bird Pokemon flies off over the tree tops. As the hour passes, he gets to see another fully evolved bird type Pokemon grab another Magikarp, Ares gets a glimpse of the feathery crest from the top of the Pidgeot's head flowing towards the tail.

Ares glances over to Calum for a moment before continuing to read his data screen. As he grows bored, he closes the book and looks through what he had recorded off of the tv. Finding his recordings of Friends, he picks one of his favorite episodes after glancing up to be sure that the pair of Pokemon seem content to continue to nap.

As the two hour marker comes, Calum wakes and after stretching moves to have a bird bath in the river. The sound of splashing water so near causes Ojal to wake and with a shrug, he stops the episode before putting his data screen away. Given how energitic the pair are, Ares assumes they are well rested and ready to continue back to the center.

Along the way, they manage to catch sight of a pair of Farfetch'd. The pair flee with the leeks in their beak, taking flight, although their flight path are already on the descent. Shaking his head, they continue on their way. As they make it out of the forest, heading west back towards the meadow, the sun is already slowly setting which means that Zubat, Golbat, and a few Crobat localed about are waking while most of the bird types are settling in to sleep.

As Ares enters into the center, his stomach growls at the smell of supper. He is sure to hold the door open for Ojal to walk through as Calum has once more stays perched on his pack. He heads for his room and has a quick shower while Ojal and Calum seem to be content poking about the room. They manage to turn on the room's tv and as he gets dress, the two seem to be happy watching a movie, the original Star Wars, it's the scene where they are in the bar with Han Solo, hiring the man to take them off the planet.

"I'll be back in an hour or two. There's a box in the washroom for the two of you to do your business." He says and the two just grunt something, it's clear that they're absorbed by the movie.

With a bemused smile and a slight shake of his head, he heads out of the room. He locks the door before heading to the dining room to eat his supper as the House Elves will be sure to send food up for Calum and Ojal when they realize they're out of their balls.

As he enters into the hall, he finds he's the last one to arrive. With a hum, he walks over to one of the tables that sport few people sitting there. They nod and greet him as Ares pulls out a chair before sitting in it, moving it up to the table as best as he can. "So... How many ran out on you?" One of his table mates asks him as he clicks the menu to show what he wants to eat for supper.

"Pardon?" Ares asks rather startled. His glass of mineral water appears a moment after he spoke.

"How many Pokemon that you caught ran off when you released them?" The man, Steven Mantle, asks him in a tone that show how annoyed he must have been when it happened to him.

"None, but then, the Pidgey allowed itself to be caught. I didn't even throw a ball, it was just sitting there and the bird just poked it." Ares says and the other four give him a look of disbelief.

"You're kidding?" Cara Valerian, girlfriend to Marcus Baker, demands.

"Well, to be truthful, Calum had shown up while we were resting in the meadow. Ojal, my Bulbasaur, was having a sun bath and I had taken out my data screen. He seem interested in Ojal, but then, there aren't any wild starters so she's rather unique. Then, as I ignored him, the Pidgey then perches on my left shoulder." He shakes his head as he remembers that.

"Well, I spoke, he flew to rest by Ojal, who's waking up, and the pair then talked. Then a vine from Ojal snakes out, taking of my shrunken balls, activating it before resting it by Calum." Ares says as he picks up his fork as his supper appears before him.

"And this Pidgey just tapped the ball?" Steve asks and he nods as Ares spears some noodles with his fork. "It just allowed itself to be captured?"

"Seems so." Ares says. "I then released him from his ball and he took to perching on my pack as we walked about." He adds before he puts a filled fork onto his mouth.

"Wait, you allowed both of these Pokemon to walk with you as you walked around?" Cara asks and he nods. "That's... a strange."

"Yellow version is the first to have a Pokemon wander behind you." One of the others muses. This soon erupted in a conversation concerning the pros and cons of allowing their starter to walk next to them.

Ares doesn't see any reason to mention that both of the two Pokemon of his are in his room, not in their balls. As dinner begins to end and dessert is about to be served, people often get up and wander around. Soon those at his table inform their contacts and friends who were sitting at the other tables.

As Ares leans back, he swirls the sparkling apple soda as he listens to the murmurs going about the hall. It wouldn't be long before others come looking for conformation concerning that story.

And so ends the first day of the field testing the park.

**Field Test: **Day Four

Ares studies the Pokemon egg that he discovered by Ojal this morning as they head to report the glitch that allowed Calum and Ojal to breed. _Which begs the question, how many of the wild Pokemon have been breeding outside of their egg groups?_He wonders as he arrives before the only vid phone in the building that allows contact from within the park to the outside.

_"Mr Black, what is it you wish to discuss?"_Mr Smulders, head of the park monitoring department for the field test.

"My Bulbasaur and Pidgey had an egg together." Ares informs the man and Mr Smulders blinks, clearly startled by the news. He even holds up said egg as proof.

_"I see. If you will, could you place the egg on the scanning pad?"_The man on the other end asks and he does so.

_"We'll send you an E-Mail when we discover the glitch and have patched it up."_With that, the vid phone blacks out and with a sigh, they head out of the room.

As they reach the dining hall, Ares glances between Calum and Ojal. He hadn't bothered to capture any other Pokemon the park had and now, it seems, his two had bred him a third. _I wonder what moves this one will have?_He wonders, not for the first time before continuing into the hall.

Everyone part of the testing group have taken to allowing their starter out of their balls. Today, there are a few other types wandering about the room as well, likely those that their trainer had developed some kind of friendship with, enough to trust them from running off when allowed out of their balls outside of battle.

A few of those Pokemon Calum and Ojal had met the morning of day two pause in their business to wave and call out greetings to his two. His pair return those waves and greetings before catching up with him. He picks up Ojal so she can sit on the chair next to him while Calum perches on the back of the chair. He hands the egg over to Ojal and the new mother gently wraps a vine about the egg.

It wasn't long before his meal order arrives. Calum and Ojal's meals had arrived once he had pulled his chair up. Calum had glided from the back of the chair to a cleared spot by a bowl of Pokemon Chow for bird types. Ojal uses her other vine to grab small amounts of chow from the bowl and brings it to her mouth.

As people finish breakfast and lingering, waiting for their families or girl/boyfriend finally leave, likely to pick up their packs from their room and then to the store to pick some more potions and Pokeballs. People do keep having newly captured Pokemon run off at a drop of the hat but they've gotten wise and come up with ways to prevent that from happening, although most now wait until they're in the center and in a enclosed room before allowing the newly captured Pokemon out of their Pokeballs.

With this happening, most were getting rather bore now with the selection of Pokemon currently being offered by the test and have taken to having matches between themselves in the meadow next to the center. Ares didn't join in such battles, prefering to walk around the park to exercise the two, doing so seems to help their stamina as Ojal doesn't feel the need to stop and bath in the sunlight as much as she had during the first day. One long hour is all she needed to remain active throughout the day.

_Doesn't hurt that they seem to gather experience during those walks too. Shouldn't be long before Ojal will be ready to evolve._He thinks to himself while eating his breakfast and drinking his coffee.

As he finishes, Ares takes a few moments to reflect upon his life and the changes to the world that he caused to happen. Sure, in most he played a minor role but then, the waves he created in the UK can still be felt, particularly by those of the older generation that he hadn't posted rewards for.

And then his cell phone vibes before chiming. Taking the phone out, he finds an E-Mail from Mr Smulders. He reads it and sighs softly, it seems that it was only a minor glitch that had allowed Calum and Ojal to bred and is an easy fix. The only reason why the few others among the testing haven't had it occur is likely due to the fact that Calum and Ojal have spent so much time together and like each other. The glitch happens among those who are magic-users and there weren't that many among the testing group. The message always says that the resulting Bulbasaur will be fine and won't possess a glitch that will allow it to breed with bird types, although he shouldn't be surprise if the egg hatched faster then normal.

Nodding to himself, he closes his cell phone and finishes his mug of coffee. Glancing at the two Pokemon under his name, he notices that they are done eating. "Let's head back to the room." He says as he pushes his chair back before getting up off the chair. He's sure to pick up the egg that's resting next to Ojal, the mother allows him to do so.

The two grunt/chirp in agreement and follow him after getting off the table/chair. It takes him a half hour to have a shower, he didn't get one in once he noticed the egg next to Ojal, so he has one now. He is sure to put on something warm as they are expecting rain today. He's sure to pack some extra socks and cloths as he plans to teleport to the previous point of their walk so they can continue to go through the park, far from the center and most of the other trainers.

Once he has both Calum and Ojal in their respective balls, he slips from that location to the other one. With their arrive upon a large rock, the land mark which Ares had used for his teleportation. Leaping off the rock, he releases Calum and Ojal.

The two Pokemon shake themselves before moving about the area, investigating the spot. As noon arrives, he gets an E-Mail from the park that informs him that they opened up two new areas, one is a mountain and the other is an underground cavern, a prototype for future underground designes.

"Guess both are filled with rock types." Ares muses as he takes a few minutes to find the two open spots on the map feature on his data screen. An opening to the cavern system not that far from where they're having lunch. He is sure to check his supplies, he has a good twenty empty Pokeballs, a hundred PP potions, and between his health restoring potions and berries, about forty-seven total with most of the numbers being potions.

As they reach the cave opening, the sky clouds over and it wouldn't surprise him if it began to rain. Next to the opening, he finds a lamp on a staff, likely making it easier for him to walk about within the tunnels. He presses the button that turns the lamp on before glancing at the pair.

"Ready?" Ares asks and the two nods their heads. Ushering them into the cave, he then enters himself. The first group of Pokemon they spy is a mix group of Zubat and Golbat with a single Crobat among them. He assumes that the eggs on the ledges belong to the bat types.

They then began to encounter Paras, Geodude, Sandshew, and the odd Cubone. As they get deeper into the cave, Calum and Ojal began to fight off Zubat. As they stop by an underground river, they get to see some Psyduck and Poliwhirl hanging about the edge of said waterways.

With a frown, Ares studies the Psyduck, mentally debating if he should try and catch one, as in toss a ball after knocking it out. With a sigh, he decides upon another day. After a particularly tough battle with a Zubat, Ojal begins to glow.

Then, that glow shifts into the form of an Ivysaur. As the glow dies down, Ares and Calum get their first look at Ojal's new form. Calum chirps and circles about Ojal before landing next to his first Pokemon. Rubbing his chin, he realizes that soon enough, Calum will be doing the same.

"Congratulations, Ojal." Ares says when Calum and Ojal finish chatting with each other. _Or maybe by the time we leave these caverns..._He corrects himself as he takes a few minutes to read what little information his PokeDex has on Ivysaur.

They continue to encounter more wild Pokemon and he does spy some eggs, likely belonging to the Pokemon that is more then a little common in a certain area or perhaps a better word, more likely the right one, territory. Ares takes a few minutes to check his watch, having the staff lean on his chest and shoulder as he rolls his sleeve up to check his wrist watch.

With a hum, Ares allows his sleeve to go back down and grip the staff once more. "So... which direction do you guys think will guide us out of here?" He asks curiously as he finally admits that he's rather turned around in this place.

The two shake their heads and Ares hums with a frown. He glances behind him to note their tracks. _And then there's always teleporting out of here._He muses to himself.

Noticing a ramp that leads up, Ares directs the two to the ramp. Slowly, they walk up the ramp and then enter into a seemingly cram into a tunnel. They pause upon seeing something sparkling in the lamp light. Calum glides from his perch on his pack and lands next to the item.

Moving over, he finds some kind of white crystal in the wall, a few inches by the floor. Nodding to Calum, the Pidgey flaps his wings a bit to reveal more of the crystal. It takes him a few minutes to realize which generation of Pokemon this resembles.

"Interesting... Well, let's keep going." Ares says to the pair of Pokemon. Calum leaps up and flies to his pack once more.

Stretching his shoulders as they continue to walk up the ramp. As they continue through the tunnel, they didn't come across any Pokemon. They come across a large area, as they move about looking for another path, they come across more of those crystals and they range from white to yellows and reds.

They also encounter a great deal of Sandshrew and Paras. The lack of bat types mean that they are far from an opening leading outside, well, Ares hopes that's what it means at least. He bends down to get a look at this blue crystal when he notices a strange print, he takes out his PokeDex and searches for what Pokemon left such a print as it looks different then those left by the other Pokemon they've encounter.

The entry for Clefairy appears, causing him to blink at the picture. Ares closes the device while humming thoughtfully. "Let's go hunting for Clefairy, after we have a snack." This is greeted with some cheers from Calum and Ojal.

Finding a good spot to sit, he sits down and once Calum gets off his pack, he moves it onto the ground so he can dig through it. Luckily, the elves had packed extra, they've been packing extra just in case he captures one or two more Pokemon.

He had saved his dessert and as Calum and Ojal ate their snack, Ares eats his cup cake and drinks his water. He is sure to fill up one of the spare bowls with water. Once they are done, he packs up their stuff and a quick answer of nature call sees them trying to follow the Clefairy tracks.

He trusts Ojal to keep them on course as she should have an easier time seeing the tracks. They find a steep climb and they climb it, although he does have trouble with the staff that holds the light but making sure it's settled on a board ledge before finding foot and hand holds to pull himself up. Ojal uses her vines to pull herself up along the rock face.

It isn't that surprising that Calum has it easier out of them but the Pidgey isn't large enough to fly about with the staff. Every so often Calum chirps something and this has Ojal alter her climb slightly. Finally, they arrive at the top of the climb and those that actually climbed took a break from such sweaty activity.

Pulling out the two water bottles, he opens one and places it next to Ojal before opening his own to gulp down some water. Ares rotates his head about, causes his neck to crack. When Ojal is done with that bottle of water, she sets it down next to him. With a few stretches of his left arm, he gulps down one last mouthful before putting the lid back on and then putting the lid back on Ojal's bottle.

Putting his pack on, he grabs the staff and uses it to get up off the ground. Calum returns to perching upon his back pack. "See any prints here?" Ares asks Ojal, being sure to have the lamp low to the ground so Ojal have a bit more light to check for foot prints.

Ares did think about checking to see if there's an update concerning the egg he's carrying but decides to do so when he's back at his room at the center. So they continue on following what little foot prints they can concerning their search for Clefairy. They continue upwards, he assumes they are heading up as they keep walking on an incline.

They do encounter some more Paras and after the ninth after they walk into this tunnel, it's Calum's turn to evolve. Calum glows brightly and soon that light shifts into a larger bird form, that of a Pidgeotto, which is a good foot larger then his previous form and sporting a chest upon his head that goes towards the back.

Calum circles about them, clearly happy about reacting a higher form in his evolutionary line. Ares sighs while shaking his head and Ojal snaps at Calum, likely berating the bird for erasing the tracks in the dirt. Properly scolded, Calum moves to perch on his pack and chirps his apology.

They move up some more and rediscovers the tracks. As they come to an opening, they catch his first glance of Cleffa and Clefairy, although the first scatter for hiding places while the Clefairy move into cover their vanishing act, none came charging up to either Ojal or himself.

They were more startled by finding such a large number of them then to try and pick one out to try and battle it so he can catch it. _At this point, I would love a canine type to sniff them out._ Ares admits to himself. _Or just something that's got a good hunter that knows how to track one down._

Then he notices something something sparkling faintly in the lamp light. Ares approaches it and the sparkling changes to various colors getting reflected back at him. Once he's within a certain distance, he finds more then a few eggs in a next made out of those crystal shards.

Then one of the eggs begin to shake. Moving the lamp on the end of his staff forward, Ares watches as this one egg shakes more violently. Then, snap can be heard and then parts of the egg shell fall off. It takes a few seconds before the baby Pokemon to shake off the remainder, but what startles him is the color of this Cleffa.

"Aren't you the special one, huh?" Ares murmurs softly as the bright pink Cleffa sporting green ear marks looks up at him with wide curious eyes. Calum moves to rest next the newly hatched Cleffa and chirps softly to the Shiny Cleffa.

Feeling Ojal tugging on his pants, he reaches down and picks up the Ivysaur. _Heavy..._He thinks to himself but manages to put her next to the nest of shards.

Ares then rummages for his data screen to take a picture of this particular scene. While the Cleffa is nervous at the appearance of said device, Calum places a wing gently behind the Shiny. Moving away, he snaps a picture and after a few more, the Cleffa getting more relax due to the fact that nothing seems to happen when he takes a picture.

Then, before leaving, he hand feeds the Shiny. While he wouldn't mind taking the Shiny back with him, Ares didn't think it very sporting as they came to capture a mature Clefairy not a newly hatched Cleffa. Nor is he particularly interested in snatching one of the eggs that are still in the next.

"Thanks for posing, little one. We'll be leaving now, so you be good for your parents, ok?" Ares says to the Shiny Cleffa as he helps Ojal down from the ledge after the pair say their good byes.

Grabbing the staff that's leaning on the ledge, he looks smiles at the Cleffa and then begins to walk away. Soft patter of feet and calls of parts of Clefairy come from the nest after they got about seven or nine feet away from the nest. Then, feeling the breeze coming from one of the tunnels, they walk down that one to come out upon the peak of a mountain.

Closing his eyes, he enjoys the feel of the wind whipping over the mountain. Looking up at the sky, the stars twinkle and not a cloud in the sky to hide their splendor. He kind of glanced at the time when he had his data screen out but it never sunk in so he rolls up his sleeve and takes a look at the time.

"Eleven pm. Looks like we'll be teleporting out of here." Ares murmurs and the pair grumble slightly at that as it means that they'll be put into their Pokeballs. With the pair in their respective balls, he teleports back to the center.

The light of the lamp dies upon entering into the center and noticing the rack filled with staffs with lights hanging from the top, he adds his staff to the rack. Yawning, he heads straight to his room. He releases the two before heading to have a shower, tossing his cloths into the dirty hamper.

Ares notes the egg laying next to Ojal and smiles a bit as both Pokemon seem to be asleep already. Turning off the lights, he crawls into the other bed, as the room sports two beds, and it takes a few minutes before he's fast asleep.

**Field Test:** Day Seven

Ares watches as one of the small groups heading out of the center pick up one of the staffs. It seems that a number of people were hunting within the caverns looking for that Shiny Cleffa as it seems that those monitoring this decided to release a Shiny on purpose as a treat for the group, they didn't expect that the Shiny would end up as a Cleffa.

The morning after the opening of that area, everyone was a buzz with the news of a Shiny. When he showed pictures of the Shiny Cleffa, pretty much telling what to look for, a lot of those who hadn't cared about the caverns fought to get a staff to hunt for that Cleffa within that mountain. Kids begged their parents to take them into the mountain so they can try for the Shiny.

With so many heading into the caverns, Ares had taken his pair of Pokemon about the outside of the mountain. They encounter Rhyhorn, Machop, Diglett, Geodude, Sandshrew, Paras, Pidgey, Pidgeotto, Spearow, and Fearow among the grassy ledges that are about the mountain. It takes them a while to find springs, streams, and waterfals to check to see what kind of water types hanging within them.

But today is the last day of the test, it's ending early due to having to install patches that have cropped out regarding magic users. Considering that beyond him, most of the other magic users were kids under the age of eleven. Although, considering they weren't European, they have been going to a school that is teaching them a few magical subjects, mostly history, magical creatures, and a few very basic spells, mostly cleaning spells that come in handy at home. Although, like him, they had to put their wands in secure lock-boxes and will get them back when the testing is over.

The next testing group will extend invites to adult magic users to see what glitches come up when dealing with a greater number of magic users, trained ones though. Given his connections to various magical communities, it wouldn't be hard to find some fresh graduates who wouldn't mind getting money for begin a beta and swear on their magic not to reveal any unofficial details before they open the gates to these parks.

Land has been purchased about all capital cities throughout the world (be they the capital city of a country or a state/province) and now that those sites are prepared to receive the magical 'program' that is Pokemon, they're moving on to purchase sites about smaller cities. They didn't need a lot of land, the expansion wards and charms allowed them to stretch even a foot by foot parcel of land into a fifty by fifty mile park. With the kind of land they have purchased within the limits of various capital cities, they could create rather good size countries.

With a mental shrug, Ares looks down at his egg. He's had more then a few offers for the unhatched Bulbasuar. Although, a few of the various trainers have recently decided to try their hand at Pokemon breeding, although that's still too recent to see any progress in getting their Pokemon pregnant.

_I guess we might as well head into the mountain again. Might be able to catch a Slowpoke or a Psyduck before the day is done._Ares muses, he hasn't seen many of those outside of the caverns as he strokes the egg while Ojal and Pidgeotto rest next to him.

Finally the exit is cleared of trainers, he puts the egg into his pack before walking over to the rack. He tests each to see which he likes the feel of. Out of the four that remained, Ares picks the second as he liked the weight of it, not as light as number one and four but not as heavy as number three or as thick.

The two look eager to be gone from the center. They made use of the 'gate' that will teleport them instantly to one of the cavern's openings. As there doesn't seem to be any signs of other trainers within sight, Ares and his two companion Pokemon walk into the cave.

No voices echo as the lamp becomes the only source of light either. Ares' gaze often drifts up to the ceiling to spy clusters of resting bat Pokemon. They Pokemon they tend to fend off most of the time time are Geodude with some Graveler every so often, it seems that the trainers' Pokemon aren't the only ones evolving from all of the battles either.

As they walk up this ramp that leads to a higher placed ledge, they find a group of Sandshrew and Sandslash busy watching a fight between two of their number. They are so focus on the pair of fighters in their mist that none of them notice as they walk by as silently as they could and they reach the tunnel that will likely take them to another chamber of this massive underground complex.

They jerk as an Onyx slams through one wall of the tunnel just ten feet from where they are standing and through the next one. The ceiling shakes and parts of it falls down. It doesn't help that another stone snake seems to be chasing after the previous one.

"I... didn't know they released Onyx here." Ares finds himself saying, slightly numb at the size of the pair. It didn't help that the last giant anything that he's met had tried to kill him.

The staff created a shield that protected them from the rumble that got dislodged and sent flying when the two Onyx made their brief appearance. The dust settles but the shield remains in play so Ares looks up, he can't help but curse at the amount that's on top of the shield.

Slowly moving, the stuff at the top of the shield shifts as the staff moves. With a scowl, he grips the staff with both hands, he focuses magic into the staff which empowers the shield. The rumble on top of the shield shudders as the magic within the shield begins to expand outwards. It takes time but finally, a good twenty minutes later, the stuff on the shield has been shifted elsewhere.

Ares seemingly collapses and both of his Pokemon clutter close, clearly concerned about him. Sitting down, he takes off his pack and then takes his water bottle out, he gulps down water. He then pours some on his left hand and then rubs it on his face. He feels rather chilly and decides it's from the sweat he had coming out of his skin during him adding more power to the shield.

"I'll... be... fine. Just... let... me... catch... my breath." Ares manages to wheeze while looking first at Ojal and then at Calum, giving them each a small smile. He coughs a bit, after all, he hadn't had time to familiarize himself with the staff to safely feed it his magic and it likely didn't help that the magic inherent in the staff is likely House Elf magic.

After a few minutes, he feels somebody poking him in the arm. Ares looks up and finds Ojal offering him a berry. Chuckling softly, Ares gets up after taking the berry. "Thanks but I don't think it'll work on me." Is his answer as he puts the berry back into the pack.

He is then reminded about the water ball as Ojal holds it up to him using one of her vines. Ares nods his thanks and once the cap is back on the bottle, he puts it back in his pack. He shakes his head and as he shoulders the pack, Ares finally takes a look around the much altered tunnel.

"Maybe we should chase after those Onyx... If only to have one clear the path." Ares murmurs while holding the lamp part of the staff before him, moving it from left and right.

Calum chirps and the Pidgeotto leaps towards something. Following Calum, he finds a elemental stone laying under some dirt. Based on the color, he assumes that it's a fire stone. As he gets it off the ground and rubs it, he finds a image of a flame within the crystal stone.

"Guess there's some benefit to having those two race around..." Ares sighs and they range about the rumble, finding more items like gold nuggets, star pieces, fossil items that are typically used to resurrect prehistoric Pokemon, those colored crystals, special rocks that range from Ever Stones or Hard Rocks, and more evolution stones. They wandered into the right side of the tunnel and then into the left. The Pokemon they encounter during this improvise scavenger hunt are Diglett and a few Dugtrio.

Ares takes a moment to check on his watch, but finds it busted, likely due to him pouring magic into the staff. The watch had been digital and he never bothered to put any of the usual rune protections on the device, or at least upon the battery, to protect its function from his use of magic. Sighing softly, he takes a few minutes to rotate his head about, causing his neck to crack and pop.

Stretching his upper-body, Ares feels a bit sore and assumes that it's from all the bending over he's been doing in regards to picking up valuable items that the two Onyx brought to bare. Shaking his head gently, he motions for them to continue forward, moving over the rubble that fell from the ceiling. They did find more crystals and evolution stones before they cleared the ruin part of the tunnel.

The underground cavern they find at the end of the tunnel sports a river of sorts. Although Ares doesn't see it, he can hear the water and the splash of the water as something falls into it. They didn't encounter any Pokemon as they walk up to the water's bank. It seems that the local Pokemon have been scared off by something.

"It's rather disconcerting, isn't it? Nothing showing up." Ares murmurs softly and Calum chirps in agreement while resting on his pack. He doesn't hear Ojal's agreement and guesses that she might have nodded her agreement or didn't respond.

They move to the right, keeping the river to their left. Ares did often look into the water but what water types he spies quickly swim out of his sight, making it hard for him to identify them or to have either of his Pokemon to attack them. He merely sighs after a while and as they come to a wall that the river is coming out of, he decides that Ojal and himself will swim across.

"Ok, Calum, I'm going to take off my pack and after I put some of my stuff in it, I want you to fly to the other side of the river, ok?" Ares says to Calum and the Pidgeotto chirps in acknowledgment.

Smiling for a moment, Ares turns to look at Ojal. "With Calum doing that, we'll be swimming across, unless you're not fine with that?" He asks his first Pokemon.

Ojal shakes her head and so, once he sticks what he didn't want wet into the pack. Calum flies the pack over the water, the pack sports a feather light enchantment on it as well as a space expansion one. He enchanted it as he was creating the pack, Ares typically creates specific items that he needed to have enchantments on them as they held better then just buying something made by somebody else and enchanting it.

The very act of crafting an item isn't unlike a magical ritual, one of the oldest. _Given what you can do with magic, it's kind of surprising that they, the Wizarding society, has such a community mind. Magic pretty much makes you independent of needing others to create most of your stuff, particularly if you have the materials to do so._Ares reflects as he slowly moves into the water, Ojal waits a bit before leaping into the water as well.

He manages to swim the distance until his feet once more makes contact with the ground. Ares stops and turns to watch Ojal come swimming. Once Ojal is on shore, he leaves the river behind. What cloths he is wearing drip and stick to his body.

Finding where Calum is currently perched with the pack, Ares begins to take off his shirt and rings it out while walking towards the pack. Letting the staff rest next to the wall, Ares focuses on grabbing his pack and getting dry cloths out of the pack, he has a few bags to put the wet cloths into so they don't soak the rest of the items within.

Any Pokemon that show up as he is doing this face Calum and Ojal. As he finishes getting his shoes on, the last item he needed to put on, Ares begins to zips the pack up but stops as some commotion happens. As he crouches, he watches as a Paras is sent flying by an air attack from Calum.

"Here's a snack for you guys. It's been trying given what we've encountered." Ares says and it didn't take long before the pair are chewing down on some Pokemon Chow. Clearly the pair had developed an appetite since breakfast.

With their bowls polish of food, he takes them and puts them back into the pack. As the two drink from the river, Ares shoulders the pack and gets up off the ground. His legs ache from all the crouching but a few stretches help relieve the pain. He grips the staff and walks a few feet away from the river.

Once Calum and Ojal have joined him, they began to survey this side of the river. It wasn't that hard to figure out that while the other side had very little in the way of Pokemon, this side still sported a few. They also found another ramp that leads upwards.

The higher they went, the more Pokemon they encounter, particularly those seemingly made out of rock. The fact they found some Rhyhorn and Rhydon inside of the mountain kind of surprised him but then, the weather likely help to drive them into the cavern area. Fortunately, they didn't encounter any Onyx.

As they make it to the seventh ledge area, Ares suggests they rest and, being hungry, he takes something out to snack on. The pair take the time to take a nap, they lean against each other as they do so. As he finishes eating, he takes out his data screen to check for any event notices before putting it away, pulling out a flashlight.

He leaves the staff with the two, using the flashlight to look around for any unusual items. Ares keeps an eye on where he left his Pokemon. As he is about to head back, he hears a soft cry.

Startled, Ares turns and then a cheerful cry echos as something bright pink sporting green charges up to him. "Err? Oh, it's you! So, how have you been?" He asks the Shiny Cleffa who's hugging his right leg.

The baby fairy lets go of his leg, allowing him to kneel down as the Shiny talks to him without him even understanding a word the little Pokemon is saying. Although due to the emotions that come out viva the tone and the little one's face, Ares can make some intelligent conclusions about what the Shiny has gone through since they last met.

Ares nods at certain intervals and rubs the Cleffa on the back when the tiny fairy pulled in close, needing some comfort. As he wipes some tears from the Shiny's face, he takes off one of the empty balls on his belt and place it down. Like Calum had, the Shiny Cleffa enters into the ball. Once the ball stops moving, he picks it up and then releases the tiny fairy Pokemon.

"Come on, let's go see if Calum and Ojal are up." Ares says and picks up the Cleffa before walking over to where the pair should still be resting. "I think Vala is a good name, don't you?" He asks and she nods while adding a murmur of agreement as they reach the area aglow in the light of the lamp.

He clicks off his flashlight as they get close. Lowering the Cleffa onto the ground, he then swings the pack off to dig up something for Vala to eat. The Shiny quickly digs in, it seems as though she's rather famished but then, Ares could only guess what kind of encounters she's had within the mountain since Vala hatched to their meeting today.

Vala seems to be happy now that she has a full belly and tugs on Ares' pants to get picked up. He does so while watching a movie on his data screen, he is using these simple wooden rings, enchanted to act as head phones or ear plugs, so that the sound of the movie doesn't wake either of his napping Pokemon. Vala joins Calum and Ojal, leaning into the nook of his left elbow.

As time passes, Calum wakes but doesn't seem interested in moving away from Ojal. What few wild Pokemon that approached, they moved along, likely confident that they weren't going any where right away. Ojal wakes and then Vala does a few minutes later.

He pauses the movie as Vala murmurs out and then yawns. He's careful to take the wooden rings from his ears. When Vala climbs down to go greet Calum and Ojal, he puts the items back into pack. He collects the bowl that he had put Vala's meal in. His original pair seem happy to have Vala with them and as part of the team.

With his pack on his back, Ares asks, "Ready to continue on our way?" The three nod while agreeing to do so. He's sure to grab the staff.

Ares picks up Vala and once he's straighten, Calum perches on his pack once more. Gripping the staff a bit more tightly with his right hand as they begin to walk, Vala finally gets comfortable in the nook of his left elbow. Those Pokemon who make their appearance, they were chased off by Ojal or Calum, depending on what kind of Pokemon they encountered.

They find a tunnel and enter it, Ares is rather wary about having another Onyx or pair of Onyx slam through the tunnel but doesn't let it keep him from pressing forward. _Well, if it happens, I'll have Ojal use Leach Seed and Stun Spore on them._

**To Be Continued?**


	152. Ranma and the Spring of Drown Garu

I don't own Monster Rancher or Ranma 1/2

**- o 0 o -**

Jusenkyo

Ranma manages to leap with ease between the bamboo poles along with his Pops. As the teen begins to head for the center, the poles begin to look... dodgy, not that this keeps the daring Saotome from pushing forward. With the first four poles managing to hold his weight, the remainder of whatever hint of doubt within Saotome the younger is purged from his mind.

_Don't see what the big deal is, this is easy!_ Ranma thinks and as he's about to toss out a taunt out to his Pops, he hears the bamboo pole whine. He leaps upon a few poles before coming to another stop.

"Always be aware of your surroundings, boy!" The elder Saotome declares and Ranma, caught off guard, rolls with the kick as it, which causes him to fall into one of the springs below with a splash. Kicking his legs while he struggles to get out of something he's become tangled in, a much changed teenager pops his head out of the water's surface.

"Lucky hit!" The creature, commonly known as a Garu in a Monster Rancher world, shouts before swimming to the bank. Ranma shakes his whole body, tail flipping back and forth in the opposite direction then what the main body goes.

With a confident smirk, Ranma leaps upon the nearest pole, although he doesn't quite make it as he seems to have misjudge the distance. Although he does manage to get a go grip upon the pole so that as he falls, the bamboo falls down along with him. It does snap but he manages to move it so that it lands in the spring and he manages to land on top of the pole before leaping towards the earth between the springs.

As Ranma the Garu glances about, it become rather apparent that the world seems to have gotten bigger on him. _Or did I get smaller?_ Saotome the younger wonders while flicking his tail about.

It takes the teen a few seconds to spy his Pops and the man seems to be gasping at him. With a smirk, Ranma once more leaps up and this time, manages to land on top of an undamaged bamboo pole. "What's a matter Pop? You trying to catch flies or something?"

Then, as his Pop is about to recover, Ranma launches himself in his father's direction. With a punch, that seems to spark a burst of fire, the Garu that is Ranma Saotome sends Genma Saotome into a spring about five feet away while the teen balances on top of another bamboo pole, crossing his arms while feeling very satisfied concern his counter attack. Then, Ranma almost falls off the pole as something clearly not his Pops breaks the surface of the spring.

"What the heck?" Ranma shouts while pointing down at the fairly large tanuki sporting his Pops' glasses hanging from about its head. Then, noticing that his arm sports orange fur while his hand sports a very light brown covering his much altered hand.

He then wiggles his toes and finds only three toes upon each foot from the feel of it. He feels so much like fainting but in the end, decides to head for solid ground. Along the way, Ranma gets a better look at his new reflection from the springs he's leaping over.

As he comes to a stop, he then hears, "Ranma Saotome! You dishonourable coward! Where are you? We aren't done! You owe me a **FIGHT**!"

The teenager turned Garu glances up at this cliff where this other teen is standing. He merely stares dumbly at the guy, suddenly finding everything to be rather unrealistic at this particular time.

_Do I know him?_ Ranma wonders to himself while trying to place the voice as he can't see much in the way of the face or any particular details. Then his thoughts are derailed by something warm running down his back.

"Don't do that! Couldn't you warn a guy before doing that?" The now human Ranma demands and then becomes aware of how chilly he is. "I'm naked." The teen murmurs in a flat, matter of fact tone to which the portly man wearing green nods.

"Yes sir is." The caretaker of this training ground as the shorter, older man puts the kettle down onto the ground before gesturing for him to follow. "Sir can borrow cloths while I get older sir a plank to walk on."

Then, as they reach the hut, a yelp rings out and as Ranma pauses to look towards the cliff, he watches as that guy falls into a spring. "Honored sir fall into Spring of Drowned Piglet. I go pull other sir out. You, young sir, go into hut please."

Nodding as it only reinforces that yes, coming here is a rather stupid idea. It didn't take long for Ranma to find a worn chest fill with different cloths and he isn't picky, grabbing a green shirt, a pair of crimson underwear, and a pair of black pants. As he puts on some slippers, the man in green arrives with a struggling piglet, likely the teen now cursed to be a piglet.

"Warm water returns honor sir back to normal. Cold water returns honor sir to curse state." The older man explains while placing the piglet down and walking over to the sink. The portly ground's keeper fills up a cup after checking the temperature of the water.

Turning off the sink, Ranma watches as the keeper dumps the contains of the cup upon the piglet's head, transforming the little porker into a teenager, also naked one at that really looks familiar to him. The teenage Saotome rubs his chin as he tries to recall where he's meet this guy before while the green wearing ground's keep heads out of the hut. _Did I skip out on any fights? Not that I recall, but there was that time..._

"Ranma! Because of you, I'm cursed!" The other teen shouts, shaking a fist up in the air. _That... actually sounds familiar._

"Ryoga? Ryoga! Why the heck did ya here?" Ranma can't help but ask curiously as he honestly didn't see why Ryoga would do such a dumb thing.

"You ran out on our man to man fight!" The bandanna wearing Ryoga snaps, turning to face him even though he's pretty much nude from the head down. The other teen pokes Ranma in the chest and that brought back something else.

"Hey! It wasn't my fault! Pops knocked me out the early morning of the fourth day! Before I knew it, we were on a train with the country side flying by!" Ranma counters, pushing the hand who's finger is poking him.

"And get some cloths on!" He snaps to the other teen. "That chest has cloths in it, you might want to cover yer-self!" The young Saotome adds, gesturing to the chest filled with cloths that he got his current set out of as he doubts that they'll be able to recover his previous cloths.

Ryoga looks down and blushes rather brightly, tapping into unknown speed powers, the bandanna wearing teenager seemingly teleported to the bed and pulled off the sheet to wrap about his waist. Ranma merely raises an eyebrow at all of this while crossing his arms across his chest. Ryoga can't seem to look the young Saotome in the face.

Second tick by becoming minutes until the guide enters into the hut with a very irked raccoon-dog that is carrying a pair of glasses in their mouth. Upon seeing Ranma, the tanuki begins to bark and growl at him, causing the glasses to fall onto the floor while the guide fills a cup with some water.

_Well, at least we're cure, right?_ Ranma muses to himself as he turns around when the guide finishes filling that cup with hot water.

**Ending it here**

Readers: Reason where this idea came from has to do with my sudden obsession with playing Monster Rancher Advance 2 for Gameboy Advance. I had this idea of Naruto ending up in the Monster Rancher world and raising a Hellhound, a sub-breed of the Tiger species until I realized I don't see a lot of Ranma 1/2 stories featuring Monster Rancher. If you do know some, make a comment or a review, ok?


	153. American Werewolf in Mexico: HP

I don't own Harry Potter.

**- o 0 o -**

Moving his bangs, the almost twenty-one year old Harry Potter also known as Boy-Who-Lived and unknown to majority of the world, member of a werewolf breed that some American company had stupidly created. At least in the wizard's bitter opinion as he stares down at the headless rabbit and with the moonlight shining down, the black furred werewolf begins on the rest of the body.

Finish eating the rabbit, Harry is no longer hungry. And then, his half hour is up and he painlessly transforms back into his typical form, the shape he was born with, minus the tattoos mimicking tiger's stripes. The stripes aren't just on his face but all over his whole body. With a shake of his head, wandless, Harry causes a glamour to spring about him, hiding his tattoos.

His gaze finally moves away from his bloody hands to glance up at the full moon, the last of the set. Taking a deep breath, Harry lets it out slowly, closing his eyes as he begins to inhales. Under the July full moon, Harry recalls just how he became a werewolf and received his tiger stripe tattoos.

September 14, 2000  
Small Town In Mexico

The sun is out and yet, this werewolf stands as bold as can be with sunlight lighting up everything. The fur seems to be a light brown mixed with black spots behind the ears and a kind of V on the back. The typical nocturnal being seems to be a huge example, not that Harry is much of an expert on those affected with the curse but not even Remus tranformed really got to be very tall compared to his human form, the illusion of gained height came from the legs becoming more like the back legs of a wolf or cat and the ears.

Which causes Harry to muses out loud, "You've got to have a bit of giant's blood in you." He licks his lips, the town had been a magical community and yet, it seems that this werewolf managed to decimate it down to every last babe and pregnant woman. _It's like this guy is immune to spells._

The werewolf doesn't seem to make any move to advance or retreat. He is at a lost how to kill this guy outright with spells. Tensing up, Harry flicks his wand and causes the ground about the werewolf to explode into towering spikes. The werewolf leaps back but not without getting an injury and then as the werewolf charges at him on fours, reacting on instincts, Harry fires at the werewolf but the spell, upon hitting the magical afflicted man in the form of a beast, just shimmers out of existence.

Instead of biting his arm right off the bat, the magical wolf-like being chomps down on his **wand**. Then, as Harry shoves his hand near the fanged mouth, the jaws open slightly and then comes down dig just hard enough to break his skin of a few of his fingers. Hissing in pain, the werewolf backs up and once off of him, does a kind of push up that allows the wolf-man to stand on his back legs.

With the nose twitching, the werewolf stares at him for a few minutes as he curses and tries to wrap his bleeding fingers. The ears perk and then, the werewolf moves to the side and then drops down on all fours, walking away. There's nothing Harry could do as his wand has been destroyed and his fingers bleeding. He can't help thinking that at least the moon wasn't out or else he'd become a werewolf as well.

September 18, 2000

Harry collapses down on the ground, he hadn't been feeling well since the evening of the fourteenth. The wounds under his bandages had been throbbing rather furiously but this morning, they haven't, which he had thought meant they were finally healing. As his glasses fall down upon the ground, the twenty year old suddenly finds his body on fire and every part of him itchy.

Then, as his senses swim and his balance vanishes, he can't help but find that a thumping sound surrounding his very being. As it ends and his senses return to him, the adult man finds himself ravenous and very parched. Then the bleeping of sheep reaches him and the thought of mutton causes him to lick his lips.

Pushing himself up off the ground, he runs, clumsily at first, towards the sound. Harry pauses at the fence and first using his hearing, then his eyes, finds this herd unattended. With a growl, Harry leaps over the fence and lands on one of the sheep, with a quick bite to the back of the neck, he begins to really tear into the dead sheep.

Still hungry, it didn't take long to get near another sheep, biting the face while forepaws moving about the upper-body of the beast. There wasn't much Harry cared about at that point beyond ending his hunger and when he finished, he feels pain again but didn't care beyond getting a good nap.

September 21, 2000

"Wakie, wakie." A voice says in a sing song way and Harry closes his mouth, he tries to swallow but it's rather dry within it. He opens his eyes and then blinks until his vision clears.

Harry bolts to sit up and stares about his surroundings, that of a parking lot. He's rather confused at the sight of the man wearing a black leather vest and loose, baggy even, jeans. "Looks like sleeping beauty is finally awake." The man says with a toothy grin.

"And you the bloody hell are you?" He demands, getting to his feet. He automaticly reaches for his wand, only he doesn't find it. The gesture of him padding at his pants seems cause the other man to chuckle.

"Well, ya ain't going to finding a magic stick about your being, don't rightly know where to get ya one being as I don't give a crap about that techno shit either." The man states with an American accent. "Name's Albert Howard and I'm here to give ya the skinny about what's what, ok Giles?"

_Giles?_Harry wonders while Albert continues on to say, "Ya see, about three years, I was across the boarder, running with a drug smuggling crew when this fucking wolf thing suddenly drops into the room from the fuckin' top of this stair case! Just, woosh and suddenly, lead is getting unloaded at this hell beast." Albert begins to pace, "Blood coming off of it but ain't doin' lastin' damage as it keeps getting up with bullets coming out of its damned body!"

"It gets near and it's tossing people about but then it begins to start taking bites outa people. Me included! It vanishes like, ten minutes after it showed its mug. We hunted around for it and after fifteen god-dang minutes, we thought it gone until it showed up again, only this time picking us off one by one." Harry is beginning to get an idea of what this is leading to.

"We finally track the mother-fucker down and then, witnessed it transform into this scrawny ass nerd with no scratch on him!" Albert seems to pause, his frown transforming into a wicked smirk. "Didn't take long to string the fucker up, course throughout this, the nerd was babbling to thin air. Then, as we were just getting our knives ready, the asshole just grins and begins to fucking transforms! Wising up, I quickly slit the fucker's throat and then made sure to decapitate his head."

Then the smirk vanishes from Albert's face. "Not long after that did that swarm team swarm the place. I managed to hide out among the dead, almost died when they decided to burn the place down. A few days later, I blacked out and when I woke, I was in a meat packing plant with a few dead employees about. Didn't know what to think until I got this itch during the next full moon and transformed into a fucking monster wolf, only bigger then the one that scrawny nerd had turned into and not crimson in color either."

"Didn't take me long to realize that I would end up in a kennel if I'd stayed so I headed south of the boarder and never looked back." Albert states and glances over towards Harry. "I've learnt a few things about this blessed curse, like if ya transform outside of the three days and nights of the full moon, it hurts as hell but during that time, it's painless."

"Next is, first year, your transformation lasts fifteen minutes before ya become a man again and if ya wait fifteen minutes, ya can transform again, it's limitless during that time, ya know? Second year, that time increases to thirty, and it seems that in year three, ya transformations lasts forty-five minutes." Albert watches his expression as it dawns on him just what this means.

_He can transform at will and he keeps his mind._Harry thinks as he pales. He begins to look for an escape route, this only causes Albert to laugh. "Oh no, I ain't going to kill you. If I wanted to, I'd have gone for ye throat after destroying ya stick. Kind of surprised to find ya hadn't kicked the bucket, most of your kind can't survive more then a day or two. Must be being a Brit, ya different then the local stock, eh Giles?"

"Then what is it you want from me?" Harry asks, he wasn't going to volunteer his name, while he doesn't get the reference, he's pretty sure that he can live with this murder calling him Giles. He doesn't feel that he's going to like where this is heading.

"Every so often, I only lightly bite a bunch of people, track them to see which of them weren't affected and those that it takes root in, if it don't kill them within the first day that is. I then paint them up and give them this speech, I then set off on a killing spree in places where they have connections but seeing as you're a tourist, I'm just goin' to take a gamble and say that ya don't like people dying for no reason or else ya wouldn't have followed my tracks that day."

_Hit the nail on the head._ He thinks rather sourly and mentally groans at the sight of his bare arms. The skin about these black inked stripes is still a little red but looks fine, beyond the fact he both of his arms are tattooed. _Not even the tiny bit sore..._Harry thinks to himself as he rubs his right arm, noticing that it doesn't hurt despite it being rather fresh.

"So, I'll be leavin' ya to get your bearings and while your doin' that, I'll be heading out of town. I ain't going to be giving ya directions, I'm rather sure that you'll do that voodoo that you people can do to track me down." Albert states with a rather chilly causing grin on his face. "See ya around, Giles." The werewolf states with a two fingered salute and walks away, leaving Harry to watch the murder walk as he lacks the tools to prevent the bastard from doing so.

He can't help but feel so naked without a wand and he is just so damn thirsty.

December 11, 2000

Harry continues to stare at the rat he had bought from the pet shop just two hours ago. He is siting and looking down at the open box. Finally, he gives into the itch that has developed as he had been staring at the pie coated rodent. As he is naked, none of this cloths are ruined and the rat suddenly grows frantic, likely due to the face of familiar predator.

He reaches in and with a quick twitch of his rather thick fingers, snaps the rat's neck. Pulling the rest of the body out, he tries to breathe through his mouth as the rat had peed itself. With a single gulp, the rat is down his throat and likely in his belly. The hunger vanishes from him like it had when he ate that rabbit that one night in October, he had tested it again during the course of the full moon in November.

Kill an animal and devour it, the hunger vanishes only to return the next day at which point, you go kill another and devoured it. At first, he thought he could get by on already dead meat but he could eat it all night and day, it just wouldn't satisfy him, not like the action of killing and then devouring the critter he killed. _Of course, there is that theory that if I just kill a single human the first night, I wouldn't have to suffer the hunger until the next month's full moon cycle. That's how Albert can keep on moving without leaving a trail of missing pets or massacred animals._

He's not willing to test that out, at least, not yet. Still, Harry could think of a certain... breed of people that nobody would miss and he wasn't talking about breeds like being a muggleborn or a pureblood either, he's talking about rapists and murders. That breed of predators that the world could do without. _I wonder if being a werewolf is changing me in other ways?_

Harry closes his eyes and shakes his head fifteen minutes are up and he transforms painlessly back into a human. There wasn't any blood on his hands but he does go to the sink and run water over them for a good ten minutes before getting dress. As he finishes getting his pants on, the door of this motel room suddenly opens and some suited people take a look about before moving on without so much a word of apology.

A string of Mexican Spanish beaks the silence and he walks over to his open door and finds suited agents crawling all over the place. Large vans, almost similar to RVS, parked upon the street out front of the motel. _Is Albert's past catching up to him? If it is, I better get to him first._

Grabbing his jacket, his only other article of clothing and possession, Harry heads away from the motel. There's this famous mine that is a tourist trap, he's pretty sure that Albert is there or will be. He turns into an alley and with closed eyes, does his best to cast a disillusion spell on himself to hide from the eyes of the agents crawling all over the town. He didn't want to get in their sights, he rather his involvement be unknown to the world at large along with his condition.

It doesn't take long for him to arrive and to slip pass the barricades set up by the agents. He does pause when he catches sight of magic being done with what appears to be a wand, only, it's got crystals around the handle, or maybe the crystals were the grip, like leather on the hilt of a sword or dagger. Harry just stops and looks about him to see if anyone has noticed him, it didn't help that they were wearing sunglasses after all. Which could be enchanted to see those using magic to be stealthy.

After a few minutes, he finally continues into the mine. Nobody stops him or seem to halt him. Once in, he finds a trail of blood and can only guess at the number of dead already at the end of the trail. Then he catches the musk of Albert transformed and with a set expression, he slows down and does his best to cast a spell of silence on himself so he doesn't tip the other werewolf off.

He waits until he catches sight of the brown furred wolf before taking time to study the area. A number of agents lay dead and slightly mauled about the room, it wasn't that surprising as instead of having wicked claws to gore through flesh like in the movies, their only deadly weapon is their bone crunching jaws. Nor do their hand paws do well welding a weapon as they just can't get that tight of a grip. Shoulders aren't positioned well for a large range of movement either and it's just plain easier to move about on all fours then on two.

Moving into a deep enough hallway, he transforms and pads towards the entrance. A second later, he charges at Albert, his jaws managing to get a hold of the base of Albert's tail. He does his best to move along with the direction Albert moves, managing to avoid those snapping jaws from the other end.

Suddenly, something burns into his left shoulder and he lets go. Albert is charging the ranks of the incoming agents. He didn't know why the bullet his shoulder hurts so much but it does. He back as away and does his best to sink into the shadows.

Upon transforming out of his wolf form, Harry finds his shoulder still hurts but is more concerned with leaving the mine without being in the custody these agents. It takes hours of waiting and repeated casting of spells to hide him from sight and to keep them from noticing the noise he makes walking around among them as he moves to get out of the mine.

Upon noticing that Albert is still alive but injured, he picks up a gun and as silent as can be, puts a few of the bullets into Albert's head. He didn't want these people to learn anything from Albert through applications of truth serum, well, that is if potions can affect them at all. Taking out a few examples of the bullet, he then destroys the gun by melting it into a lump of metal.

Just handling the bullets causes him unease but he plans to study it to learnt why it can hurt them but not silver, like with the original type of werewolf. Once out in the area, he does his best to transfigure local material into cloths while applying a glamour to himself to cover his tattoos. He'll have to find a doctor to get the bullet out of his shoulder but at least the other bullets are in this bag he transfigured.

He feels... oddly disappointed with how everything turned out but he knows he has to leave as soon a possible. As those agents sport witches and wizards among them, they could likely hold him without much effort. Which Harry doesn't want as he has a life to get back to and likely an eager godson wanting a stack of gifts for Christmas.

July 4,2001

Finally Harry returns to his senses and heads for the farmhouse where a bachelor party is going on for Neville. It's doubtful anyone noticed his disappearance as they began partying at noon. Nobody will raise much of an eyebrow, if they are still awake, if Harry walks into the house nude but he still prefers to keep his tattoos hidden under a glamour.

**Merry Christmas**

**Author's Note  
**

Oh, there is more to the story, like Draco and a movement of Pureblood deciding to push through a bunch of harsh laws targeting anyone not a Pureblood, what else is new. Harry setting up a meeting with them at some isolated building he set up to be like one big walk in contract that just by drawing a wand and firing a spell at Harry pretty much gives him leave to kill said witch/wizard. Of course he only kills like three or four while the rest just plain turn on each other and make it look like Harry killed them.

By the end of it, Harry gets to raise Draco and what's her name's only two year old son, that he raises more in the mundane world as being a werewolf has been slowly altering his thought pattern to the point where he sees that if the magical society doesn't alter it'll be exposed.

Let's just say that there's a lot to the story then just Harry the werewolf killing Purebloods for being assholes. I kind of would love to portray him as a father to Draco's kid and why he pulls the kid out of Hogwarts during the Winter Holidays of the kid's first year.

Yea, I have one active imagination, the problem is, I just don't get around to typing it out.**  
**


	154. Common Sense Exercises: Animorphs

I don't own Animorphs.

**- o 0 o -**

Short #1

Esplin 6483 blinks the eyes of the Hork-Bajir, a female named Jea Kepak. Esplin listens dimly to Jea while getting up off the floor, moving away from the edge of the pool. A fellow Hork-Bajir Control waits at the bottom with an impatient look upon their face while giving out orders to those new Controllers coming from the infestation pier.

"You are to answer to Sub-Visser 84." Said Controller states and Esplin heads towards this unit of fellow new Controllers, secretly amazed at how easy this walking is becoming while Jea continues to demand that the Yeerk gets out of her head, which is rather distracting in Esplin's opinion and discomfort.

_Well, maybe our scientists will make use of Arn technology to create a race of non-sentient hosts. They made these Hork-Bajir and other species, why not use those expertise in a practical manner of engineering hosts?_ Esplin reasons to himself as he asks using Jea's voice, "Is this Sub-Visser 84's unit?"

"By the transport." The other Controller states, waving Esplin towards the ship, which surprises the Yeerk but Esplin is already heading in that direction a second after getting direction. Esplin glances about as Controllers go about their tasks, moving to avoid them as best as Jea's body could.

"Esplin 6483 reporting as ordered." The Yeerk states to the one carrying a data pad. The other Hork-Bajir Controller studies them for a moment, Jea seems to finally quiet down before the other just waves them into the ship.

"We depart in two minutes, be sure to strap yourself in." States the other Controller and Esplin once more causes Jea's body to move up the ramp. The ship looks like one of those Andalite ships, likely one of the few that was captured along with the other ships that would enable their race to travel in space.

The inside shows signs of alterations, likely due to engineers installing new equipment to replaced damaged equipment. Esplin finds the hold and finds a place to strap in, sitting next to a fellow female Controller. "You got any special skills?"

Blinking Jea's eyes, Esplin glances to the right, to the male Controller. "I use to read up on Andalite biological archives when I had access to the computer." Esplin replies to the question, not sure what that had to do with anything.

"You studying to be a scientist?" The Controller to their left asks. Esplin shakes Jea's body, while replying, "I just wanted to know what species there are out there and what kind of strengths and weaknesses they had. Most of the techno jargon went over my head, even with access to a language program."

That seems to cause the other members of the unit to relax. "First host?" A second male Controller asks and Esplin nods Jea's head.

"Ah, well, I doubt you'll get to enjoy the sensation of tree travel at our destination." The female Controller to their left states and it didn't take Esplin long to access Jea's memories. Only, they made the Yeerk rather uncomfortable as it seems to renew Jea's yelling and struggles to get out from out of Esplin's control.

Suddenly, the ship jerks and then, there's this sensation of raising up into the air. None of the others spoke, not that Esplin could blame them, it's rather tense as they could fall under attack by free Hork-Bajir and starved out of their hosts. The tension then begins to leave and conversations develop among the veterans as Esplin is the rookie among them.

Esplin's mind wanders, although staying out of Jea's memories. Esplin didn't know what the future holds and has mixed feelings concerning it, excitement and dread in equal measures.

Seven Months Later

Esplin 6483 swims about the pool, enjoying the fact that Jea's presence is gone. In some points, during his time as a guard at this Arn encampment, Esplin has taken to reading up on Arn's biological sciences and believes that it shouldn't be hard to use said technology to create a race of blank hosts. And yet, to Esplin's dismay, all those that tried to bring up seem to suffer from set back that causes them disgrace or death.

It seems that from the first time scientists have gone through Arn data banks, they had dreamed up the same thing Esplin had but nobody seem to have something to show the Council anything concerning why they should purse this course of action. Esplin had read and reread various proposals, none of which plotted out anything resembling a schedule or even a single form of a host species they could create using Arn technology.

In the end, most scientists and those in the know avoid speaking about such a possibility, thinking such a project is cursed, even if it never been brought before anyone on the Council. Esplin didn't think the project curse but admits that something doesn't want Yeerks creating their own breed of hosts using Arn technology. The Yeerk would have blamed the Arn but that species probably be happy to give them anything they wanted just so they wouldn't destroy their whole race.

Breaking Esplin out of his thoughts is his name being called to the infestation pier. Within seconds, Esplin waits for the familiar smell of Jea to come into the water before darting for the ear. With practical ease, Esplin reaches the brain of Jea and as the Yeerk settles in, mentally winces at the feelings coming from Jea's body.

_You just had to find get pregnant, didn't you?_ Esplin says to Jea, not particularly likely the feeling while Jea just seems satisfied with the new life growing within her. The pregnancy is still in its first term so there isn't any reason for Jea not to be infested.

Getting up from the pier, Esplin takes a glance at the time piece and then heads to the nearest lab to study this DNA strand that Esplin had been slowly constructing for the heck of it. With at least three hours before Esplin's shift to begin, the Yeerk wants to take advantage of the time. While most of the DNA mimics that of a Hork-Bajir, Esplin had been inserting genes of regeneration and trying to create this brain like nerve cluster in the chest area so that beheading the being wouldn't kill it or the Yeerk.

As the screen lights up and Esplin puts in the pass-codes, a six foot creature appears. It's head rests on a bit shorter and seemingly thicker neck while a series of short, thick blades about two inches long covers the top of the head. The rest of the body is very similar to that of a Hork-Bajir except for the fact it lacks the blades upon the arms and legs. The tail sports a large bone ball at the tip while three claw like blades jet out of the club.

About the end of the tail is suppose to be an acid spitting apparatus. The acid's effect are slightly modified from the stomach acid, making it mild within the body but coming on contact with the air, it lights up on fire for a brief amount of time. Esplin had added that bio-chemical weapon just to see if it could be done and so far, even though the genome is incomplete, it seems to be rather stable.

Besides, Esplin can't take all of the credit for how easy it is to create this genome, the Arn programmers had done their best to make it rather easy to manipulate DNA to such an extent. Previously, Esplin had engaged the program to locate matching genes needed to fill in the rest, among which is to find the right kind of structure so that the bones can be light and yet tough.

Finally, two hours had passed and the creature on the screen has been altered by the introduction of the new genes. The being now stands five feet at the shoulder but is seven feet in length. The natural stance is the being resting on the four larger limbs. It is capable of standing up to operate controls using these arms that come from this chest cavity but it can't move very comfortably about being bipedal.

The primary nerve cluster is located under that chest cavity, this cluster literally needs to have a Yeerk within it just to move. The idea of this kind of nervous system comes from the Hawjabran. This will keep the Yeerk safe from the usually method of beheading.

The tail adds an extra four feet and still possesses that flame throwing acid that is created at the tip and comes out from this hollow spike. The tail is capable of curling up over the butt and could spray forward, although the head will need to duck down as not to get hit.

The color would be primarily black with spots of light blue and stripes of green. It possesses two sets of eyes, one set looking straight ahead while the other set slightly higher up and to the side, allowing for a wider range of sight. The tongue possesses air taste buds on the bottom of it while the nose possesses wide open nostrils. The mouth possesses rows of sharp teeth, although the being is omnivorous, capable of eating bark and greenery to flesh and bones of the dead.

"Impressive. A rather bulky design but given the digestive track, likely needed." Jea's body stiffens and Esplin slowly, jerkily, turns to find somebody very important standing there, looking at what Esplin's free time had wrought.

"This is just my second design. The first is bipedal, although shorter then a Hork-Bajir, it possessed wings for gliding." Esplin says and taking a look from the other Controller as permission, he saves this design and brings up his first.

Then, directs Jea's body to step back as the Emperor advances. Esplin didn't know what to do, this whole thing seems... surreal. "Only five months to reach adulthood? Rather short life span, but then, they grow up rather quickly. Hm, yes, I want five thousand of this design ready in five months and a thousand of your second."

"Yes sir!" Esplin bows and remains so as the Emperor and bodyguards leave the room. Jea's heart pounding in their shared chest. Once alone, Esplin moves to another computer terminal and brings up the Arn's network to check upon the spawning tanks.

With a frown, Esplin finds a com-device and get a hold of the head engineer to inform them to begin creating and repairing the spawning tanks. Of course the Sub-Visser wasn't happy about it and demanded why they should do so. To which Esplin states, "Because the Emperor needs eight thousand spawning tank hooked up yesterday."

Esplin is rather overwhelmed when the Sub-Visser contacts him later informing him that they had a hundred ready to go and were working on importing more from the other settlements along with making them. Next, the head scientist contacts him concerning ways to improve the tanks, it seems that Esplin hadn't been the only one to find some project to do in their spare time beyond hanging out with their comrades in the time off lounge.

While Esplin 6483 hasn't been officially promoted, many have begun to treat him as though he possessed the rank of Sub-Visser and then that of Visser when the other Sub-Vissers of the camp began to answer to him as those spawning tanks get filled up with those engineered eggs of his first design.

Short #2

Garoff 2759 finally realize what is wrong with the ships that the new Yeerk Empire has been busy building. They were wasting resources building ships for Controllers to pilot instead of making use of Andalite technology to allow Yeerks without a host to pilot ships or even man weapon stations.

_We can make them smaller, saving resources, and maybe install mini Kandrona Ray generator in them so they don't have to exit out ship._ Garoff thinks. _Have to be sure to have relief with them, given how large we are in our natural form it won't be much trouble._

"Now who do I have to speak with to set things in motion?" Garoff wonders out loud, using the Gedd's vocal cords in the Trade Tongue and with that, Garoff sets about looking through the crew list and is rather shocked to learn that a 'sibling' is in such an important position.

But before Garoff 2759 decides to approach said 'sibling', the Yeerk planned to do so with some plans for such ships on hand. Garoff didn't see how it'll take so long to create, not with access to the Andalite archives and use of mind thought technology to interact with the memory banks.

After five hours, Garoff is done and sends a message to said 'sibling'. Just as Garoff's replacement arrives, the Yeerk gets a reply and with a smile upon the Gedd's face, Garoff 2759 heads to meet with said spawn sibling. _Even if I'm only allowed to build a single prototype, it should worth satisfying my curiosity concerning if a Yeerk without a host could contribute to the war effort._ The Yeerk thinks while walking down the hallway.

Making it to the designated room, Garoff 2759 enters and tries to straighten the Gedd's pose as best as the Yeerk could do so. "This should be short and to the point." States the other Gedd controller.

"We are wasting resource on a frightful manner. The use of Andalite mental controlling technology means that instead of needing hosts to pilot ships, a single Yeerk interfering facing with the flight controls could so the same. Perhaps better as the ship's technology won't have to filter the host's mind to obey the Yeerk's mental instructions."

"Little in the way of minerals would be needed as the ships would be smaller and if we install a small Kandrona Ray generator, the ship's Yeerk crew wouldn't need to return to a pool and allow for long term survey/scouting." Garoff 2759 then waits for the other to say something or ask a series of questions.

"You want us to rely on technology that belongs to the enemy." States the other controller in a flat tone. "But you do have a point, Garoff 2759 that we are not using every means at our disposable. Create a prototype and if you can find volunteers to pilot it, we will officially review it."

Taking that as a dismissal, Garoff 2759 turns and walks out of the room. _Now to find an engineer willing to help with this project._ The Yeerk muses while heading to get food and liquids as Garoff's host is in need of that and rest.

Four Months Later

The wiring of the small ship is finally done, they had run into problems like how do the crew make repairs without hands and then came manufacturing equipment so it's smaller in size while still able to function. Every piece is custom made out of scrap parts. The final product possesses enough space to a crew of ten Yeerks, although it's more likely that at least five Yeerks will be used as they also have robots to do repairs as Yeerks naturally lack such appendages that they prize in hosts.

Garoff and those who aided in creating the ship have each ridden in it, circling the room, each taking turns piloting it. The weapons that the ship have also been tested and while not as powerful as normal size, they can switch intensity rather easily. It's likely that the ship and others like it could do well in stealthily entering into other ships.

One interesting idea is of a hatch would allow a Yeerk to exit out of the ship and enter into a stunned target with the ship hovering. From the updates send on to Garoff's spawn sibling, that feature seems to be rather desirable as it would allow them to take Andalites as hosts. Which would give them informants among their enemies.

Today, the ship only needs to prove itself to be tight enough that it can survive outside of the confinement of the ship as the updates of construction have kept the upper ranks of the Empire in the know concerning its performance. Garoff watches as the ship seemingly glides towards the air lock on the screen. The Yeerk's tension extends to the Gedd host body in the way of tense muscles and certain chemicals getting released within the host as well.

Garoff stays silent, the current crew has experience and there shouldn't be any problems during this flight test. They have used the air locks a few times in the past and none gave out. _Only difference should be temperature._ The Yeerk known as Garoff 2759 thinks to itself.

Garoff's tension gives away to relief when the request for them to return to the air lock. Things were looking up... until an Andalite star ship exits out of Z-Space. The tension returns as the alarms go off and orders for the pilots to head to their fighters. Garoff swears out loud and balls one of the Gedd's hands while glancing away from the screen showing the Andalite ship.

When the tiny ship requests orders, the Yeerk replies, "Sabotage the main ship anyway possible." Flickering the host's eyes to the screen, Garoff tries to follow the proto-type's progress.

As the fighters engage each other, the main ships attempt to get into position where they won't receive fire from the other main ship while having a clear shoot at firing at the other ship. The shields continue to keep the damage done by incoming fire at a minimum. Not being a fighter, Garoff is at a lost at how quickly order and counter orders get sent out to the smaller ships.

At some point, the main Andalite ship seems to suffer from a problem, likely engine related given the way the shield falls. Suddenly the smaller Andalite ships are retreating and they are getting hailed, when the com is brought up, they are addressed by an Andalite, one identifying themselves as Akdor 183, one of the crew of the test ship.

"Could you repeat that, Akdor 183." Janath 429 asks and Akdor 183 does so. _-Carger 567, Alahar 14688, and myself are in possession of Andalite Hosts. We are currently stunning each Andalite we come across for future infestation.-_

Silence seems to hang about them all as the fact they now have a number of Andalites that can be infested once they begin boarding the Dome Ship. "Good work, all fighters, secure that Dome Ship! Start loading some Yeerks into containers to be transported to the Dome Ship for infestiation!" Orders the Akdor 1154, the very same Yeerk who led the uprising against the Andalites.

Within seconds, controllers are stumbling over themselves to follow through with those orders. _Everything just seems so unreal..._ Garoff 2759 thinks while staring up at the screen viva the eyes of the Gedd the Yeerk controls.

Unknown to Garoff 2759, the Yeerk would be given an Andalite host as a reward for being the Yeerk who envisioned the ship that allowed for the capturing of not only another Andalite Dome Ship but Andalites as hosts.

**The End of the Tales?**

To Readers:

Yea, been working on this since December so I hope you enjoy them.


	155. The Looping Soul P2: Buffy

I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any other copyrights mentioned.

**- o 0 o -**

Casper rolls onto his stomach while putting his arms under the pillow. His thoughts circle around his defeat of that young version of Tai'Jynn. Although a school day, he doesn't feel like sitting through classes he's already sat through, listening to information he now knows off the top of his head.

_Perhaps I should wait until he's reached the level I remember him reaching the first time? It would be a more... honest fight at least._The looping soul muses while his gaze is inwardly focused.

And then rather suddenly, Casper laughs at the fact that he still seems to have a moral code. "I guess it evolved like I have." The current blond muses once he's regained his composure. He couldn't keep the wide grin off his face as he finally rolls onto his side and sit up.

Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Casper stands up and heads to the bathroom adjacent to this bedroom. As he waits for the water to warm up so he can have a shower, he relieves himself before fully undressing himself. Tossing the cloths through this hoop that instantly teleports them to the laundry room.

His thoughts drift to the first creation of that demon body to explore the Hell dimensions.

Five Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Loop

It took a good twenty-one loops of genetic research and then another five to mix paper scroll magic into the mix to speed up the creation. It also aided in giving him options of how to express genes. Although, figuring out how to insert himself into the body had been, unsurprisingly, easy.

_Not that it's really that surprising._ Casper, although his current birth name is Henri Ellison, thinks while pushing his currently green bangs from his forehead. _Given how the rich are always willing to pay any price in order to remain alive. The thing is, how to modify the spell so that I can go back and forth between the two._

The body within the tank is currently that of a child. The rest of the tanks that surround him are currently in the embryonic stage. Each of the embryos are meant to grow to appear vastly different then the others around it. The count is currently twenty-nine embryos and one child.

"What do you think?" Casper asks, glancing over to Jonathan. "Think you can handle this body when it's older?"

The sixteen year old nerd/warlock looks startled and opens his mouth to say, "Wha?" Casper smiles as he turns to the computer terminal, accessing the child demon's information.

"This body will be yours as a reward for helping me with this... project." He simply states to Jonathan. "I promised that you'd never have to worry about bullies ever again, didn't I? You inhabiting a demon body should give you the physical prowess you've sought."

_And then there's the fact that I'll get to see if inhabiting a demonic body does indeed corrupt one or it is the spell that does so._Casper thinks to himself while Jonathan stammers out thanks. He plans to try his variation of the spells of transference with Jonathan.

Of course it goes without saying that if Jonathan dies during the course of the experiment, there are a list of others who'll be more then happy to jump at the chance to have supernatural capabilities and physical prowess. Given that nothing seems to be going wrong in growing this bodies, it means that those in the higher plane see it as a resource to exploit.

_I really need to find ways to block their attempts at killing me or sending me to a Hell dimension if I interfere with their designs on the current time stream._Casper muses to himself, although he's rather restricted concerning research options about how to do so. He has been doing his best to avoid making deals with Demons as he doesn't know if such bargains will extend pass his current life in the skin of somebody who isn't Xander Harris.

Current Loop

Casper glances through his library of books, some of which were actually role playing table top game manuals instead of anything dealing with the shadow underbelly of the world which possesses magic. He's long since learnt of a number of ways to create majority of the items from each game line. His gaze lingers on what would be known as Classic World of Darkness game line, which actually led him to make overturns to the spirit world, not to be confused with lingering ghosts of people.

With a shake of his head, he pulls out one of the Dungeons & Dragons. The manual he pulls out is the one talking about vessels that allow mortals to travel to various planes of existence. He's slowly gaining an understanding of the magical 'physics' that allow others to travel between various realities, although it helps that he's been living on a Hellmouth for ages.

Casper does have a slight understanding of how to create minor pocket dimensions, he does know how to create bags of Holding after all. He is kind of interested in creating a version of it on a safe and from a safe to a closet and then from a closet to a room or even the whole of a house. He's not sure if he can work it without having physical walls but first things first, he needs to create a stable version of it for something made out of metal and that's rather problematic as at least the stuff he's used to create previous bags of Holding had been made from organic material like from plant fibers like cotton and silk from silk worms.

It's also likely that begin able to import material from other dimensions would open the way for new ways of doing things. Of course, he needs to get to those dimensions which is why learning to create a vehicle that should allow him to find dimensions that are more hospitable. It also doesn't hurt that it would finally allow him to gain access to the so-call divine realms where he can finally show how 'happy' he is at some beings' micro-management as well.

Although he does know of one way to get access to the spells to create said vehicle but, for now, he'll keep trying to puzzle it out on his own, using personal experience.

Nine Hundred and Thirteen Loops

Halloween coming up and he's slowly paging through his notebook that's warded up the yin yang to avoid the notice of 'Balance' demons. He's grown bored with using tiny bits of paper in hopes of putting a suggestion on various costumes. Casper did have a way of appeasing said God that gets invoked and hopes that it'll leave a very distinctive impression once the spell has passed.

After all, there's a whole race of tricksters in classic World of Darkness called Nuwisha. He plans to have seven 'characters' of this race along with examples from each tribe/race/court. There's going to be at least two members of the so-called extincted tribes, White Howlers and the Bunyip while the only ones being left out are the Black Spiral Dancers and the Nagah. Which brings the total of characters that will possess various people to be hundred.

Given the diversity of looks common among each of the various Fera/tribes/courts. Casper already had plans for the Scooby trio, Buffy's going to end up a Silverfang Pilodox who's breed is that of a Homid, as she needs to be reminded of her duty and she's got to have something mentally wrong upstairs as she does enjoy screwing vampires. Willow is going to end up as a Gurahl, Forest Walker Kieh to be pierce, only instead of her breed being Ursine. And finally, Xander is going to end up a male Ajaba of the Dawn Aspects with his breed being Homid.

He's set up the entrance that each person that shows up in his note book walks through the door of the costume shop, it connects them to said character sheet as just by walking through the door. After all, he knows who buys what and he's even gotten familiar with what Willow ends up buying when he buys up all the ghost costumes too. He lingers on the Gurahl character sheet that will soon connect up to Willow when the Scoobies finally go costume shopping.

Before closing the book, he takes a moment to go to the last page to where his character sheet is. That of a Camazotz, making him half of the population that will arise when everything begins. He's rather curious about what it'll be like to be one, to fly at night while relying upon echolocation.

Halloween

Casper counts himself lucky that he wasn't that high in the air when the spell broke. As he gets to his feet, he glances around at the wreckage and if this were an anime, he would be sporting a sweat drop at the sear amount of damage that's been had. Most of the dead are actual demons and vampires, he made sure that everyone who became a Fera or a Garou would not sense the Wyrm in anyone save for vampires and demons that inhabit the town.

"But then, it shouldn't be that surprising that we have so many living and passing themselves off as normal humans..." Casper murmurs thoughtfully until it dawns on him that the dawn has arrived so nobody actually ended the spell early. "Got to remember that for next time I decide to use Werewolf the Apocalypse. Or any other smart ideas."

Then, as the shock begins to wear off, kids of various ages begin to whimper while a few move about as if in a daze. Casper moves forward and gathered up the kiddies, being sure to check to see if they have any injuries but from the looks of it, they seem perfectly fine. As the memories of his character rest on the back burner, he slowly herds the kids through the town, dropping some off at their homes while picking up more.

He did find a few things that brought smiles to not just his face but the kids' and knows that it's the work of one of the seven Nuwisha. A few did seem to have left their names on some of their art work. He does make sure to keep from the routes that clearly been decorated viva limbs, organs, and bone.

It's about noon before he finally realizes how hungry he is and, making sure he has his wallet still, although the few ID in his wallet have been permanently enchanted it seems as the moment he touched it, the picture shifts to mimic his current body's face look instead of that of a bat. The name and other information shifts, although he stiffens at the age that is not in the brackets, which is his body's current age.

"Ok, get new ID, check." He murmurs under his breath as he pockets the ID before checking the rest of the contents but it seems that they remain non-magical. Closing the wallet, he walks into the breakfast restaurant and finds a number of people crowding about the tables. With a shake, he does notice the seven sitting at one table.

He knew who they were last night and not that surprised to see them acting friendly, after all, they had formed a pack last night. _Which makes me wonder if any of the other packs connects survived the end of the enchantment._Casper muses as he places an order for a dozen muffins to go as he didn't want to stick around here any more then he had too.

As he sits in a park, he is reminded of the enchanted ID and pulls it out to take a long look at it. Although as he polishes off eight of the muffins, he found himself wondering if anything else had become permanently enchanted as it is doubtful that only one of item would have survived having that much magic going on, particularly as at least a hundred 'costumes' had tapped into the imagination of likely hundred of thousand gamers from around the world.

_Hm, I wondered why Etan never put out any of the popular comic book characters out? Although, I have been transforming into future popular characters before, but then, I had been the only one who knew said characters._He tries to review what little he knows about previous tests. He's fairly sure he's never seen this level of destruction but then, he's never let loose over a hundred of beings geared for battle and dedicated to wiping their version of evil off the face of the Earth.

Closing the box, Casper decides to explore the memories he inherited from Torn-Scream-Echos. He's not sure when he finally came to, but the fact that the sun is setting and his box filled with what remains of his muffins being long gone means it's been a few hours at least.

Hungry once more, he gets up off the picnic table and pauses as it dawns on him that if Angle is dead then he could be seeing the sky of some Hell dimension in a few months. Murmuring a curse, he heads straight home to prepare gear for when that happens.

Current Loop

As night arrives, the opening of the door causes Casper to look up to find... "I forgot to cancel the copy, didn't I?" With a single hand sign, the clone falls to the floor as if his strings had been cut, which they had been.

Mentally murmuring curse, he carries the copy down into one of the basement level for storage as he'll use it again when he has sent his mind out of his current body and into that demonic one in another dimension.

**To Be Continued**


	156. Spirital Fox Cloth: Naruto and Bleach

**I don't own Bleach and Naruto!**

- o 0 o -

Naruto giggles as he evades the irritated Uchiha police man, he turns right at the corner and suddenly, he trips. "Ahahahahahah..." The six year old blond screams as he brings his arms up, crossing them before his face. Then, the shadows and light seem to get colorful until suddenly he hits grass and falls forward, rolling while he finally begins to choke and cough.

As Naruto's vision slowly comes into focus and he is breathing regularly, the child groans and rolls onto his back. The sunlight greets him as he stares up into the sky while some clouds dot about. _That was weird... How did I get out of the village?_

Then, being a child, he grins widely and begins to laugh while talking to himself. "Hehehehe, I so show them! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the awesomous future Hokage ever in the whole universe! Believe it!"

As he gets up off the ground, he charges off, not really paying any attention to his surrounds. The child's baggy, off white t-shirt presses itself upon the blond as Naruto races about the forest, heading northeast. Humming a wordless tune, Naruto found ways to occupy himself while waiting for those masked people to arrive and take be before the Old Man.

Then, as the blond finishes climbing up a tree, he yawns a bit and bites his lower lip as he looks up at the sky. As the sky darkens, the blond begins to get worried. "They've never waited this long to collect me..."

As the sun sets, young Naruto begins to feel rather hungry but he doesn't move to get down from the tree. Rather, he moves higher up into the tree until he finds a comfortable branch and getting comfortable, he begins to drift off. Being a warm night, Naruto drifts off to sleep.

- = Two Months Later = -

Naruto scowls as he trudges down this dirt road. The six year old kicks the ground while carrying this pack that somebody threw at him a few days ago while running away scream 'please spare me, little Kami!' While it's a step up from being called a demon brat, he hasn't been able to walk up to an adult to ask where he is and where Konohagakure is from here.

"Why are yea following me?" Naruto demands as he lets the pack fall to the ground, turning on his heels to confront the other problem that frankly, scares him more then a little. The elderly man sporting this plate on his chest and this chain that's, like, nine chains long seems to blink.

"Following you? Why would I follow you? I'm going to visit my granddaughter you whelp." The rather creepy feeling elderly man answers rather waspishly.

Naruto didn't believe it, after all, he's been bugged by these people wearing metal plates in their chest since he seemingly left his birth village. They just appear at random times, spend the day with him before vanishing. It doesn't help that they don't seem to have feet and sometimes, he hears these dull screams off in the distance that set his teeth on edge.

While he does want company, he has come to want the company of people he could actually touch. The six year old sits down with his back against the pack. His feet are sore from all this walking and he's rather thirsty, he has check the pack but found some bottle of headache juice in it, which he just left alone.

As the blond six year old is about to drift off into a nap, a hollowing roar sounds. He straightens up and his head snaps to the other side of the road. Birds fly into the sky as the roar becomes something of a background noise.

Naruto just sits there frozen as the sound draws closer and then the something begins to claw at his mind, a hunger that's worst then what he knows of right now. He's learnt through trail and error which plants he could eat without getting sick, there have been dry food to eat in the pack so he didn't have to forage around if he didn't want to. Something hazy appears coming out of the forest.

He can't see it real well as it seems to be bouncing around. And then, with a roar, Naruto sees it clearly, too clearly. Then the hunger in his mind surges forward as the monkey-spider thing leaps at him. Everything but the white monster fades to black and he knows that he's about to die.

**If you don't want to die this day, use this!** A voice bellows, jerking out from the feeling of hunger and the terror of the white monkey-spider inspires. He wraps himself up in the 'cloths' he mentally feels flying pass him.

The hunger vanishes and he just manages to leap out of the path of the monkey-spider monster's way. His body feels so light and feels so strong. He digs his fingers into the dirt of the path before standing up from his crouching position.

He feels something over his face and covering his head but it doesn't seem to obscure his vision in the least. **"What kind of Hollow are you? Psst, it doesn't matter, that power will be mine once I consume you!"** A feminine voice erupts from the monster before Naruto.

The blond child grins as he dodges away from the tail that snakes towards him. While the looks of his opponent are strange to him, the situation on the other hand is very familiar. This woman monster wants to catch Naruto? Well, loads of people wanted to catch him before and he's out race them!

"Na-uh! You can't consume me! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage of Leaf!" Naruto exclaims proudly, a wide foxy grin plastered upon his face under the mask he is currently wearing.

"Come and try, you Spider-hag! Catch me if ya can!" The six year old says and darting forward, he easily picks up the pack while evading the five limbs coming at him pretty much at once. With the pack on his back, he somersaults backwards before landing and darting down the path, heading back the way he came, laughing all the while.

Confronted with something familiar, Naruto doesn't care that its not some upset Uchiha, merchant, or Genin trying to grab him to bring him to 'justice'. Never mind that without the Old Man around he could wind up dead or 'consumed' as the Spider-hag put it. He doesn't even wonder why he has some red bangs whipping before his eyes or that the pack that once been so heavy is suddenly so light. Nor was there a question about how no longer feels as heat of midday.

For now, it's just a game that he is confident he can win. It never crossed his mind that there is a chance he could lose.

- = Year Later = -

Naruto blinks as Spider-hag screams, not the hollow roar that she's done before but a much more human sound. The young boy blinks and without breaking stride, shifts into those red cloths he received, with the sense of power and freedom, he easily leaps over the building and runs upon the very air towards the site where he can see the Spider-hag combat something wearing black.

Stopping short, he gets a clear look of what's fighting his 'play-mate' and 'buddy'. The person that is injuring Spider-hag sports a katanna sword, wearing black cloths, and seems to be a young teenager. Sensing something to his left, Naruto darts out of sight as somebody seemingly teleports next to where he had been standing.

Turning, he finds a woman coming at him welding another sword, only this one is much shorter and sporting very short black-blue hair with a single braid tucked behind each ear. _She's fast. Faster then Spider-hag._ Naruto admits as he finds it hard to keep his distance, particularly as she is attempting to use that same sword she owns upon him.

Naruto continues to try and evade the woman but she just matches his speed! He bites his lower lip to keep from crying out in pain as the sword does manage to strike him on the back of his left hand, he just manage to get out of a strike aimed for his shoulder. He is dimly aware of the defeat of Spider-hag and that the teenager is now watching this woman and him 'dance' about the sky.

"Enough of this, Sai!" Naruto finds himself unable to move much but the woman seems confident that she has him bound up. As she takes her time, the blond reaches into his own energy reserves and snaps the bindings as he rolls out of the down swing of the sword.

"Sai!" Naruto cries, the word seems to come naturally to him and suddenly, both of them seem to go rigid. Not sure how long it'll take them to break out like he had, he dart back into the village, once he's on the ground and out of sight, he transforms back.

A second after, the pair teleport about the building but he acts like he doesn't see them. The one before him glances around in bewilderment before teleporting away, along with the one behind him. Running a hand through his dyed hair, Naruto tries to come to grips at the new players that he now had to watch out for as they were clearly more skilled then Spider-hag and those other white monsters he sometimes glimpse in the months since he spied Spider-hag.

Naruto glances around the small village and then heads south, away from the village. _Was that even a jutsu?_ He wonders, he never encountered anything like it before. Sure, those white monsters seemed to have special attacks but they always seemed to involve a body part and felt hungry to him.

"Sai?" Naruto murmurs under his breath as he remembers what it felt like to be under that jutsu and can't help but wonder how he managed to cast it upon the pair wearing those black kimonos welding those swords. Feeling a slight tug at his energy, he picks up a rock, tosses it, and declares, "Sai!"

The rock hastes a bit midair but it still moves until it lands. He also feels rather drained just by that effort of calling upon it in his current form. He then grins, he'll work on it until he can cast it without saying it out loud, believe it!

He picks up another large rock and gets ready to toss it once he feels he has a grip on his energy.

- = Two Years = -

"Oh man, I still haven't grown at all!" Naruto grumbles after he checks his height against the tree he's been using for the last month. The black dyed blond child pouts once more at this development, his bangs slipping from behind his ear to cover his face, much to his irritation.

He blows at it for a few seconds before using his left hand to brush it to the side and back behind his ear. Although Naruto is much more tan then he had when he found himself in these lands, he also filled out muscle wise. He does stand a bit taller but that is likely due to a growth spurt to make up for his poor dietary habits when he lived in Konohagakure so he is now a tall six year old but still six years old; in body development at least.

With a soft sigh, he takes the knife he has in his right hand and with a frown, decides to do some hair trimming using the knife. Without a mirror, Naruto doesn't see how uneven he is hacking it off or that his blond roots are showing even more. Putting the knife into his belt, Naruto walks over to the water bucket to take a look at his new hair do.

Sighing at the sight of his blond roots, the child pulls over rather beat up pack and digs around for some boxes containing herbs. For the next few minutes, Naruto adds various stuff to the pail of water, stirring it until it is black itself. He then adds some more and then stirs it. It takes time but a test shows it'll work as dye, he then takes a keep breath and dunks his head into the bucket.

He does this a few times and even does his best to rub it in some more before dunking his head in the pail again. He continues to do this until even his hands sport black splats. Dumping the pail, he then takes it and washes it in the stream. He returns to get soap to wash away the stains on his hands. He is careful of touching his hair, happy to allow it to dry on its own.

Feeling that he's not alone, Naruto glances to find a small trio of spirit gossiping not far from his efforts to clear the bucket and his hands. The child looks away from the three, they'll be gone by evening and no harm done to himself or to others. He had long since given up trying to puzzle out why he attracts the dead or what's the deal with those metal plates in their chests.

They also tend to vanish, hiding more likely, whenever those white monsters decide to appear. And usually when those white monsters appear so do those so call Shinigami. Although he has seen many different Shinigami since the first pair and has learnt a few more of their Kido.

A smile graces his face as he recalls the expressions those Shinigami get when he turns those same Kido on them. Once he is sure he can break a Sai without much effort on his part, he's taken to playing with the Shinigami but has done his level best to keep them from seeing him transform. He didn't like the idea of getting experimented on by them just so they can figure out how he works.

He keeps practicing them too, typically as he is now as it is so much harder to use those Kido and thus he feels a hundred times his size when he manages to pull them off! While Naruto feels a swelling of pride within his chest, he puffs out his chest while straightening his shoulders. He hums a tune while he finishes with the pail, while it did still have some dark hues, it doesn't look as black as it usually is.

He dyes his head to keep people from thinking his is some kind of Kami. While Naruto likes that better then becoming considered a demon, he just doesn't feel like it fits him. After all, he doesn't want to offend any actual Kami.

_And those people can't be Shinigami either. 'Cause nobody escapes death and I've been escaping from them so there._ He thinks, pleased with himself as he collects everything he brought and heads back to his camping site.

Putting things away, Naruto is sure to check to see if anything is worn before closing the pack. He leans back upon it and stares up at the sky, he finds it rather calming for a while until he gets hungry. Getting up off the pack, he heads for the village that's a few minutes run from his little campsite, all the while ignoring the fact that those three spirit were following him.

With a few coins jingling in his kimono's pants pocket, Naruto made a beeline to the small restaurant, an inn, of the small village. As he walks pass, the child notices somebody wearing monk's cloths and with a staff as he walks pass to get into the small building. Seeing the daughter of the own free, he walks over to her.

"Hey, hey, hime-chan, can I get something to eat for this?" Naruto asks, pulling out the coins he has in his pockets, offering them up to the fourteen year old. She turns to smile down at him before humming at the sight of the coins.

"Hm, let me just get your order from the kitchen, ok chibi-kun?" The daughter turns after ruffling his newly dyed locks and heads for the kitchen. He sighs a bit but is content to wait, he knows from experience how much he'll have left after he leaves with his meal.

The gossiping trio of women spirits were outside, which is just fine with him as it means they are content to only address each other then to butt into his business. As Naruto begins to fidget while standing in place, he is relieved when the daughter comes back with a bento box. As he leaves a few coins lighter, the seemingly six year old comes out to find that the monk seems to be intent on studying the three gossiping spirits.

With a shake of his head, Naruto dismisses this observation and walks away, heading to a tree to sit under to eat his bento. When he's done, the almost ten year old takes the box up to one of the benches and leaves it there. Humming to himself, he heads back to his campsite to continue to punch that post he set up.

As the day progresses, he pauses to take a breather to find that the monk had followed him back to his campsite. He frowns in puzzlement while he tries to think of a reason why he would attract the attention of this particular adult. _I don't recall seeing him around here before today._

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" The monk asks upon walking over to him upon seeing that he's stopped attacking the post. "You didn't do anything wrong, I just wish to know a few things concerning the area."

Naruto kind of relaxes but can't help at feeling that he isn't the right person to ask concerning the village. "I guess... What do you want to know?" He asks as the monk crouches, the staff leans on the man's left shoulder.

"Has a woman you were close to recently died?" The monk asks and he can't help but blink at the question. He shakes his head and this causes the monk to frown.

"Are you sure? It need not be your mother, an aunt or even somebody you consider to be your sister." The monk presses and he glances over to the trio of spirits, at the sight his eyes light up as he gets why the monk is asking.

"You see those three too? Never meet any of them until I visited the river today." Naruto waves a hand towards the three women. "I've gotten use to that, actually. Spirit show up, spend the day with me before they vanish." Not caring at the look that flashes across the older man's face.

Shrugging, he add, "Don't know where they go or why they show up like they do, only that they can be really annoying." The monk glances towards the spirits with a raised eyebrow.

"Three? There are three spirits here?" The monk asks and Naruto nods.

"Yea, can't you see them?" He asks with a confused look upon his face. "I mean, you were asking about a woman dying on me, right?"

"I can sense an overly female presence in that direction but I can't see her... them." The monk informs him rather truthfully after looking in that direction. "How well can you see them?"

Naruto takes a moment to look at the three, studying them more intently. It's really his first time really staring at them as he had gotten in the habit of ignoring spirits that linger in his presence. He then describes them one at a time.

The monk's expression becomes clouded, Naruto couldn't read the emotions that seem to be going on within the monk. Not having anything else to do and knowing the importance of such man as this monk, he does his best to stay still but that doesn't help him from moving back and forth or moving his hands from before him to his back. "How would you like to become my student?"

The dyed blond blinks at this question, it's rather odd that an adult wanted to teach him something. "What's the catch?" He asks warily.

"Well, you give me your name and you travel with me, studying what I have to teach." The monk states. "I am Denji."

"I'm Naruto!" He exclaims proudly and this causes the monk Denji to smile. A soft chuckle escapes from him while Naruto once more suffers from somebody ruffling his hair, causing him to pout at being treated like a little kid.

- = Nine Years Later = -

Naruto claps his hands twice as Denji-sensei had taught him to do before praying. Head bowed, he thinks, _I'm sorry sensei for not being quick enough to purify that monster. Please know that though I mourn your passing, I will do my best to follow the lessons you taught me._

He stands up and though his eyes are puffy from crying, he doesn't have any more tears to shed. The incense tickle his nose, but then, this particular scent always did that. Denji-sensei's staff rests in the bundle of cloth he wrapped it in. He'll be taking it to the nearest temple and inform them about his master's death.

_Alone again._ He can't help but think as he stares down at the incense pot and grave offerings. Although Naruto still appears to be six years old and his blond hair is dyed black, his eyes show this true age. He wasn't an innocent child that his body shows him to be.

Looking away from the small shrine, he does his best to pick up the bundle that the staff is wrapped in and then the child size pack that has his food rations, scrolls, and two alternate changes of cloths. He moves his hair braid so it rests over his right shoulder, reaching towards his chest as he hitches the pack onto his shoulders a bit more.

While he would have liked to say good-bye to the spirit of sensei, he knew it was for the best that both of them step forward on their own paths now, each heading off into different directions. Though the weight of the staff bundle is great, Naruto walks away with it resting in his arms, the top leaning on his left shoulder as he goes.

As Naruto walks away, he reflects upon the years he spent with his master and they warm him, causing a soft smile to remain upon his face. The lessons in reading and writing might have been trying at times but he finally got to understand what the big deal was and found himself enjoying writing down his thoughts down or whatever tunes that cross his mind. Drawing came next, particularly as he got into the habit of drawing those white monsters that appear from time to time, attacking him.

_I never would have gotten the confidences to attack those monsters if not for Denji-sensei. I knew that those Kido could affect those monsters, I just never bothered to fight using them. They saved my life and not always in encountering those white monsters either._ He reflects, but that only brought up the matter of how his master died so he turned his mind to other matters, like that tune that's become rather popular among kids that **he** wrote!

Shaking his head, he thinking upon that song, a wide smile upon his face as he continues down the path. He hums a bit, the burden upon his back is rather familiar and one he'll likely continue to feel as he has yet to grow at all.

Ending it here

**Readers:** Ok, it has been a little over a whole month since I began this and I can't think of anything more to add, so I'm posting it. I hope you enjoy this.


	157. Defying Pride: Dragon Flyz

**I don't own Dragon Flyz.**

**To Readers:** Events are based upon Dragon Flyz episode Son of Dread. It's central plot is about Z'neth with a case of memory loss that Dreadwing tried to used to his advantage. You can find the episode on YouTube.

- o 0 o -

The first thing to assault his senses is gargling sounds that are wet. He feels something sticking to his limbs and as he finds the strength to open his eyes, Z'neth finds his vision blurred. With his head pounding, he pushes up with his arms, a slurp sound occurs as he pulls himself out of the muck. He has coughing fits that cause his body to shake and make him feel as though he's trying to hock up a lung.

Just pulling himself up causes his senses to whirl, he doesn't even get the chance to wonder about his surrounds. His body, particularly his head and back, ache and protest any movement but instinctively he knows he needs to find a place to shelter in. That being out in the open like this could very well be the death of him.

Standing up, he then hunches over while a fist covers his mouth. His stomach calms down slightly and he becomes aware of the chill as the mud begins to come off as he rubs his arms. Z'neth dimly acknowledges his surroundings as he crosses his arms across his chest as he begins to walk.

His brain throbs and his vision keeps blurring. _Must have been some fall._ Z'neth thinks as he walks through this landscape featuring bones. _Dragon bones._

Finally his legs give out. Privately he is amazed they took him as far as they had. Falling to his knees in pond of muck, he spaces out of it for a few seconds, becoming alarmed when he hears something behind him. With a sharp breath, he stands up once more, already looking over his shoulder to see what is coming up behind him.

He moves back as this muck monster gets close and its bulk becomes apparent. Without a thought, he brings up his arm and with his other hand, tabs his gauntlet only for it to click. He turns and flees, but he is quickly finding it hard to breath as he is pushing himself beyond his current limits.

Z'neth stumbles and falls into the muck. The muck monster bellows and he hears its paw slam into the ground not far from his leg. He turns, gasping at the sight of the wide mouth and glowing yellow eyes.

He begins to crawl away, as he grunts out, "No!" Although it comes out as go. Then, suddenly, a blast of something hits the monster and it falls back due to the force of the blast. Heart pounding, he turns to stare at the thing that almost had him.

Then all the excitement overwhelmed him and he blacks out. He barely gets a glimpse of who saved him. The toll of everything is just so exhausting.

**Ten Hours Later**

As Z'neth comes to once more, he finds himself in a building. Yet again, he is having trouble with his sight. Looking down, he finds that he is wearing blue armor with white straps and boots. Leaning his head back down, he closes his eyes as he hears somebody close stirring something.

He feels much more rested then before, although he still aches in places. As somebody approaches, he calls out for his father. As he glimpses a face, Z'neth asks, "Is that you father?"

His vision begins to blur as he calls out but seeing that a spoon is coming towards him, he opens his mouth. After all, he wasn't behind bar and whoever this person was, they seem interested in his welfare. Although, something about the others looks unsettled him, particularly the eyes. The glow yellow of them.

He shrugs the worry away as he continues to be spoon fed. As he finishes his fill, he drifts off into slumber. Feeling secure where he lay.

**Six Hours Later**

Z'neth wakes and finds himself alone. His vision is still swimming but he feels the need to get up. He has someplace to be and though he aches, he notices that they weren't as bad as before.

He feels a bit disoriented as he swings his body about and moves to get up. Pushing himself up, he notices the door. Once before it, he places both hands upon it. Feeling how solid it is with his, slightly pale hued arms still covered in that blue armor.

Then, feeling dizzy, he pushes off against the door and returns to his bed when noticed that the door didn't give. Feeling hot, he climbs up onto the bed and attempts to reach the hole in the ceiling. He needs to see his father.

Then, after exhausting himself and only causing himself become spent, he lays back down upon the bed. Groaning at how hot his body feels. _Fever... I have a fever._ Were Z'neth's last thoughts as he falls into a restless sleep.

**Four Hours Later**

He wakes to find the previous person once more coming towards him with a bowl. As the spoon comes towards him, he slaps it away. Then, he begins to black out as the person approaches more closely.

_Where is my father?_ He wants to demand but he can't seem to get the word to come out. _Father..._ He mentally cries out.

**Seven Hours Later**

Once more, he wakes and as he looks towards the door, he finds it open. Z'neth finds that his vision has cleared up and although his aches do bother him, he gets up anyway. He groans as he moves for the door.

As he walks through the halls, he finds them both familiar and wrong. He continues to ignore this, pushing down the thought that this place isn't safe. His father must be here, he hopes that his father is here. He wants to see him, to speak with him, say he's sorry for causing him to worry.

Nobody moves about the halls but him, the clicking of his boots upon the floor echo in the empty space. Slight panic sets in, is he going the right way? Has everyone gone off on a mission?

He comes to a pool of lava and the wrongest of it causes him goosebumps. _This isn't home... Our father isn't here..._ A voice whispers in his mind and as he marches on, he slowly begins to agree with that voice.

He goes over the image of the person feeding him, the strange hue of the skin, the glowing eyes, and how thin they were. It wasn't his shape and so far, he hasn't seen a face that, for some reason, he knows is his face. His joints ache from all this walking and with each step, he feels his fear increase.

At times, he stops, resting by leaning against the walls. He grows hungry and thirsty. The heat in the halls becomes unbearable as he continues.

Then, he comes into an open cavern with stone bend like fangs leading into the mouth. Z'neth continues on after a few seconds to take this in. As he draws close, he begins to make out a central pillar, no, it was a throne.

A crimson person stands next to the care-giver, a soft chuckle comes from this guy. Z'neth notices how this one carries himself and judges that this person is likely the one Care-Giver answers to. _So then, he's the boss. What does that mean for me?_

And then, as he stumbles to the ground, a voice, a very deep toned voice, welcomes him as his son. Z'neth is alarmed by this, particularly as he gets a better look at the Crimson's face and knows that this isn't his father. Plus, as near as he could tell, they may be closer in age then that of father and son.

Now then, he could do one of two things, play along with it until he gets a better picture of things or he could call this guy on it. Given how weak feels and sore, the smart thing would be to play along. If he does, he could likely have a better chance at escaping.

But then there's that part within him that's made up of his pride that pretty much wants to call this guy out. That he is lying as the Crimson guy continues to say how pleased he was that he recovered. "Your son?" Z'neth inquires and then he feels a tickle of a cough.

In a split second, he chose his course of action and by suppressing the cough, he says, "While I am grateful for the help you have given me, I don't believe we are what you say we are."

Then, suddenly, his head tries to explode. As he clutches his head, fighting against the pain, he dimly hears Crimson berate Care-Giver about mutagen being permanent along with him already beginning to remember.

Finally, he collapses as a pause where Crimson expected Care-Giver to speak. What little conscious thought he had was, _Why try and fool me into think your are my father?_

**Bit Over a Month Later**

During his stay in Care-Giver's company, he never did get a name, he's been moved out of the base due to attacks by enemies of Crimson. He dimly recalls his first meeting with Crimson, he recalls getting greeted by the guy and then the pain in his head. Of course his next meeting with the guy was when he was in the worst way, being tied down to keep himself from harming himself.

Care-Giver admitted that his head injury might be a bit worst then they thought as he once more became feverish and he began to bleed from his nose and ears. He barely recalled what ramblings he had during that fevered time. What helped had to do with this strange light that was rather soothing to look into and helped with his headaches.

The pass month took a lot out of him and Care-Giver's worry seems to have faded away as his fever and the injuries from that fall healed and went away. His armor has been replaced with a shirt and pants while he also wears this hat that sports a veil to cover his face. The veil gets changed every few hours due to the liquid it as been soaked with drying up and the gases in the air beginning to affect him.

Care-Giver wears a mask that covers his lower face but soon enough, they won't need to continue dwelling in this gas filled hole in the ground as they will be leaving shortly, heading back to Crimson's base. As he looks out at the lava pool, he finally turns and asks Care-Giver his name.

"What is your name? I don't think I've hear you introduce yourself." Z'neth says and this seems to startle the other to look at him.

"Ah yes, of course." Care-Giver murmurs rather softly to himself, although with the mask, he can hear it rather easily. He's grown use that that habit in the time they have been together. "I am Gangrene. A doctor of sorts in the service of Dreadwing."

With that, Gangrene returns to packing up equipment and after a moment, he moves forward to lend a hand. Between the two of them, they finish packing everything that's important up. They head to the higher levels of the cave to eat their meal.

Soon enough, Fryte arrives upon his dragon and hands him some armor for him to change into. He has met this guy before and he didn't particular like the guy as he seems like he wanted to pick a fight as shown by the way Fryte seems so keen on threatening Ca... Gangrene during his weekly visits.

Z'neth gets the feeling that Fryte and Crimson aren't the kindness task master. At this point, he feels more of a connection with Gangrene then either of the semi seen Crimson and the threatening Fryte. _Not that explains much of who I am..._

Once in the air, he takes off the veil a few seconds after Gangrene takes off his mask. Feeling the wind rushing about his face, it just feels so right...

Gangrene

_Dreadwing isn't going to be very pleased about his mental state. Although I must say, the mutagen has finally settled down compared to how unstable it had been at the beginning. I would have preferred something like a pair of tusks jabbing out from the lower jaw to obscure his looks a bit more, making it difficult for him to be recognized._ He muses on the flight back to base. _But then, Dreadwing likely wanted to shock value of one of Airlandis' top Dragonator leading an attack upon Airlandis himself._

_I've managed to suppress his memories, which, regrettably includes the lay out of Airlandis and it's defenses._ The hunch back thinks as Warnado comes into view. A swarm of Gremwings comes out to escort them into the heart of the caverns. Already one of them is darting on ahead to inform their master of their arrival.

Gangrene dreads his meeting with Dreadwing as it is clear that while physically, the alternations made to Z'neth will be permanent the mental ones are so very weak. Nobody can deny that Z'neth has a strong will and personality, he is the leader of a unit of Dragonators, the ones that give them the most trouble. Also, it's not like the Dragonators are likely to believe the ploy they cooked up to make them think Z'neth is dead, all they saw was the armor getting consumed by the lava.

_There's too many factors involve when it comes to keeping Z'neth among our number. Anything could break through the weak walls keeping his memories at bay. I need time to come up with something that should make it harder for him to remember but at the moment, he needs to be kept away from familiar settings to have new experiences._ Gangrene reviews and concludes. _The science of the mind is rather unpredictable but the basics are the same._

As Skunk lands, Gangrene quickly turns to fussing over his equipment. Z'neth aids in the unpacking, he does spare a look towards the former Dragonator but given that he's the only one who is being careful, leaves him be. _At least somebody knows to be careful!_

Z'neth

With all the boxes containing Gangrene's equipment off of Skunk, he is escorted before Dreadwing, he finally has the name of the master of Warnado. He didn't particularly like the name and as he looks upon the man, is reluctant to be in his presence.

"Welcome back, you seem to have made a complete recovery." Dreadwing booms in his deep toned breath. He notices Fryte looking rather displeased concerning his welcome.

"Thank you. I hope you have had luck defending yourself from your enemies." Z'neth says politely.

Dreadwing gets this smirk upon his face that causes him to become even more uneasy. "They did not get what they attempted to raid from me. What I claim is rarely taken from me."

Z'neth nods as he couldn't find any words that come readily to his mind. This seems to satisfy Dreadwing and he says, "As such, I have need of someone to secure my south-eastern border. I have decide that you and a couple of my Dramen will be sent. I'll give you eight months to do this, understand Zangear?"

Z'neth nods, when Dreadwing signals his dismissal, he and three of the gathered Dramen head off to the waiting dragons. Briefly he imagined a blue among the four brown but he puts it down as his imagination. He sighs as he is upon one of the four dragons, flying away from Warnador with three warriors under his command.

What little he has gathered, he had been an exile fighter from his tribe who had the misfortune of arrived while the Lord of Warnado, Dreadwing, had been fending off invaders. His dragon was killed and he suffered a great fall. And thus, how he came to be in the care of Ca... Gangrene.

_Perhaps it is for the best that my memory is gone. I won't remember the shame I caused my father that way._ Z'neth thinks as Warnador vanishes over the horizon.

A Family Is Split Apart


	158. American Werewolf in Hogsmeade: HP

I don't own Harry Potter.

**- o 0 o -**

January 17, 2003

Leaning back, Harry feels like rolling his eyes at the discussion going on a few tables from his own. He has the hood up and the glamor he usually wears is down. The emerald eyed wizard knows that none of them would be able to identify him, after all, Harry Potter doesn't have tattoo stripes on his face or on his body period.

_If it weren't for magic, they wouldn't be any better, perhaps worst, then the non-magical populous._ Harry muses to himself with a sneer and disdain shining in his emerald eyes. _Even the so-called Mudbloods seem to shred their common sense striving to be accepted by the magical society._

The only reason he even entered into this tavern is due to checking the Shrieking Shack as he is thinking of buying it for its still intact tunnel as Hermione never thought to collapse the tunnel like she had to the others that lead from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade due to the Whomping Willow. _What Bollocks collapsing those tunnels! They could have just Warded them so they can be of use in the future, when some other Pure-Blooded blinkered decides to capture the castle for its resources._

As Harry sips from his butter beer, he can't stand the taste of hard liquor since he became a werewolf. He finds that alcohol just doesn't affect him in the same matter either. For some reason, it causes him to become more alert and harder for him to speak. It seems that his vocal cords just relax after consuming about three glasses of wine.

Just remembering how he found that out causes him to bring his left hand up to his throat and rub the front of it, holding his fingers and thumb around his Adam's Apple for a few seconds before lowering his hand. Harry sends a glare towards the bottles behind the counter, almost wishing that he didn't have such an odd reaction concerning something that everyone in the magical society seems happy to serve to their guests and how refusing it could cause offense among such circles.

Since then, Harry's been privately experimenting upon himself to discover if any other drink or food causes an unusual reaction in him. He has come across a few strange effects in five other foods and has discovered that its likely due to the artificial additives that has become common place in non-magical foods. The more 'pure' the artificial chemical is, the longer the effect lasts without intensifying the effects, which he is just happy about.

His attention returns to the drunkards as they cheerfully declare that they are going out to hunt centaurs. Harry scowls at the group of four. Given that a recent article came out talking about fertility magic and a traditional list of what is usually used in such magic, he at least knew why they would think this such a good idea.

He gets up, upon finishing the remainder of the drink and walks before the four managed to grab their cloaks that are hanging up. A number of customers shout out protests, demanding warnings before the door opens. He sneers at that, already knowing of a ward the owner could set up to deal with any kind of outside weather coming into the building.

Harry's become something of an expert on ward schemes since he was bitten. He had begun looking into enchanting to try and mimic his now immunity to magic sent towards his person. So far, he can create a thin skin that breaks if hit with a single spell, it's a recently created scheme after he had to self-teach himself about the subject and the runes used. He had been impatient so he brewed Wit Sharping Potion to help with his studying.

The enchantment on his boots, he got a spell book from Canada that had such a niffy spell in it, allows him to walk on top of the snow and ice without breaking through the surface. He didn't need to see the moon to know what phase it is as he heads for the forest's edge. Harry finds a nice spot and waits, minutes tick by but finally, the drunkards arrive as they plow through the snow.

Once more a sneer of disdain appears upon his face. _What's the use of having magic if you don't use it for the small things? Magic is like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it becomes._ Harry thinks as he begins to undress himself.

When he's done with the group, nobody will believe they encountered a werewolf, even if the Forbidden Forest is suppose to have werewolves living within it. He didn't think anyone would be able to prove that the group saw either once he does a few spells before leaving. Once all his cloths were off, he does some quick spells with his wand before he puts his wand on top of the cloths.

With ease, fur springs forth over his body as his bones and muscles already begin to budge and move. As he hunches over as his shoulders grow heavy and his fingers thicken as his finger nails darken to become the toe claws. Unlike the artistic drawings and movie creatures that the non-magicals envision, his finger nails don't coming razor sharp talons that can slash through flesh with ease.

As he drops forward and a flick of his tail, he takes a few steps away from his spot. His nose twitching and ears moving about, he glances deeper into the forest for a few minutes before the drunkards begin firing flare spells. With a snort, Harry moves through the snow, he doesn't sink into the snow that much and he could easy move about by leaping forward if he wants to pick up speed.

As he leaps up onto a large tree trunk, he looks at the group and taking a deep breath, he begins his howl. Midway through, his head is thrown back and then lowers it as it comes to an end. Spells are flung in his direction by the panicking group. Given that they were drunk at this time, not body will think that they really encountered a werewolf that they are viewing right now.

One of the last two spells he had done had been a glamor that gave him a ghostly outline while the last spell had been to make it seem like he's got a tail of black fire. He'll alter the tracks to appear like fox tracks and nobody will be the wiser that the group was telling the truth. He lets loose a mighty snarl when a spell hits the snow a foot away from him.

His body tenses as he shifts his weight to his hind quarters. With a sharp bark, he leaps from the stump and charges towards the group, as he growls. The men, screamed and he can smell them pissing themselves before they turn about, running as fast as they can through the snow.

He slows down but dogs their heels, the idiots that they are, they didn't think of heading towards the village of Hogsmeade but heading into the forest as they head north. Finally, after about an hour, they realized they could just Apparition away, likely grown sober by then.

With a sigh, he feels his transformation reverse, a minute more and they would have witnessed him revert to his human form. Shivering, he Apparitions back to his cloths and once he's clothed, he takes out his shrunken broom and gets on. Slowly, he moves about the scene, altering his prints into that of fox tracks up to the trunk before heading off into the forest.

He then erases his other track of him charging and harrying the group. He then returns to the fox tracks and leads them to what appears to be a badger set and then heading to the beginning of his tracks, searching for fox tracks that lead into the town and does some editing so it appears that it came close but didn't venture into the town.

He had to make sure to that nobody notices him and a rather powerful Notice-Me-Not charm covers him. With a sigh, Harry lands on a cleared path, shrinks the broom once he Apparitions back home. Pocketing the broom, he enters into the house and heads for his bed.

January 20, 2003

"I can't believe you bought the Shrieking Shack!" Hermione exclaims viva the Floo Network. He sighs and heads to the kitchen, coming face to face with Professor Weasley, his bookworm of a friend is now teaching History since they managed to get rid of the previous ghost of a teacher close to five years ago.

"Well, hello to you too." Harry says dryly as he crouches down to face Hermione. "And what does my purchasing of said building have to do with you harping at me? Don't you have a class to teach?" He inquires, they haven't seen eye to eye with each other since she took it into her head to collapse all those tunnels that lead out of Hogwarts and the strain has only gone down hill since.

_Of course I began to have a problem with her bossing me around once I got back from Mexico..._ The emerald eyed wizard thinks as she glares at him in a heated say. "You only want the property for that tunnel!"

"Actually, I plan to build an apartment complex on the property. I've already spoken with dwarfs about it and they'll start once we get a tent up, which should be by tomorrow night." Is his reply and is the truth, although the dwarfs were also going to get paid bit more to expand the tunnel to the Chamber of Secrets along with building an indoor pool and hot tub in the basement of the complex.

"You're going to do **what**?!" Hermione shouts and he winces, already his ears are ringing. "You can't do that!"

"Last time I check, there's no law against building on my own land." Harry states simply. "Just as there wasn't a law against my buying up land to do some farming and ranching. Or operating my own butcher shop that has a restaurant attached to it."

"But... but, it just isn't done! Aren't you earning enough already?!" She demands and he mentally snorts at how out raged she is acting.

"Then why don't you go speak with the Pure-Blood camp? I'm sure you'll find common ground, yet again, about what 'hare brain' scheme that Potter is coming up with." Harry spats at her.

_Seriously, it's like I have to fight again and again just so I can spend my money on my interests. So what if the Potters had been more into clay working then into ranching? It's not like the family clay pits are bringing in a lot of money, nobody is the least bit interested in brick making or pots for cooking, there's only a few artists that use clay in their art on any level any more._ He thinks, he had begun to amass his fortune by selling clay to the non-magicals as they had plenty of uses for it compared to the magical society.

_Nobody ever bothered to step up and take over the farms and ranches that use to be run by dead houses. I didn't even buy up all the available farms steads either..._ He thinks as Hermione attempts to inspire some kind of cultural pride into him and leave off his building project, never mind that he's already paid the dwarfs half in advance and importing ward stones.

_Perhaps I should start up a factory and hire the muggleborn to create them? I know want to set up wards around my farms and ranches just in case somebody thinks they can set fire to the crops and kill the animals._ Harry's gaze turns inward as he begins to come up with such an idea. There are some properties he already owns that have crumbling structures that were of no use to him.

"...paying attention! Harry James Potter are you paying attention?!" Hermione demands and he blinks, coming to realize that she's done with her lecture.

"Kreacher." He says in a soft tone and the old House Elf pops in next to him. "Please disconnect the Floo for me? I am done speaking with the 'good' professor." Harry says as he stands up from his crouch.

"As Master wishes." Kreacher says and soon, Hermione's head is gone from the fire. "Thank you Kreacher." He says and Kreacher nods before returning to his work.

"Hupa." Harry says and a much younger House Elf appears, "Yes Master Harry?"

"I believe a certain Dragon will be informed about my private business." He says to Hupa and the House Elf nods in understanding, vanishing from the kitchen.

A number of Hogwarts House Elves had wanted to work for him after what they heard he had done for Dobby. He hadn't wanted to 'lure' away any from Hogwarts but after Mexico, he began to ask questions and finally remembered something about why they would have been eager to leave Hogwarts employment, now why he forgot about this bit of information had other concerns at the time but now, with the need for loyal workers after the disaster of trying to hire farm hands from the magical society, he approached the House Elves and about twenty entered into his service, they were happier to be in his service when he hired Squibs to work on his farms and ranches as they preferred taking care of humans more then animals and plants.

If they knew about his altered nature, they never seem to mention it and he's fairly certain they knew what changes he has undergone since Mexico. Nor do they seem particularly displeased about working for him. Harry smiles as he walks out of the kitchen, heading back to going through his mail.

February 19, 2003

"Fine work, Master Garth, fine work indeed." Harry says as he studies the steel door that sports an etching of a younger version of himself stabbing the monstrous snake in the mouth. _So that's why they wanted the memory..._

"Your welcome, Mr Potter. And after we got a look at said skeleton of the beast, well, it's the least we could do. Particularly as you just gave us the skeleton for nothing!" Master Garth of the Crimson Mead, at least that's what the translation of the dwarf word the master craftsman gave him at any rate.

"It's not like the Headmistress or the staff seemed interested in clearing it out from the chamber." The emerald eyed wizard says in a dismissive tone. "Besides, I like the idea of it finding its way to a Wizarding museum, particularly a none UK one."

"We'll let you know which country won it then." Master Garth says but before they could continue the conversation, a runner comes down the tunnel on one of the enchanted carts for the dwarfs to use to take away the dirt and to help speed travel back and forth along the tunnel. "Some Dogs showed up asking for our client."

_I don't think I'll ever get use to hearing Pure-Blood's getting called Dogs._ Harry muses to himself. "Well, better late then when we broke ground." He states out loud.

"True." Master Garth says and he moves to the cart that brought the messenger. Once in, the dwarf messenger shifts the levers to return to the tunnel entrance before shifting the one that allows it to go.

Within minutes, the cart arrives and Harry climbs off. "Thank you." He says to the young dwarf who nods in return.

As he moves through the packing of equipment and the moving the crates that contain the shrunken dirt from the tunnel digging. The 'machine' that shrinks the dirt remains untouched along with the other enchanted mining karts. Within two to three days, the dwarfs will be gone and he'll start calling up those applying for apartments for interviews.

The total of the apartment building can house up to a full thousand families. The amount of ward stones he used helps maintaining the sheer size that he enchanted the building to hold. He already decided which three House Elves he'll put on as a starter staff and will likely add more when the number of occupancy grows. Each floor above the main floor sports up to rooms for two hundred on each floor and there is five floors total.

He'll hire some of the unemployed people wanting to rent an apartment to create a landscape and to maintain it. He expects most of those applying are single, not that it stopped him from ensuring that each set of rooms is like a one story house. There isn't any furniture in any of the apartments, and again, he's fairly happy to allow some of those unemployed to do wood working for other occupancies as part of their rent.

Ever since he learnt just how many Muggleborn migrate out of the UK or attempt to be reabsorbed into non-magical community, he was disgusted at the waste of supposedly well educated Muggleborn just wasting their talents due to nobody willing to pay them or allow them to operate their own businesses. Heck, he even paid for the education of interested Muggleborn to attend cooking schools for his restaurant as long as they agree they to work for him for the first three years after they graduate from the school.

So far, none of them have been able to find anyone willing to hire them claiming their dishes are too, Muggle in nature. Which is why he's given his more senior workers the chance to begin experiment with ingredients from a magical animals to be used in dishes. He has recently imported domestic magical breeds to be raised on his ranches just to get said product to be used.

_Why is it I feel as though I'm the only one who sees that the economics of the Wizarding society is so stagnant?_ Harry wonders as he walks up to the lift once he has crossed the basement. He feels a headache creep up on him and it'll likely get worst.

Hupa has been keeping track of Draco's political movement, he's of the opinion that the only reason anyone follows Draco is due to his father and his wife, both of whom were much more charismatic then his childhood rival. Also, Draco still can't get over giving empty threats if things don't go his way, although if Draco's wife throws her weight behind a threat...

As he exits out of the lift and walks through the lobby, Harry calmly reminds himself that he is powerful enough to rip into Draco and his family they ever become an actual, active threat without any use of magic or being injured viva their spells. He also had an odd idea concerning the use of Magical Contracts, after all, as he never put his name in by hand in that tournament it wasn't official until he participated in that first task, after that, he couldn't get out of it.

The sight of the tent over head blocks most of the natural light, not that Harry notices that he's exited out of the apartment complex. His mind continues to be elsewhere as he walks towards the entrance of the tent, simple walking there instead of using magic to hurry to the encounter with a bunch of wizards and witches out raged over his latest project. His boots go through the wet muddy ground as the tent's temperature enchantment keeps it in the plus range instead of the negative one.

He's fairly sure that if any adult had actually read the rule book, they wouldn't have kept saying he had to participate or confirm that he was an adult, which meant that he was an adult when he was charged with that use of underage magic in defense of himself and his cousin. _Not that anyone would admit it or wanted to think that I was capable of making my own choices. Dumbledore pretty much wanted me to be that sacrificial lamb after all._

Nobody knew who it was that destroyed the portrait of one Albus Dumbledore and none of the other protraits knew how that came about either nor could they repair it either. All of the other spares had been destroyed in the same mysterious fashion as well. Within three months, no image of said Dumbledore anywhere in the world and he's content with that, for now, who knows, he might have to take to finding ways to erase the man's total impact upon history, leaving him to be just a foot note in a Hogwarts book of being a transfiguration professor.

Pushing those thoughts from his mind as Harry hears a demand for the dwarfs to step away to allow them entrance into his property. The dwarfs in his way part to let him stand before the entrance. He nods his thanks to either side before coming to a stop.

"I would prefer they didn't." He pipes in as he comes before the tent entrance, blinking slightly at the sudden increase of natural light and the slight chill, although he doesn't step out of the tent as he has no particular want to catch a cold as he didn't stop to put on some heavy cloths for the current weather going on outside of the construction site.

"Potter! You took your bloody time, as always." Snaps the ring leader of the current group of magic users standing out in the cold. A murmur of agreement circulates within the crowd.

"Well excuse me of wanting to finish the inspection of my building. Which, just to let you know, these good beings finished just hours ago." The emerald eyed wizard states in a slightly dry tone.

"They couldn't have finished already! The bloody tent hasn't been up for barely a full month!" One of the locals that live in Hogsmeade says in full disbelief.

"You had some nerve of hiring these halflings to built your building instead of proper wizards. Bet they did botched it." A witch mutters softly to her neighbor but he heard her none the less and given how the dwarfs tense, they did as well.

"Oh shut it already. I'm the proper owner of this property and I got all my papers in order, so I don't need checky cobbers coming around telling me what I can and can't build or who I hire to build it! So clear off." Harry snaps at the group.

"Actually, you aren't the proper owner of this property." Draco pipes in as the group seem to be fingering their wands. "And we got the documents to prove it. Hogsmeade's landower is whoever is Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"Actually, it was the Founders who hold the land in trust and give management of said land to the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Any proper heirs of the Founders, as long as they get recognized by the Founders' portraits, can do as they please with any land that the Founders hold." Harry pulls out two scrolls, one from the magical portrait of Slytherin and from Hufflepuff, unrolling them before the crowd's eyes.

"These papers proclaim that I am the proper heir to the lines of Slytherin and Hufflepuff. The blood potion mapped out my bloodline and both portraits declare am of their blood and can lay claim to their lines." Harry says to the group, the dwarfs had found the magical portrait of founder of the 'Pure-Blood' house in the resting place of the Basilisk. Being able to command the beast to move out of the way had been part of the test to prove that one is a member of Slytherin's bloodline.

It was from that painting that he learnt of the rights of the Founders' Heirs and that just being a member of the blood isn't enough to lay claim. No, they wanted heirs that prove that they could lead as they had, possessing the stern stuff that allowed them to go against the conventional standards of their time. He proved that to both of the two, Hufflepuff by his creation on work for those that come from non-magical parents and to Slytherin by the fact his thinking outside the box when it comes to dealing with the stagnation of the magical society.

He hasn't found either Griffindor or Ravenclaw's magical portraits but as he had been declared the heir of the two he had found, he wasn't going to make it a priority of his either. Perhaps when his god-son is about to enter into the learned halls of the school he will, if only to do a rapid update of the school and to get a more balance in what is taught, maybe increasing what ages are accepted or just the creation of a school that could teach from six year olds to ten year olds.

"So, you are a Dark Lord then!" Exclaims one of the group. "You must have used Dark magic to get the Hufflepuff's acceptance!" Another exclaims.

"Oh please, you are just a bunch of bloody fools if you think I could fool those two portraits. And I'll have you know that Old Tommy boy was never Slytherin's officially sanctioned heir either! The man was appalled of Riddle for what he done concerning the basilisk. Tom failed, failed horribly and only acknowledged that the boy had his talent for speaking with snakes and nothing else." Harry states in a hard, matter of fact tone.

"How can we believe any of this?!" Cries a witch among the group, the same one who mentioned the dwarfs doing a botched job. "How do we even know that those aren't fake?"

With a snort, Harry uses a bit of magic to roll the scrolls, tossing them at the leader, Draco just manages to grab them before they fell. "It's not my job to converse you nor do I really care. Come next year, you'll see my name upon the letters getting sent out as well as my official position."

With a nod, the final dwarf closes the flap and the entrance seals itself. "Stupid blood buggers." One of the dwarfs say as they head off to help with the packing. The crates of shrunken earth will be used by that landscapers to flatten the ground.

"Master Harry Potter sir." He turns to find Hearth standing to his right, offering him a cup of hot chocolate. Harry's expression softens as he accepts the drink.

"Thank you Hearth." He says and the House Elf nods before popping away with the tray. Harry sighs and begins walking to the apartment complex as he slowly gulps down the hot drink, helping to take the slight chill off from some of the chilly wind entering into the tent.

_As long as I stay at least four or five steps ahead of them, I'll be happy._ He thinks, he mentally reminds himself to meet with that Canadian lawyer he has previously contacted. He'll need coaching for when they bring him before the Wizengamot, he knows some of the hidden loop holes but he needs to know upon what grounds they'll try and bring up on him.

Given that state of the group, he's likely got three months to get prepared. It'll take that long for Draco's wife to organize things through her husband. _Might help to go through those journals in the Black's library as well, never know what kind of blackmail they house._

July 2, 2003

**Draco**

"There's nothing we can do to over turn this! We've had how many people try to find a loop hole but they can't find anything!" Draco exclaims and when done, flings himself into his chair. A dark expression upon his face at the fact that Potter has achieved yet another victory in defying the very heart of the world, the Traditions of the Wizarding World.

"There is one way..." He looks up to gaze at his wife, although her expression is rather grave. "Which is?"

"Challenge him in a Dual of Conquest or gather people to challenge him one after the other to wear him down." Idania Blishwick nee Malfoy informs him and he blinks, not sure what this challenge is.

"I thought such duals were disconnected and outlawed." He mostly guesses but Idania sighs. "No, they just generate fines but I'm sure we can get a written pardon from the Ministry, particularly if they know we only wish to challenge just the one person."

Draco perks up and is about to open his mouth when Idania pins him with a look. "And don't say you can take him right now. Your skills have grown rusty. We'll hire a tutor or two to get you or whoever else you wish to throw at Potter to sharpen those skills, perhaps even learn a few tricks that he wouldn't be expecting."

His face reddens then pales as he does recall the few times he has seen Potter use a wand. Draco doesn't like it but his wife as a point. "Besides, at the moment, you do wish to see your child born, don't you?" His wife asks and it takes him a few minutes to realize what that means.

"Your pregnant? Do we know if its a he?" Draco asks, getting up to place a hand upon his wife's belly.

"It's a boy but whether he'll be able to do magic..." And he frowns but couldn't argue. "For now, let Potter bask in his achievements and gather more as in a year or two, you'll claim all that is his for your own, husband."

He liked that idea, after all, Harry's has spent all that money to import those magical livestock. _Let him do the hard work and grow lazy in the mean time. Then I'll strike and take everything that is his as is my right as a Malfoy._

**Harry Potter**

Harry gets a thoughtful look upon his face upon hearing from Hupa about the fact that the master mind behind the Malfoy family plans to train Draco and a number of others up, likely those that will have given an Oath of Loyalty to Draco personally and challenge him in a year or three and that the fact the wife is with child who's using it as an excuse.

"Harry! Harry! Guess what?!" Harry turns to look towards the fire place to find Nevile's head popping out of the fire.

"Guess? Me?" He asks the man who has replaced Hermione in his circle of friends.

"I'm going to be a dad! Can you believe it?! A father! To a babe!" Nevile exclaims joyously.

"Good on you mate! Want me to come over or you want to come here?" He asks as he gets up from his chair.

"I'll come through!" And soon, he and Neville are chatting away about what good news this is.

**Until Later**


	159. Portal Maddness 6: Naruto

I don't own Naruto, Pokemon, Werewolf the Apocalypse, and Dragon Drive!

**- o 0 o -**

**"Another story please! Pretty please?"** Young Lore-Gather, Coastal-Wave-Driver asks, doing his best to look cute an innocent as only an otter could, his many time descent is of the sea otter tribe. **"I really want to hear the one where you trick the sun into granting us Auspices!"**

**"How about you tell it this time, grandson?"** Naruto, Tricks-the-Sun and founder of the Wereotter line of shape-changers. It's been over a few thousand years since he found himself in this strange world and his descents have gone on to form tribes based upon what type of otter they change into and from all over the world. Otter Den is located in the Umbra and has been his home since he stopped wandering the material world, sowing his oats as it were among both human and otter populations.

**"Ah, but you are such a great story teller! How about the tale of the time you gambling with Old Man Coyote?"** Coastal-Wave-Driver continues to try to wheeled another story out of him. He smiles as he slowly shakes his head.

**"Now, now... if you won't tell me a story then I believe it's time for you to turn in. We'll be going hunting for a special Spirit tomorrow, so we will be needing to get up rather early."** He says as he gets up from his mat in his, as the Garou could call it, Crinos form.

**"Yes sir."** Coastal-Wave-Driver says, getting up while in his near-otter form, leaving the communal room, heading for his assigned room before Naruto heads for his own, assuming his birth form, although instead of the bright blond hair, his hair is as white as purist snow and is done up in a braid that has grown to the ground. Looking to still be in his mid-twenties, he heads for his room. There's still a lot to be done in order to prepare Coastal-Wave-Driver for his position as his emissary to the court of Luna.

0 o - o 0

Sasuke leans upon the rail, his eyes focused on the display in the water showing a battle between two teams, each riding upon monstrous creatures that the locals call Dragons. His left hand rubs the spot where his right hand's pinky and ring finger should be. Since they had been bitten off, he's found it hard to do jutsus and he's had to learn to deal with missing two of his fingers. _And nothing to show for it either, I never did get to partner with any of these beasts either. Training my ass, all I ever did was clean stables, never got the chance to really interact with one, even to bath it._

In the end, he turned to thieving and robbing which lead to gambling. Even after twenty years, he still haven't met a worth while woman to bed, let alone bear him strong sons. Oh, he's paid for services but never for that. And the few he's sure weren't in that line of profession tended to be just as thieving as him, sometimes, better then him as much as he hates to admit it.

Soon enough, the battle is over and the team he bet on won. He heads off to find his bookie and get his money.

0 o - o 0

Sakura laughs as yet another victory is attained, Kuno the Vulpix turns and leaps into her arms, happy to cuddle. Finding a Oran Berry, she feeds it to Kuno while the pair of opponents are attending to their Pokemon injuries using Potions. Even with two against one and with at least one of the enemy Pokemon being a Water-Type, it didn't hinder Kuno at all. Once she has the money, she leaves the clearing, heading for the cafe that she owns.

"Grandma, we need you at the counter. Ben needs his break and I have to make more sandwiches." Ranko says while continuing, "Grandpa and mom have gone into town to get more supplies while dad's up in his room, trying to recover from last night."

"I understand, Ranko dear." The fifty-one year old Sakura Zecele nee Haruno moves to stand by the cash register while Kuno remains upon her left shoulder. Kuno is just the latest Pokemon that she's been training, her first Pokemon Chikorita she named Ino, after her old friend.

Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she reflects upon her time on Team 7 and while she would love to know what became of the pair of numb-skulls, she is content with her lot in life. She found her self-confidence, made new friends, found a nice man to settle down with, started a family, taken up Pokemon breeding along side of running a cafe, and seen her children go their own journeys, living their own lives.


	160. Digimon Loops: TK 1

I don't own Digimon!

**- o 0 o -**

Loop 1a

TK scratches his head as he tries to come to terms with the sight before him. _Although, this does give me an idea._He muses as his look turns into a smirk, which looks rather wrong on his eight year old face before he walks over and picks one of the mushrooms.

"Patamon, you just gave me an idea." The Digidestine of Hope says to his partner as the rookie comes over to rest on his back pack, leaving DemiDevimon to his panicking over not knowing who he is after eating his fill of the Mushrooms of Forgetfulness.

"So does this mean that next loop I can delete DemiDevimon?" Patamon asks in a hopeful tone. It's always been a sore point between them given DemiDevimon's actions during their first time through these events.

"We'll see, it depends if we need him to do this if it fails this time." The green clad eight year old Looper. "For now, just help gather these mushrooms up into my pack." He goes so far as to take the pack off his back, he checks to be sure he has room or he'd have to make room.

"So, what's the plan, after all, these mushrooms do mess with your mind." Angemon asks upon Digivolving. It's not that surprising, Patamon rarely spent much time in either his Champion form or Ultimate like the others. TK hadn't been much into fighting at this age the first time he had been through this so Angemon and MagnaAngemon were a rare sight before.

"That's the whole point. After all, do you think Myotismon will be able to cure his memory loss?" He asks, gesturing over to where DemiDevimon is busy getting into a fight with some Gazimon who just shown up to avenge Etemon's defeat.

"No... oh! Yea, that would be an interesting sight. You think we can reform them?" Angemon asks and he shrugs.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 2

"Ok, let's see if that hack paid off." TK growls as he holds out his Digivice and imagines himself at age fifteen and a stream of light comes out of the screen, a egg of light engulfs the nine year old and when it leaves, revealing him at the age that the loop end/restarts. "Well, it's a start." He murmurs as he takes in his appearance.

_Nail polish?_He thinks, his eyes narrowing at the black nail polish and upon the black, long sleeve shirt and jeans. A glance towards a mirror and he finds bright blue hair, bright spring green eyes along with some purple tattoos on his forehead and under his eyes.

His right eye twitches before turning to glare at his Digivice. "Ok, let's see if it reverts at least." He states darkly and within seconds of the light vanishing, he walks over to a mirror and sighs in relief at the fact that he is back to his usual nine year old self.

"Sure, it works when I will myself into my fifteen year old self but I do it in the real world? Maybe it's a matter of practice..." TK says out loud as he regards the Digivice once more. _Once I get to fifteen, I'll try for age twenty-something._

Taking in a deep calming breath, he again wills his appearance to assume his fifteen year old self only to find his cloths being neutral brown and black. His hair going all the way down to the ground while being bright yellow in color and his ears seem a bit more pointed then usual. "Ok, maybe I should try hacking it again... I mean, sure, I manage to create that storage space but I can't get it to allow me to assume a more mature appearance?"

He dispels his current appearance and walks back to his computer, he did wonder if maybe he shouldn't get Izzy to help in hacking it to allow them to alter their appearance while in the real world.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 1b

They stood upon a sky scraper, watching the Dark Masters and Myotismon lead an army of Digimon in conquering Tokyo. The non-looping Digidestine were still in the Digital World, showing their families around the Digital World. Even now, neither of the Loopers knew how it came to this.

"Maybe it's the nature of the beast?" Angemon muses and TK just sighs, nodding a bit in agreement.

"You think its because we failed to answer those questions they asked concerning what humans are doing to correct the environmental problems they create?" Angemon asks and TK just closes his eyes.

"Maybe, Angemon, maybe." The eight year old muses.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 3

TK looks between the two scrips and with a press of the button, one of them gets deleted and the remaining one gets copied. "Next, changing the director and voice actors." He murmurs as he continues to hack this studio's system.

Thanks to lessons he received from Izzy and reading a number of hacking help guides, he's rather decent hacker and program writer. After all, if he wanted to spend any time with Patamon before the fight against the Digimon Emperor, he had to create a gate program to allow him access. He had to modify it to allow Patamon to cross into the real world as well.

Then he grew bored of watching the same movies and shows come out time after time. Then, some review commenting on how such and such a director could have been a better choice while another suggested a different lead actor. It took him Loops to figure out the various computer systems and how it all connects to making a movie. The produce of said tampering is kept in his Digivice's storage space.

It's always interesting to compare the same movie done by different directors using different actors, even different movie effects company. While he couldn't be bothered to use the various graphic programs to make a movie himself but he's been able to sell them to various parties to ensure the best CGI is used.

_Next up, TV shows._He thinks with a smirk, after all, he's getting tired of seeing the same line up of 'new' shows. He's got a number of ideas of what kind of new shows he would like to be made and future scripts of shows that get produced by the time he reaches the age of fifteen. Once more such things are kept in the storage space, waiting to come out to be used.

He makes sure everything is set up for the change he made to the movie before erasing his presence within that system. Once that's done, he logs off and turns off his computer. Getting up, he looks over to where Patamon is watching one of those movies he stores in his Digivice.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 4a

As Angemon gets encased in an egg of light, so too did TK. When they are visible, TK couldn't help but noticed that everything seems to be, odd. "Well, it worked! So, what do you think... TK?"

TK blinks and looks towards the orange haired twenty-something wearing a white shirt and blue jeans. "What? Dear god what happened to my voice!" The blond colored mini pegasus looking rookie says, rearing up, trying to grab his throat but doesn't. He looks down and finds silver leg braces before the black hooves. He flaps his wings trying to keep from falling forward.

"You're a Digimon, TK." The Digimon turned human says and TK didn't know what to say as he finally falls forward, standing upon his four hooves. "And, I'm human. So this is what it feels like to be a human." Angemon muses as TK turns to regard the rest of his changed form.

"That's great, but just what kind of Digimon did **I**transform into?" TK wonders as he rears back up and gets a better look at his chest. Stand up like that, he stands about as tall as a thirteen year old, which could mean he is a champion or just a really large rookie. "I can't be a rookie, could I? Although, I've never met a rookie that's larger then Gabumon or Agumon."

"Hm, let's see if your Digivice has a listing of you." Angemon muses, picking his Digivice up from its position on his pack. It wasn't long before the lap top is up and his Digivice is connected.

"I can't believe I look like a My Little Pony!" He mutters as his current form's picture comes into view. Angemon snorts softly and he finally looked at the name.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 5

"Ok, that's the last time we force feed Apocalymon Mushrooms of Forgetfulness." TK says to Patamon, who is resting on his head. The surroundings are different then what he's use to.

"It might have something to do with getting the others to focus on helping him break out of the time loop as well." Patamon pips. "After all, we've never had them try and help him before."

"Ah, excuse me, but, did you guys really brainwash Apocalymon?" A new voice inquires and he turns to find himself staring at someone who sports a resemblance to Kari, if only in the eye department but sports goggles like Tai and later Davis. "Ah, TK and Patamon right?"

"Yea and you two are?" TK asks, noticing a rather large crimson dino like Digimon sporting black markings and ears like Patamon.

"Ah, sorry, I'm Takato and this is my partner Guilmon." Takato says while Guilmon chirps in a hello. "We're also stuck in a Time Loop as I believe you two are."

"I'm kind of curious, how did you know our names?" Patamon asks and Guilmon chirps in an answer, "It's cause your adventures are featured in a TV show!"

_That's... kind of sad actually._He thinks to himself. "I guess it's a little too late to ask for Royalties." TK says in a dry tone causing Takato to snort in amusement at that.

Suddenly they hear a yelp and they look over to find some teenager running away from blond teenager riding upon a blue canine Digimon. "Get back here Marcus! I won our bet and I want that KISS!" The blond teenager yells while what appears to be an Agumon sporting red leathers about his claws runs after the others.

"Hey! Wait for me Boss!" The Agumon cries while entering into a fast walk.

"..." None of the four didn't know what to say at the sight, especially Guilmon. As the Agumon vanishes from sight and they were about to break the silence when a raging tornado erupts, sending a car to land behind them.

"We aren't the only Loopers here." Takato observes and TK couldn't help but nod in agreement. "I don't think this is going to end well." Patamon adds thoughtfully as they watch as a group of Digimon get raised into the air, swirling about the center figure of a Digimon that sports butterfly wings.

"I guess that leaves us as the sane ones." TK comments as some of those Digimon in the tornado suddenly Digivolve into larger forms and try to take out the central Digimon, who also assumes a more mature form.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 6

TK finishes the test with time to spare, not surprising as he knew the material well enough to do it in his sleep, which he's done for a loop once. He's even advanced enough to get into university and he's taken the whole range of university classes from every University in Japan. He has been thinking of applying for out of Japan, if only for a different scenery, after all, he's pretty sure he can get into any university, although he really should brush up on his foreign languages, his English is good, after all, he has long since mastered his ability to alter himself in the real world.

_Maybe I should give 'accidentally' being left behind a try? Might be interesting to see if I can stop Ken in his tracks before he gets fully established as the Digimon Emperor..._TK muses as he stares off at some random point while resting his head on the palm of his hand.

_Although, hopefully, the next loop starts when I'm eight instead of when I'm elven like this one did._ He thinks with a frown. _I wonder if Takato and Guilmon are having this problem too concerning when the loop resets? Sure, sometimes we'd wake after a few days of being in the Digital World to showing up just before we face the Dark Masters but I was eight years old when we'd wake._

_I wonder what Patamon is doing? Hm, that reminds me, even if I don't do that left behind in the Digital World, maybe we pull a switch? He goes to school while I do whatever Digimon do while in the real world?_TK wonders, although it's a strange arrangement that for Patamon to assume human form, either a preteen or an adult(It depends on his evolutionary stage) he had to be the Digimon partner.

Not that he has ever Digivolved into a champion or de-Digivolve into an in-training Digimon. "Just have to discuss it with him." He murmurs under his breath out loud. He's pretty sure they both want to experience new things and they still haven't really taken advantage of their ability to turn into adults much during these loops either.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 4b

"Folamon?! The flying foal Digimon, said to be related to Pegasusmon. What kind of name is that?" Folamon, AKA TK, cries out while the adult, AKA Angemon, reads out the list of attacks that he can preform.

"Hyper Senses, Cloud Vapor, and Silver Rain." While Folamon snorts, the orange haired adult reads the descriptions of the attacks. "Hyper Senses speeds up time which allows the illusion of super speed and agility. Cloud Vapor is used to cover enemy foes in a vapor that can cause sleep. Silver Rain is a spray of needles coming from the mane or tail."

"Is this because I stored the Digi-Egg of Hope in that storage space isn't it?" He wonders out loud but nobody answers him. "We will hack the Digivice to fix it so we can both be human at the same time." He states and Angemon just shrugs.

"So, you want to get something to eat?" Angemon asks after a few minutes, derailing TK's mental review of what kind of code to use to do so.

Blinking, his stomach growls and he realizes that he is really hungry. "Yea, I am. My wallet is in my pack." He says as he glances around the living room of the apartment.

"Yes! I get to pick what we eat!" Angemon cheers and he snorts softly, it's not as if he never consults with Angemon about what he wants to eat, they just had a system where they take turns picking what they order in. Although, given that Angemon will be the one to actually place the order...

_I hope he orders extra due to my size. I feel like I can eat a horse..._Folamon thinks to himself.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 7

As Takato comes to sit down at the table, Zoe is leading JP into the fast food joint while wearing a white leather jacket and biker pants while JP is wearing a studded collar and pulled along with a leash. "Stay here, JP. I'll be back with our food."

"Yes Mistress." The Warrior of Lightning says in agreement while sporting a silly smile while taking hold of the leash.

_She's going to sit and eat with us?_TK thinks in alarm, paling rapidly, true this is only the second time that he's met with Takato and the other Chosen Loopers, but in his experience from the last time they were in this fusion loop is that the other two Loopers were perverts.

He recalls how Thomas proposed a three way between Takato, Thomas, and himself, which proved to be the more disturbing then when Zoe proposed a three or multi way between Kari(or any female Chosen), herself, and him. TK is pretty sure she proposed the same thing with Takato but didn't want to know if Guilmon's partner actually went through with it, after all, most of the others tend to spend be around the age of twenty when their loops reset so they've been through puberty while he was usually just discovering his hormones.

Even when he passes himself off as a twenty-something year old, he didn't feel much incline to talk women into having one night stands with him or looking at porn. He's pretty sure that Patamon doesn't do so either the few times he's assumed human form. _But then, the others tend to become of age to do such activities after a few years while I never do unless I cheat using my Digivice to alter my appearance._

Takato raises an eyebrow but continues eating and he follows suit. Soon enough, Zoe appears with a tray of food and he scoots over to make room as does Takato. Both of their partners had decided to find their own place to order their lunch from, he just made sure they had enough money in order to do so. He's pretty sure the other Digidestine were off getting to know the other non-awake Chosen.

"It's so good to see you two again, Takato. TK." Zoe says in a silky tone which causes Takato to blush. "How have things been for the both of you since we last met?"

"Well, the starting point for my Loop seems to be off now a days, so far, I haven't restarted when I'm over the age of twelve." He tells the leather wearing Warrior of Wind.

"I have noticed that myself. It sucks to wake up to find the D-Reaper in the real world." Takato tells them. "There's so little time to make the corrections to ensure that the code doesn't send the Digimon back to the Digital World."

"Agreed. I found myself rather displeased when such happens after I have lost my human Spirit." Zoe says, JP never says anything, just eats his burgers throughout this discussion.

"Thomas much feel the same way. I can't see how it can effect the three of us without effecting him as well." Takato remarks thoughtfully.

"Hmm, Thomas..." Zoe gets this smile on her face that sends shivers down his back. Did he really want to know what went on between the two? Nope, not at all, he didn't even want to think that they may have traded trips and bedroom tricks.

"Where are your partners?" Zoe asks after a few minutes of silence.

"Out at a different restaurant getting lunch." He answers as Takato seems to be chewing on what's in his mouth. _She doesn't know about Patamon's ability to become human, does she?_He wonders as he looks down at his fries, picking one up, dipping it in the gravy before popping it into his mouth.

_I don't think I told Takato about it last time and I didn't spend much time around her for her to get it out of me._He wonders as he glances over to Takato and then over to Zoe.

"I still can't believe you guys have partners. Also, have you ever got Patamon to become a Mega yet?" Zoe says and looks over at him.

"As far as I'm aware, there hasn't been any enemies around to cause him to need to." He answers with a shrug, after all, Angemon hasn't need to Digivolve into MagnaAngemon to deal with Piedmon after how many loops? Nor does Angemon revert to an egg upon defeating Devimon. "He's gotten to be fairly powerful, I can't recall the last time he's reverted to his egg stage upon defeating Devimon."

"Huh, Patamon too? I guess that means that Gaomon is the same. I recall Growlmon easily handling the Tiger Deva without needing to become an Ultimate these days. Then there's those few times where... So, you been feeling more powerful then, Zoe?" Takato asks.

"Very much so." Zoe says with a smile, likely recalling her current rate of easy victories.

"Anyway, I came over to ask you, TK, to hack my Digivice to set up that storage space for me. I heard you did it for Takato just as we defeated that... Quartzmon? I think that's his name, and had been hoping you can do the same for mine." Zoe tells him and he nods.

"Sure, I'll just need to borrow Izzy's pineapple lap top as it's more then capable of handling anything connected to the Digital World and Digivices." He tells her and she smiles brightly at him, causing him to blush a bit.

"Thank you, TK! How can I ever repay you?" Zoe asks and he replies, "By allowing my brother to leave your bed under his own power for this loop."

"Done!"

**To Be Continued . . .**


	161. Digimon Loops: TK 2

I don't own Digimon!

**- o 0 o -**

Loop 1a

Glancing around at the group as they sit about the fire, TK sighs. He reaches for his Digivice, touching it as he remembers his earlier loops and how he'd try to convince the others about time looping. Sure, Azulongmon had installed something onto his Digivice to help end the time loop but what's he going to do with it? Nobody explained what the program **did** and all his hacking of his Digivice, he didn't know what to look for to see if it's still installed.

He reflects on the scene going on before him, recalling his promise about not manipulating them into doing something just because he found it funny or for Patamon and his entertainment purposes. He made during a loop where he convinced the group rather early about the time loops and they asking if they, Patamon and him, had done anything... unethical concerning them. Both Patamon and him promised never to do that and though they were suspicious about it, which only resolved his intentions of fulfilling that promise, they never made the accusation again for that loop.

That's not to mean that they hadn't pulled minor pranks on the group, like convincing them that when both Patamon and himself were dunked in cold water they switch roles and only in dunking them both in warm water reverses it. He had to admit, it had been interesting fighting in those battle instead of standing on the sidelines and cheering Patamon on. He feels his lips twinge a bit but keeps them from forming a smile.

For entertainment, Patamon and him often find ways of using certain timing to make the Dark Masters and Myotismon look like fools or get them the mistaken impression of a 'deadly' human weakness. He sighs softly as he comes out of his thoughts to look up at the sky.

He leans backwards until he's laying on his back, watching the sky. Soon enough, people will be climbing into the...

Blinking, TK looks over to the trolley car and a smile slowly blooms, after all, he's never seen if he could get it to work. Who knows what new encounters could happen if he gets it up and running. "Ah, I'm going to look around, is that ok, Matt? Tai?" He asks once he is sitting up and they didn't seem too concern.

"Keep Patamon with you." Matt says and he nods. Patamon gives him a puzzled look while he just smiles widely and the rookie blink before smiling himself, trusting that he knows what he's up to and that it'll be entertaining.

- - T - -

TK just blinks at the still covered in snow camp grounds. "Well, this is something different." Patamon remarks and the young blond nods slowly as kids and teachers gather around to stare in awe at the sudden appearance of the trolley car.

"And we left the others back in the Digital World... I wonder if this means that Izzy gets to defeat Devimon?" Patamon wonders out loud and he turns as one of the teachers force the door open.

_Now then, how to explain why I am the driver... And it looks like the others haven't found a way back home yet, which is troubling..._ The eight year old looper thinks as he glances about the crowd, hoping to spy the rest of the group.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 2

"Bubble boom!" Patamon cries as the force of air sails through the air, hitting a certain crimson bug champion. As the other Digimon are currently still in their in-training forms, they didn't lend their aid.

Patamon's attack hits and suddenly, the giant bug's data threatens to break apart, much to his surprise. He glances over to the orange rookie and finds that Patamon looks just as surprised by this as he was. _I wonder if this is why Kuwagamon never gets up to send us over the cliff edge these pass loops?_

Patamon fires off another attack and this deletes the crimson champion, the virus' data reveals Black Gears, which sail away. All of the others of the group seem to be looking in awe at Patamon. Which leads to another thought, _I wonder if this means he can defeat Devimon without getting deleted himself as Angemon? We are so going to test it when that bastard turns up._

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 3

TK turns to his Digivice now that Matt and Gabumon have taken off to that dinner where they will slave away along with Joe and Gomamon. He wills the Digi-Egg of Hope to appear and it does in his free hand. "Ready Patamon?"

Patamon nods with a smirk, "Ready TK!"

"Digi-Armor Energize!" The eight year old Digidestine of Hope declares, pointing the Digi-Egg in Patamon's direction. The usual white cocoon appears around the rookie and when it vanishes, Pegasusmon is standing there.

With a grin, TK is engulfed in that same light cocoon and reveals a thirteen year old wearing a dark gray hoodie along with fingerless gloves along with a pair of blue jeans. His knapsack is now within his Digivice. He walks over to his partner, the hood is up and covering his hair while a cloth mask covers the lower part of his head, covering a bit of of his nose and all of his mouth.

Getting on Pegasusmon back with ease, once he has settled, the orange Armor Digimon takes to the air. "Myotismon's castle?" Pegasusmon asks.

He thinks about it for a few minutes before shaking his head, saying, "Nay, it's too easy as we know where it is and it unlikely to change locations. No, let's see if we can't find out the current lairs of the Dark Masters. Even if we just get leads, we can continue the investigation next loop."

"Sounds good."

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 4

"Hey CB!" Davis greets him as he adjusts to his surroundings. He stares at Davis in a blank kind of fashion while blinking at the Veemon's human partner. _The question becomes, have we taken down Ken as the Digimon Emperor or not?_

"Ah, Davis, so, excited to face off against Ken and his team?" He asks the current possessor of Tai's goggles.

"Well, yea, but yea know, that isn't for a month!" Davis answers before adding, "Good to know you think we can make it to do so though." The other preteen beams with pride.

He just nods and wonders what he should do next now that he confirms that this is before Ken unveiled himself to be the Digimon Emperor. _It'll be redundant if place those bets but I could use the cash for, well, where haven't I been on vacation yet?_ He wonders as he takes in the room they are in, it seems that he can't leave as they were due to travel to the Digital World today and since neither of them brought their partners, it means that they may have needed their recharge.

With a sigh, he pulls out his cell phone and take a hard long look at the date. With a nod, he moves to a computer while Davis seems to just waiting for the others to arrive. He does recall this day and the reason why they were late so he had plenty of time to do some hacking, he just hopes that Davis decides to take a nap instead of coming up behind him to watch him do his thing.

"Going to work on some homework, VB?" Davis asks and he sighs. _Is it a wonder I ever feel like decking him? Do I really want to reason out what his problem with me really is?_ He wonders as he writes a minor program to free up more bandwidth for the next two hours.

"Something like that... Did you need help with your homework?" He turns by the end, looking at Davis who just look clueless as to why he'd ask to help him with it or that he'd want TK's help to begin with.

"Why? They'll be here soon, so it's not like we'd have the time to do that stuff." Is Davis' answer and it takes a moment before he smiles slightly as he has an idea.

"What are you willing to be they'll show up in the next fifteen minutes?" He asks the goggle wearing preteen, he knew what he wants out of Davis, the question is, how many bets will it take in order to up the wager to that point.

"What, do you know something as to why they'd be late, RT?" Davis asks, annoyed at being out of the 'loop'.

"Haven't heard anything about why they'd be late." He says before adding, "If I lose, I'll call Kari by her last name and if I win, you have to address her by her whole name."

"For how long?"

"How about a day?"

"Your on!"

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 5

"TK?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know why...?"

"No, I really don't know why you are human or why we're suppose to be fraternal twins." He says looking over to, according to computer records, his twin brother, named Shoya.

The orange haired ten year old sighs, "Well then, how about these two?" Shoya motions to the pair of strange beasts, one of which 'belongs' to him. The two beasts are not of the same species as one sports a plant bulb on its back and the others sports a open flame upon its, her, tail.

"Think of it this way... Shoya. We won't be dealing with the Dark Masters or Myotismon." TK says to his current 'brother'. He used the name as he'll have to get use to using it while they are in this universe.

_Wish I know why this all seems familiar though..._

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 1b

TK sighs as he stares at Davis, Yolei, and of course, Kari, no Cody as he's way too young to be allowed to join them. Of course they'll be joined by another two, one of which is from America, most likely Willis and he's not sure what's keeping Ken, assuming that Ken will be joining them and not someone else. _This isn't want I had hoped to happen upon getting that trolley car to work. I just thought it would be nice to have a ride as we traveled the Digital World..._

"Sorry I'm late, it took me a while to find this place." He turns to find Ryo, a younger Ryo then he's use to seeing, walking down the path. _Well, won't this be an interesting story to tell Takato when we meet up again._

"Hi, I'm TK and this is Patamon. He's Davis, the one with purple hair is Yolei and the one with hazel red eyes is Kari." He says as way of introduction, wondering if he should just see if he can't get Patamon to achieve his Mega level and leave them out of it. _Hopefully Millenniummon doesn't decide to make an appearance..._

The others go shy at having someone as old as Ryo around, which seems to surprise him when it shouldn't. With a slight couch, he grabs their attention once more. "Ok, the one other will be meeting us once we cross into the Digital World. And as to what Patamon is, he's a Digimon and each of you will be gaining a partner to protect you when we cross over."

"Are they going to look like Patamon?" Yolei asks before he can continue on with his explanation.

"Ah, no. No all Digimon look like Patamon and each different Digimon has a different name." He says.

"Kind of like Pokemon then?" Ryo asks curiously and he blinks but just nods as he wonders just what a Pokemon is and how something so small should be compared to a Digimon.

"I guess I'll let Gennai explain the rest then. Ok, gather around and I'll get the gate to open." He tells the group and once they are behind him, he holds out his Digivice towards the TV set and within seconds, they land in Gennai's living room, surprisingly, not in a dog pile.

"Wow, that was cool! Can we do that again?" Davis asks, suddenly resembling his future twelve year old self.

"I'm sorry to say that you will not." Old Gennai answers. "You have been summoned to help combat the Dark Masters, who have captured the other Digidestined."

TK feels a bit guilty about the situation but excited as well as this was something **new** to do. He glances around, finally spotting Willis with his twin partners, both of which were fine as in not influenced by a certain virus. _I wonder if I could create a vaccine for it?_

As Gennai brings them all up to date concerning the situation, he does his best to listen as to remember this loop better. Although, he just might need to write all this down just so he doesn't get it all mixed up. Then, as Gennai finishes, he leads them out into the court yard and he is surprised to find Gatomon in her rookie form among the group as well as a certain rookie he typically sees in his Ultimate form of Cyberdramon.

"Davish!" And so the blue rookie known as Veemon tackles Davis to the ground, arms about the other boy's neck while the Digimon says how happy he is to finally meet him. He turns to watch the meeting between the others and while none of them had the Digimon partner pinning them to the ground, it's clear that they were happy to finally met their human partners or is that counter parts?

- - T - -

"Patamon Warp Digivolve too... Seraphymon!"

TK feels kind of tired but not so much at the same time. He shrugs it off, after all, its not every loop that Patamon achieves his Mega form, let alone fight in said form. _Although it's not every loop that sees Apocalymon managing to by pass the Fire Wall and then DNA Digivolve with the Dark Masters._

"Ascension Hallow." His partner declares in a rather calm, even neutral tone. Lightning comes shooting down and hitting the vastly different Apocalymon then previous encounters.

Just this one attack has causes black data to bleed from cracked parts. "Divine Breaker." The out stretched palm of Seraphymon soon grows an orb of light, then, with a flick of the wrist, it is sent into the defending Apocalymon, the orb goes right through the limbs and even main body, exiting out the back before exploding, as the light touches Apocalymon, the Dark Digimon screams and the data breaks apart as Apocalymon reverts to his usual form.

With that, Seraphymon reverts back to Patamon and although Patamon remains flying, he could tell that his best friend and fellow looper is tired. The others seem to have regained energy, likely due to that light from that orb.

Soon enough, the other Digimon ranging from Ultimate to Mega reenter the battle. With a touch to his Digivice, Patamon Digivolves into Angemon. _Mental note, never exit the Digital World until pursuing Myoticmon to real world._

Most of Apocalymon's energy is gone so the incoming attacks finished him off. Without any energy, no threat of implosion and thus, no need to a cage created viva Digivices.

Not that the others knew that as they cheered and congratulated their partners for a job well done.

Soon enough, they come to congregate around Patamon and himself as he feels rather embarrassed of the praise they were giving them, particularly given he felt rather responsible for everything that happened.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 6

"Hey TK? You know you are late for the trolley ride home, right?" Patamon asks as they lay on some rocks by the river.

"Well, yea, that's the point. See, I've been wondering if I could have stopped Ken in his tracks if I were to be left behind. And after being bored for, oh, the pass elven loops, I've decided to finally do it this loop." TK explains to his partner.

"Oh, well, aren't you going to miss your parents and the others?" Patamon asks curiously and he sighs.

He glances towards Patamon with a raised eye brow.

"Oh, yea, sorry. It's easier to avoid the other Digimon just by leaving for a random island when I want to be alone."

"And it's not like my schooling is needed, I've graduated from various university with so many different degrees that some time away from it is like a dream. Heck, I've been thinking of applying to collages and universities in Africa and South America just for a change of scenery."

"Have you thought of... well, I doubt you would as that would cause everyone to mourn you."

"Yea, faking my death is a big no. And I have done the go to another country under one name and when there use another one while taking on an adult appearance. Sad to say, I think I'm better off with getting money viva gambling. Work is over rated, particularly if you are running your own company. Stupid politics and don't even get me started on the times I've done government jobs. Stupid paper work and idiot people not using their god damn common sense to solve their problems..."

"Well, it's not like I know any of that." Patamon says and he blinks before a plan forms.

"You know, if we can figure out how to get you to take on my exact appearance, you could give living life as a kid a try." He muses.

"But it seems so boring... The school part that is." His partner replies.

"Don't you get bored just hanging around without any purpose? At least with school, you get a direction to get to." He points out. "Plus, it's an education that can be used towards whatever goals you want to try out while you are human."

"Well, I always did want to learn how to cook..." Patamon admits.

"So it's settled, we keep working on that transformation until you can pass as me, even if I have to forgo being Folamon and be transformed into a Patamon."

"So, when did you want to get on that?"

"How about tomorrow?" He suggests as the eclipse occurs. "Besides, we'll likely be busy later concerning my missing the ride home."

"Well, yea, but I bet a lot of them will be happy to have you around despite it all."

"And you would know, wouldn't you?"

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 7

"Call them OFF! CALL THEM OFF!" Patamon cries as he flies pass the restaurant with a rather large following of Monsters, a usual all female race called Pixies. Sadly, upon arrival in this universe, Patamon found himself being the rare, mythical male type, hence the swarm out to see if there are any truth to the myth about how powerful the children would be between said mythical male and a member of the typical Pixie race.

"Oh, Patamon has a lot of new friends." Guilmon notes, the crimson rookie also became a member of a race of Monsters, only called Dinos and is also a mythical rare type of said race as well.

"Just as long as you don't see Thomas or Zoe among that group of 'friends' I'm happy." He states.

"What makes you think they are in this universe?" Takato asks.

"Well, Guilmon and yourself are here and when that happens, they are also here as well." TK points out as he finishes cutting into his steak.

"I hate that logic." Guilmon's human partner murmurs, looking back down at his plate. "Also, shouldn't you be doing something for your partner?"

"Like what? Face that horde of hormonal Pixies and experience whatever elemental attacks they posses? No thank you, besides, I'll make it up to him when we return home." He says in reply before popping a piece of steak into his mouth.

"So, you two visited any other universes?" He asks after a few minutes of silence.

"Well, yea, one called the Magi-Nation. Crazy world that one, they use special rings to summon magical monsters." Takato tells him.

"Patamon and I spent time in a Pokemon universe. He got transformed into a ten year old and his name was Shoya, also my fraternal twin brother. His partner was a Charmander."

"Really? So, what was differences between you two?" Takato asks curiously.

"He sported orange hair, a heck of a lot straighter then mine plus longer, and he kept his eye color." He tells Takato and realizes that in the previous two encounters with Takato and the others, he never mentioned the fact that Patamon can transform into a human and himself into a Digimon. _And for good reason._ He thinks as he looks out the window at the rather large battle/cat fight going on over Patamon, who seems to be tied up on the ground, struggling to get out of his bindings. He could easily picture Thomas or Zoe standing over Patamon at this point, ready to show his partner a 'good' time.

"How many did you guys end up catching?" Takato asks curiously and it takes him a few minutes to remember that particular loop.

"Let's see, I caught forty-seven. Shoya went on a rather big collection spree and captured five hundred twenty-three Pokemon from various countries, not including the ones he bred, which had been around fifteen."

"How many badges did you guys earn?" Takato asks upon swallowing what's in his mouth.

"Well, you need eight badges to compete in the yearly tournament per league and there were five leagues so... forty badges for the both of us. Since we did stick around to participate in each tournament, our average rankings among the five tournaments were, for me, seventeen and for Shoya, twelve."

"It didn't bother you that Shoya beat you in rank?"

"Not really, and it's not that surprising. I'm pretty sure you'd beat me too. After all, how often is it that I end up in a fight with a Digimon compared to the fights Guilmon and you get into as Gallantmon?"

"I see your point." Takato agrees as he focuses on eating more of his steak, particularly as there were now holes in the bar's wall and roof. A few Pixies have crashed into different tables and even into the bar.

They both remain silent, each deciding to eat their fill before the bar, and likely, much of the town was destroyed viva the Pixie Battle Royal. After all, they will likely be lending their help in repairing the buildings if they weren't chased out of town when the towns folk realize that Patamon is his traveling companion and friend.

**To Be Continued . . .**


	162. Digimon Loops: TK 3

I don't own Digimon!

**- o 0 o -**

Loop 1a

TK merely watches in udder amazement as the others save for him get a Digivice. It had been a very interesting few months and a first for him too as he usually Wakes after being sent to the Digital World, never before has it ever been before being sent. _Ok, this is very different and could go very wrong..._

His brother and the others get swept away, leaving him alone. Heads inside and begins to pack what he can before they get back, hopefully within five minutes. Checking the clock every once in a while and sure enough, the snow melts fairly quickly, he hadn't known snow could vanish so fast but it did and he was around to glimpse it.

Time comes and from the small building, he witness the Digimon head off to go collect some plant material. Within moments, the others wake and, to his surprise, they call out for Davis only for Izzy to remind the group that Davis had been at home when he traveled to the Digital World. _So, Davis took my place so does this mean Ken took Kari's? Or did Ryo?_

"Hey you guys! Where did you run off to?" He asks as he comes out of the building, it's a mixed blessing about Looping is that it forces one to perfect their acting skills as well as lying skills. Never mind going over the same events again and again unless you do make a small change, even then it takes a while for that little ripple to cause something larger to happen but time is something he has.

"TK, you're ok?" Matt asks, coming over to examine him.

"Why wouldn't I be, Matt? Look, the snow's all gone!" He remarks and the others do notice.

"I'm going to tell the teacher you guys are back, ok?" He spotted the Digimon returning and takes off at a dead run with a frown on his face at the mystery of why he isn't a Digidestine or worry about what that means concerning Patamon.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 2

Getting off the elevator, TK's wrist is grabbed by Maiko, she pulls the current blond teen out of it and he gets his first look of the underground area, in particular a screen featuring combating beasts that sport wings. "Welcome to Dragon Drive, Kero!"

Oh yea, Mai's nickname for him isn't TK but the last part of his name, minus the u and adding the o to it. His nickname for her was merely the first three letters of her name, Mai.

"Dragon... Drive?" He repeats slowly, while he will admit that they do bare the Western Dragon body type, a number of them don't seem to sport the rest of the characteristics like being red, breathing only fire, or sporting just scales. A number of those shown on the screen possess fur, feathers, and what could be hide.

"Yip!" And then she proceeds to tell him about the game, although at the mention of the word Digital, it finally clicks about why he ended up here, although he doesn't particularly like the fact he seemed to have switched with somebody to live out their life and it could be that they are living his life...

_I wonder what Patamon is going to look like as a dragon?_

- - T - -

_Let's see, on the plus side, I have Chibi and a older brother. On the down side, I'm eight years old, stuck in some world called Digi-World, and there doesn't seem to be any other humans around here save for this group and myself._ Reiji thinks as he looks around while Chibi, he just knows it's Chibi despite the different appearance.

Suddenly a huge crimson insect appears and bellows. Reiji is about to shout for Chibi to attack when his partner, who can now speak, says "That's a Champion Digimon, I'm still at the In-Training stage, Rei!"

"Oh..." But as the other partners leap and begin attacking, so does Chibi.

Then, they as a group cry out as they get battered to the side, light engulfs the bodies of the Digital Monsters or Digimon for short. When the light vanishes, Chibi does look more like himself.

_Well, hopefully, this loop won't last very long and we can get back to our home within a year._

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 3a

TK sits at the pier with Takato to his left, both of them doing some fishing at a river in Western Plaguelands. Takato is currently a warrior Worgen and himself to be a druid Night Elf. The few times they spotted Thomas and Zoe, Thomas being a mage Human and Zoe being a shaman Draenei.

Feeling a tug, he does his best to pull the line out while hoping it to be a fish instead of some weed or even a tangled line. He grins at the fish and into the bucket the fish goes. He then casts the line back into the river.

"Pretty relaxing afternoon." Takato remarks, he's currently in his human form. "Still, in the three months we've been here, we still haven't found our partners or even Thomas' own."

"At least they weren't a pet when we woke here." He replies, it's not the first time they've discussed this. He's fairly confident that they'd find them. He's pretty sure that where ever Patamon is, he's sporting the symbol of Hope some where on his cloths, same as him. Takato sports the hazard like symbol on his own cloths. He's unsure if either Thomas or Zoe are sporting any particular symbols.

"At least we hope they are not pets in this universe." Takato mutters darkly and he lets it go as Takato pulls up his line, sporting a trout of some kind.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 4

TK stands still, watching as Patamon speak with a party from the town. He admitted that Patamon does look good in those cloths, particularly with the orange hair. A few of the women and children around them gaze in awe at himself. _Still, even after seven years, I'm still not use to those kind of looks._ He thinks to himself as he flickers his ears back.

Happily, they weren't alone in this universe nor was he the only one with reversal of fortunes. _Not that it meant much to Thomas or Zoe, it only seemed to encourage their usual activities once they adjusted. Although, I wonder if it's true what we heard concerning Zoe? She couldn't be pregnant, right?_

_"TK! I've talk them into allowing you to follow into the townhall. You coming right?"_ Patamon, or to use his human name Shoya, mentally asks him.

_"I'm coming, Shoya."_ He replies and gingerly entering a fast trot. He adapted easier to being a Companion, it's not unlike his times spent as Folamon, just no flying or special attacks.

His hooves hit the ground and with each step, his silver hooves make a sound not unlike bells. Again, the eyes of the 'common' people follow him with looks of awe and longing. This is only the third village they have visited since they began their solo assignment as Heralds of Valdemar. Their previous time traveling through outlaying villages and towns, they were with an experienced Herald, thus he didn't have to deal with all of the stares.

He wonders if Takato or Thomas were getting these stares on their tour of assignment.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 1b

Holding out his Digivice, he wills a wall of light to form, defending Ryo and himself from the incoming Dark Spores. The Dark Spores try to force their way through but he knows they won't do so. He's been in these loops far to long and no matter how powerful Millenniummon is at this moment, the mega won't win this, he's too willful and sure of his own power to have a spore get lodged into his neck or into Ryo's.

The Dark Spores dissolve in a flash when the light shield flares brightly, almost blinding him. "TK..." Ryo states in a tone sporting awe and surprise.

"Yes Ryo?" He asks as he turns to give the older boy a curious look, the light wall had vanished upon that flaring.

Ryo gawks at him for a few minutes before saying, "Ah, good job...?" The tone ends as if it were a question.

"Ok Ryo." He says cheerfully, glad that it's over. TK's not sure what to make of this whole adventure but logically speaking, he is fairly certain that he assumed Ken's role in it just like Ken assumed Kari's role in the first adventures concerning the Digital World. At the moment he's considered the Chosen of Kindness which would make Kari Chosen of Miracles, taking Davis' roll.

_That's considering if we do end up having the second series of adventures as I'm do not going to be the Digimon Emperor._ He thinks as they get reunited with Patamon and Salamon, which is a surprise as he's use to her being in her champion form of Gatomon.

"He's finally gone, right?" Patamon asks and he sighs, "I don't know, Patamon, I don't know."

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 5

"Again?"

"Seems so, Shoya."

"Ah, damn it. So, which one is yours?"

"I'm going to guess, the one grass snake? Why, you want the grass snake?"

"Nay, I'm good with the otter."

"Alright. Now the question is, can we remember their names, be it their species or the ones we might have given them."

"I think mine starts with an O with a watt somewhere in it."

_:This is embarrassing isn't it? They forgot our names."_

"I keep thinking Sev for some reason."

_:Speak for yourself, I kind of like the name Sev, it's better then the other name he gave me.:_

"This is going to be a long one, isn't it?"

"Seems likely."

_:I wonder if they mean long life...:_

_:Hm, that's a nice thought isn't it?:_

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 3b

"Hey, Patamon?" Guilmon, currently a Troll hunter, asks.

"Yes Guilmon?" Patamon says in reply, he's currently a Paladin Blood Elf.

"Can I buy it?" Guilmon asks while the kitten's paw remains upon the out stretched finger. The black kitten then bats the finger a bit before trying to nibble on it.

"I don't see why not. You do have the silver to pay for it." The orange haired Blood Elf says and Guilmon nods in agreement, clearly happy, although the hunter's pet lion seems rather bored of everything and is trying to sleep in the middle of the path through the store.

"Check out what I won at the Auction House!" Gaomon, an Orc rogue, states, displaying a rather shiny dagger, as the rogue comes trotting into the store. "Is Guilmon buying a kitten?"

"I'm about to buy the kitten." Guilmon corrects rather gently as he picks up the carrier and then heads to the counter to pay for the kitten.

"I thought that's why he tamed the lion was to have a cat?" Gaomon asks Patamon, who just shrugs.

"So, did you get any leads about the others?" Patamon asks Gaomon.

"Oh, yea, there's a pair of Alliance members who have been acting in the manner of Master Thomas and Mistress Zoe."

"Location?" Patamon asks.

"Through the Dark Portal in Outlands." Reports Gaomon. "As for Takato and TK, there's a pair up in Western Plaguelands who answer to those names."

"Right, so which of the two do you think we should find first?" The paladin asks the rogue.

The Orc seems a bit torn about it, Gaomon doesn't answer until they were at the Wyvern Post that is over a certain bar in Boot Bay. "Takato and TK seem to be in one place, they would be easier to fetch before heading to Outland." The rogue finally states and Patamon just nods.

"My friends and I would like to fly to Western Plaguelands." Patamon requests to the flight path master.

"That will be four gold." The Flight Master says and he hands over the four gold. Soon enough, they are flying in the air, heading northward.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 1c

TK stares thoughtfully at the Control Spire as he flies upon his partner's back. "Still haven't hear who set it up?" He asks, he's ten years old and is currently on summer vacation. His mom thinks he's gone to spend a week with his dad, not that she'll get a hold of him nor really remember that little fact either given the timing of it all.

"Should we destroy it?" Pegasusmon asks him after a few minutes of silence as they circle the Control Spire.

He gives it a moment's thought before agree, particularly as some flying Digimon have taken to the air. Each likely sporting a ring on their bodies. With a single firing of Silver Blaze, the spire is destroyed and the flying Digimon seem to hover for a few seconds before scattering.

"Is there another one around here?" He asks curiously.

"There are two more, not far from here." The armor Digimon replies. "You think we'll find out who's the puppet?"

"We might." TK agrees and with a flap of the wings, his partner heads for the next Control Spire.

- - T - -

_Yip, this is a rather big shock, isn't it?_ TK thinks as Izzy stands upon Kabuterimon's back. It's doubtful that Izzy can ID him, he had thought ahead about disguising himself.

Currently, TK appears to be thirteen, raven black hair done up in what is called a lazy hawk, it is a type of Mohawk. Current eye color is a dark hazel while his skin tone is a rather bronze color. _Well, something had to give. Not unlike what happened with the Trolly Car incident really._

_This is so not going to end well._ He thinks as Pegasusmon begin dodging maneuvers as Kabuterimon readies to attack. "At least it's not Joe, now that would be wrong. Just plain wrong." He murmurs softly to himself as he keeps a firm grip upon his partner's mane.

Being fired at tends to grab ones' attention and so, he doesn't really think much about how Izzy got corrupted or is under a certain Digimon's control, he just wanted to think of a way to capture the other Digidestine unharmed before even exploring such things.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 3c

_There's knocking upon our door..._ TK thinks in a half awake state as he rolls onto his side and then sits up. Shivering, he pulls the sheet about his while his bare feet touch the cool floor.

Yawning a jaw breaking yawn, he walks over to answer the door. Upon opening it, he barely registers a cry before finding himself upon the floor. "TAKATOMON!"

"Ok, I'm wake and I hate to say it but Takato's in that bed." He says, managing to point a hand towards the sleeping warrior.

"Oops, sorry TK." Guilmon says and he's able to get up off the floor while Guilmon, currently an Troll, pokes the Worgen that is Takato.

"Horde?" He inquires as he looks at the other two, namely a Blood Elf and an Orc.

"And you are Alliance." The Blood Elf, who's features remind him of Patamon's human form.

"Good to see you three, Patamon. Gaomon." He says, nodding first towards the Blood Elf and then to the Orc.

"And to you, TK." Gaomon says with a nod while Patamon just smiles.

"Now then, what time is it? And is it safe to go to sleep?" He asks, rather hoping they hadn't brought Thomas or Zoe with them.

"Ah, they are out of rooms for the night..." Gaomon says and he sighs.

"If you care to, you can share the bed." He says as he takes off the blanket, handing it to Patamon before assuming his panther form.

He circles a spot about five times before curling up and going back to sleep. The sound of the door closing and a soft yelp from Takato are among the last things he hears before he returns to dreamland.

**To Be Continued . . .**


	163. Digimon Loops: TK 4

I don't own Digimon!

**- o 0 o -**

Loop 1

They sit around the library's table, TK glances around the table before focusing on the oldest member within the room, by more then a few centuries. Shoya is currently in the slot for Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Takato seems to have replaced Rupert Giles while Zoe did Buffy. The weirdest among them has to be Thomas, who's taken Willow's role and gender. He's just plain freaked out by that, particularly as Thomas is taking his... her new gender fairly well and is looking rather lustful at him with a smile that makes him both blush and feel as if he's been dumped into a barrel of ice water.

It's kind of a worst nightmare come turn, he's human and almost legal in a universe where Thomas and Zoe can get at him. _Damn it, screwed either way... Stupid figure of speak that is so damn literal in this case._ He thinks as he glances towards the shelves.

"Shouldn't we be, I don't know, researching demons or mystical stuff?" TK ventures to ask the group.

"I guess we should. I mean, this is something new for us to do, right?" Shoya says in support.

"Hmm, I always wondered how good a succubus is in bed." Thomas muses.

"Point, I wonder how much stamina a vampire has if full of blood." Zoe remarks, turning to look over at Shoya.

"No screwing Patamon." Takato states. "I don't think we want to find out what he's like without a Soul."

"Shoya, his name is currently Shoya or, Angel, given that he could still have earned that name." He states and the other two glance at him with questioning looks.

"While this is his first time as a vampire, it ain't his first time being human." He states simply and Takato nods, having heard about this.

"Ok, if Patamon is here, where are **our** partners?" Thomas wonder and they all look towards Shoya.

"Well, one of them might, if I recall correctly, be Spike. It's hard to say if who I remember is Guilmon or Gaomon." Shoya says with a shrug.

"What's his hair color?" Takato ask curiously.

"A dark black, with... oh, so I do know which one became Spike." Shoya muses.

"So that leave..."

Suddenly a cry of, "Takatomon!" And within seconds, they find a red haired older looking teen hugging the much older Takato.

"I'm betting he replaced Oz." TK states.

"No bet. The question is, is he a werewolf right now?" Zoe wonders.

"Well, we'll know in a few days, I think." Thomas states. "There should one coming up soon."

He sighs softly, he is hoping that he doesn't wind up with Xander's problem concerning female demons, he'd be lucky to remain out of bed with either Thomas and/or Zoe.

TK did find it a little odd for Patamon to wind up as a vampire though, but not overly as he did recall their time in World of WarCraft universe.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 2a

Coming Awake while confronting a certain crimson insect Champion wasn't all that odd. What threw him is the fact that he's currently a Digimon known as Folamon. Within a second he turns to look towards the group of kids behind the line of Rookies, the other Rookies attack.

He quickly focuses on their foe and leaps into the air. With flick of his head, his cry joins the others, "Silver Rain!" Silver nails fly from his mane, flying into the chest of the Champion.

He hovers in the air while the Champion falls down and the Digimon plus Digidestine cheer, well, except for Shoya and himself. He turns and flies so he lands next to Shoya. Wordlessly, he lowers himself and within seconds, eight year old Shoya is on his back, a firm grip upon his mane.

He launches himself into the air as the usual events play out, again. The cliff falls with the Digidestine plus partners down into the river. Within seconds, Gomamon summons the raft of fish.

Folamon follows after the raft, his hunger was easily rectified as he borrows energy from the Digivice. "So... I guess Matt's my brother for the loop."

"Seems so." He agrees, moving towards a fruit tree and hovering as Shoya harvests as much fruit as he can carry. "It seems that it's only you and me who've switched."

"Well, it's not like they are Awake... Although, it does make you wonder what kind of Digimon they'd wind up as." Shoya remarks as he catches up to the raft.

Soon enough, the others make it to shore and another round of introductions will begin. Once on the ground, Shoya and him begin to eat the fruit, they'll need all their energy for the up coming days. _I guess I'll finally get around to seeing what kind of Champion and Ultimate form I have... Armor too, I guess._

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 3

TK reclines on the chair, his fingers slowly going over the strings of the guitar that he bought. His current appearance is a raven haired nineteen year old sporting emerald eyes. And open guitar case on the pavement before him. It's early in the morning, the sun is just raising up.

Due to a relatively recent loop in which Patamon and himself switched roles, he had come to realize just how much he took Matt for granted, well, when they were in the same universe. Tai as well, as the goggle wearing preteen usually does fill the role of second older brother.

_Well, to be fair, Sora's kind of fits the role of older sister/motherly figure. Joe's like the responsible older cousin while Mimi is that spoiled sister. Izzy's a friend, more like a friend of my siblings then mine..._ TK reflects as he slowly increases the pace his fingers move about the strings.

He's rather afraid to fit Kari into a role, she typically is his best friend and the one he protects. The relationship is... it's hard for him to pin her down, she has been a romantic interest for him but as the loops continued and he began to feel older then his appearance, he felt rather disgruntled about pinning away for Kari. It doesn't help that there's some kind of relationship between them, Hope and Light... Their chests seem to reach for each other.

He is still drawn to Kari, it's something he can't deny, their chests were a part of them, it's just that, what kind of relationship did he want with her. Friendship is the most typical between them and it's one he does his best to keep it that way, but then he's fifteen and sees her... Particularly at a dance or something...

Doing his best to push that kind of thinking away, he focuses on the song he's trying to play. It's a song by a band that hasn't formed as of yet, so the song didn't legally belong to the band either. One could say if he wrote it up and sold it to a current band, they would legally own the copy rights to the song. Of course, he's just strumming on the guitar, doing his best to recall all the recent lessons he asked Matt for in the last few loops, doing his best to spend some quality time with his older brother.

He's done something similar back when the Loops were new to both Patamon and himself but after a while, it became something of a pain to regain the trust he had with them. The fact that he knew a quick way to establish said bond kind of made it... not as valued as it once was.

_And then I decided to spend Kami knows how many Loops convincing them that time is looping._ He thinks to himself. Which lead to that promise that he keeps by doing his best to keep an emotional distance between himself and the non-Awake Digidestine.

_I wonder if that's what drove Thomas and Zoe over the deep end?_ He muses, shivering at just thinking of the pair of sex obsessed Loopers.

In the end, TK pushes such thoughts out of his head and focuses on playing his guitar.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 4

"Four moons in the night sky... Ah damn it, looks like I owe Takato a DVD." TK mutters as he touches his leather bag. Within it he feels a few coins, not bad for an eight year old and is the youngest Looper in this universe.

As he heads for the nursery barn, he gets this nagging feeling he should know about this world. It's not until he's in the barn and spies a 'dragon' does he remember, after all, he's fairly certain he arranged for this book series to either become a mini series or a series of movies. _Jane Yolen is the author if I recall._

"The Pit Dragon trilogy." He murmurs as his hand moves to touch his Digivice in his belt pouch. He feels some connection to the beasts around him as he walks over to deliver what he came to deliver.

Once the delivery was made, he races back to the main building. He nods to the native Looper, Jakkin who nods back. He heads for his bunk, it's going to be one of those loops and he shuttered to think of what became of their Digimon partners for the Loop.

- - T - -

Shoya face palms at Guilmon's antics. Gaomon seems rather bemused over their youngest member's actions. He's yet to learn either of their human names so he keeps using their Digimon one, both mentally and when addressing them.

He wonders where their partners were but, for now, it seems that they are on their own. Their current universe is one from the comics, likely the DC given that there does seem to be an actual Superman in the US. It makes him wonder if they will gain special powers when they hit puberty, which should be in seven to eight years.

He looks up when his aunt when she calls his name. He says, "Bye you guys." Once up he walks over to her, wondering when this Loop will end so they can be with their partners once more.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 5

TK finished going up the stairs, he glances around the Hinata Inn, or should he say the Hinata Dorms? His name for the Loop? Takeru Urashima, his adopted sibling for the Loop? Shoya Urashima, who's still male. His goal for the Loop? Get into Tokyo U, which should prove a breeze as he's done so plenty of times back in his home universe.

The only problems he foresees in this Loop is the various girls and women who call the Dorms home. "Maybe I should have headed into the Tea Cafe to wait for them..." He murmurs as he turns to look towards said cafe.

With a sigh, he turns back to the building and take a few steps toward it. He stops, his frown deepens and with a shake, he turns around and does the smart thing, heading for the cafe ran by his aunt/cousin. He didn't want to get attacked and if he did enter into the inn turned dorm, it's more then likely he would be under-attack by at least two of members of the dorm, particularly violent man-haters.

- - T - -

"This is a GIRL's Dorm! We don't need any MALES!" TK sighs at the explosion coming from a certain violent woman pretty much screams and growls at the same time.

His current aunt/cousin stiffens next to him, clearly not liking the out burst. The heiress to a certain kendo style looks a bit nervous as the temperature dropped a drop but goes on to agree with Naru, "We can look after the dorm ourselves."

"Then I hate to point out that Granny already made her choice and as of today, I am the owner and manager of this place. While you may not have a problem disrespecting me, you are disrespecting my grandmother by your attitude. It would seem that you didn't possess any **real** trust in my grandmother's judgement, its a good thing that you are all free to seek out new places to live as I plan to respect my grandmother's decision and remain owner slash manager of Hinata Dorms." He states in a calm, matter of fact way that caused two of the group to glare venomously at him and the others to sport slightly guilty look.

"Why should we leave your the..."

"I'm the owner as of today and thus, have an investment in this place. I am not an intruder as I was invited here. If you can't get it through your head that I am now responsible for the operation and maintenance of my family's legacy then I expect you have alternate places and you are free of your tenant agreement for Hinata Dorms." He states, cutting of some illogical rant and that seems to inflame the two troublesome tenants, he could hear Naru's teeth grinding together and Motoko's grip upon her katana tightens as her already frosty demeanor gets cooler.

"Just like a male, throwing your weight around." Naru growls, trying to physically intimidate him by standing up just so and leaning on the table, her palms flat on the table. "I can't believe you have nothing to say about this, Haruka!"

"Nothing he is stating if false, Naru-chan. And frankly, I find Motoko and your own attitude about this rather distressing. TK hasn't done anything to gather such outrage, he's been polite throughout dinner even with cutting remarks coming from the pair of you." Haruka states. "Given that this has been sprung on your the last minute, perhaps a good nights sleep is needed before we continue with this discussion."

He nods in agreement, saying, "You are right, Haruka. Perhaps we should continue this discussion with a night sleep behind us."

With a scowl on their faces, Naru and Motoko get up, soon enough, the others follow their example save one. He sighs softly but lends a hand to Shinobu in cleaning up the table. Haruka also helps.

Soon enough, Haruka shows him to his new room, a glance up shows that yes, there is a hole in the ceiling. He'll have to repair it first if only to get some privacy from Naru. They had a short private talk before Haruka leaves him alone, he puts his suit case down by the door.

Glancing around, he pulls out his Digivice and within seconds, he has some of his possessions out and ready to be placed. Once he picks out what he wants out, he puts the rest back into his storage space within his Digivice and walks over to his suit case, beginning to put the cloths away into the dresser in the room.

He is on his lab top, waiting until eleven pm to go have a dip in the hot spring. After a good hour, he climbs out and uses his Digivice to shroud him in shadows. Stepping into one, he exits out in the hall, he finds both Motoko and Naru waiting outside of the Hot Springs, it seems they planned some kind of confrontation where they believe he would be at his weakest.

_Got to remember to post a new schedule for the Hot Springs. Also... might need to wait a bit before asking Shoya to join me here..._ He thinks as he walks back to his room, once more entering into his room viva the shadows. Once within, the shroud fades away and he finishes up drying off before putting on some PJs and turning in for the night, his Digivice clipped on his pants encase they decide to barge into his room for that confrontation they seem to want to happen.

- - T - -

"This is my adopted brother, Shoya and he's agreed to take the post of assistant manager of Hinata." TK states, it's been two weeks and things seem to have become rather troublesome, the magic of the land keeps trying to throw him in the path the women/girls and it's only by using his Digivice has he avoided said situations from happening.

Figuring that haven't Shoya around might help fend off the pressure from the magic, he finally asked him to assume said post. He also plans to hire some expert carpenters to help repair what he can't, it shouldn't be too hard as he has more then enough money. With Hinata back in good condition, he plans to look for new tenants, ones without any problems with men, heck, he might make the Dorm co-ed just to satisfy the match making magic of Hinata.

_Might be a good idea to get an estimate for replacing the Annex while they are here._ TK muses as he doesn't really listen to the protests of the two man-haters or the 'subtle' flirtations of a certain fox like woman. As long as they don't try anything physically, he is content to let them vent.

Soon enough, pair will become more enraged when he announces the coming of the carpenters and most likely when he decides for the dorm to become co-ed. He'll mostly ignore Motoko's continuous challenge attempts, after all, it's rather one sided and by keep demanding said challenge isn't showing how dishonorable he is, as he keeps pointing out she can't offer anything equal to the ownership and management of Hinata Dorm, which has been in his family for... well, he doesn't know how long really.

Until Motoko could come up with something of equal value with both value in both historic and economic, he won't fight in a duel with her.

_They should be happy I haven't terminated their tenant contracts._ He thinks, glances towards the two man-haters. _Although, I should contact their families if only to let them know how poorly their children are acting. They really need to reconnect with reality._

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 2b

"Folamon Digivolve to..." He cries as he is within the hand of the giant Devimon. He feels a surge of energy throughout his whole being. His body undergoes a change as the power settles around him, he feels solid once more as he declare, in a much more mature tone, "Sinyoumon!"

The hand of Devimon opens and moves from his floating body. Sinyoumon's larger then Pegasusmon with four pairs of wings while sporting an gold ornament upon his head sporting a golden horn. About his neck floats a solid gold ring that sports two inchs from his skin. His fur is bright white while bright blue marks upon his face, neck, and lowerback. His mane is braided with a silver ring holding the braid together while his tail is that of a lion's with the tuff being a blue flame.

"Sinyoumon, Champion level Digimon, Vaccine. This Holy Beast is said to be the Bringer of Hope while signally a time of Great Dispair. His Exorcism's Roar is said to dispel dispair within all that hear it." Tentomon says in awe. _Oh great, I'm a sign of the future reign of the Dark Masters._

"Your time of Darkness has come to an end, Devimon. File Island shall be cleansed and peace shall return to the isle." He declares to the evil Digimon, who just scowls at him.

"Sinyoumon! It is you who shall fall this day! File Island is mine! And from it, I shall cover this world in Darkness so complete as to destroy all Light!" The giant Devimon declares.

"We shall see." Sinyoumon states calmly and charges Devimon, crying, "Exorcism's Roar!"

The attack causes Devimon to flinch while it rips through the area hit by the attack. He's actually kind of surprised that it did any kind of damage given that Devimon has consumed how many Black Gears and Ogremon. He easily dodges Devimon's Touch of Evil and counters with Exorcism's Roar, being so close to Devimon causes the area to peel and burn.

He is sent flying due to a back hand, he stablizes and dodges an attack called Death Hand. Narrowing his eyes, he draws on the energy of Shoya's Digivice and then fires an Exorcism's Roar, this causes Devimon to bleed data while placing a hand over the injured area. He chargers the evil Digimon as he calls upon the power within said Digivice.

"Golden Charge!" He declares and becomes covered in a bright, golden light. Devimon's incoming hand is destroyed upon coming into contact with the light and the light dims, he does slam into the body, causing Devimon to fall into a cliff side.

He is sent flying when Ogremon comes out of the chest, slamming his bone club onto his head. Sinyoumon stablizes himself within a few feet of the ground. Taking a calming breath, he centers himself, doing his best to recall the recent conversation with Shoya about accessing the others' Digivices power.

Sure, as Devimon's hand is restored and gets up from the ground, saying something about lacking in power, he finally feels the connection, it's not all that different then those times when they've faced Apocalymon and need to restore themselves back into their original forms. Devimon exclaims about the light as he feels a huge amount of energy, an energy he finds rather hard to keep hold of and knows that he needs to release it very soon.

He raises into the air and declares, "Exorcism's Roar!" The energy flows from him and he's more then a little relieved to have all that power out of him. The attack ripes into Devimon and soon, Devimon bursts into data while a bright golden light explodes from within.

His job done and exhuation coming onto him. he returns to his rookie form of Folamon. He lands on the ground the others recover and celebrate the victory. For himself, he'd rather have something to eat, although he can just graze some grass. Food is rather easy to come by for him as Folamon as he can eat the plant that's around them unlike the other Digimon.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 6

TK can't help but sigh, this loop for whatever reasons just seem to cause him a headache. Maybe it's due to the fact that they Woke at the point where Matt was saying goodbye to him and wouldn't change his mind about going even when he pointed out what kind of trouble could happen with Matt away. He even tried to use the Sad-Puppy-Eyes but his 'older' brother managed to resist, which he put down as still being slightly disoriented from the sudden Waking.

_Well, that happens, so it's rather common._ He thinks as they run towards the door that Myotismon is heading for. _Then DemiDevimon proved to be extra annoying while I was modifying those rides, doing his upmost to get me to cry and argue with Patamon..._

"Patamon..." He mutters.

"Yes?"

"I'm tired of this, could you?"

"You really want me to?"

"Why the heck not? Besides, you can get it while you do it. Just don't beat him up too badly, wouldn't want the... pansy to get deleted so soon." He states.

"Oh, I am **SO** going to enjoy this!" Patamon chimes in and as the latest Digimon comes to delay them once more. Louder, the rookie says, "Don't worry, I got this!"

Within seconds, Angemon deletes the latest hurdle and takes careful aim. With a single cry of Hand of Fate, the Digimon pulling the carriage and the carriage are deleted. Before Myotismon could react, Angemon throws his staff which flies, nailing the Ultimate in the back of the head.

"Lord Myotismon!" Cries Gatomon and a number of Digimon who aren't through the Gate pause and turn around.

"Wow... First Devimon and now it seems Myotismon isn't able to fend off Angemon." Tai comments, he sniffles a snort.

"The Gate!" He shouts and that gets the rest of the group in gear, although not without some comments from each respective Digidestine while Angemon has Myotismon in a head lock while using his staff to keep the Utlimate kneeling on the ground, "Say Unclemon! Come on and say it!"

"Never! Crim-" He shakes his head as they race pass while Gatomon and DemiDevimon argue over what they should do. He ignores the fact that Angemon just cracked the Ultimate's neck, paralyzing the vampire like Digimon for a few days.

"Don't look back! Keep going forward!" He cries as he snags the cat Champion, surprising her enough that as he leaps through the air, he crosses over into the Real World with her. He's fairly sure that the others followed his example.

TK woke to the Digimon arguing with Gatomon, he glances at the others and shrug, he's grown use to traveling between the dimensions so he typically wakes from traveling through the gate sooner then the other Digidestine. He smiles at the sight of the Tag and Crest of Light about Gatomon's neck, Gatomon looks slightly dazed, likely due to Patamon informing the Champion that she's the partner Digimon to the eighth Digidestine and likely used the explianations that he learnt thus viva the time when the light of the Digivices boosted his power to defeat Devimon.

He's fairly certain of that due to them cooking up that story and feeding it to the others in previous Loops where Patamon and him rescued Gatomon from Myotismon's evil clutches. TK leans back and stares up at the sky, he feels so much better, that headache he had since DemiDevimon made his appearance has vanished now that they are in the Real World or should it be, Human World?

The Digimon continue their discussion to the point where the other Digidestine wake up and wonder what they are arguing about now. Only to get slightly freaked out at the sight of Gatomon wearing a Tag and Crest. He sighs, sure, Myotismon will crossover, just not right away.

Last time they did pulled something like this, it took the vampire wanna-be about an hour Human time, to get the spare pack of cards. Given a minor trick he did to the cards in Gennai's possession, they'll ownly reveal themselves after a full day had pass in the Human World since TK and the others got here, well, mostly himself as the trick is connected to his Digivice.

Soon enough, the others brought up other consures then whether it's true that Gatomon is the eighth child's Digimon or not. Mainly concern about how long it'll take before Myotismon joins them in the Real World. He doesn't comment on that, only asking them about how are they going to smuggle the Digimon onto the bus.

He smiles, it's been far too long since they beaten Myotismon into entering the Real World and he can't wait to get home so he can begin doing something that took some real thought, after all, Patamon's more then capable of destroying the vampire wanna-be and the Dark Masters, Apocalymon... well, they're getting there, still, being able to destroy half of that Digimon's body with one shoot isn't that bad, particularly when Pataomon is only a Champion, as MagnaAngemon, it's still a mess as some parts of the huge Apocalymon don't get the chance to enter into the Gate of Destiny, only as Seraphimon did no parts of said Digimon remain to reform and give them trouble.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 7

"Oh God..." TK murmurs as he Wakes to find himself, unsurprisingly in the Digital World, but older then eight years old. "Let's see... hmm, rather late in too..."

He rubs his chin as he plots, Patamon flying over, also likely thinking over just what they would do now. They hold a whisper conversation between them, not really paying much mind to battle going on between MagnaVeemon and Chimeramon or the falling debris, it didn't take much more then a thought to have a shield up to protect them from such.

With a soft snort and a smirk coming from one of them, TK heads for a certain portion of the base that belongs to Ken while Patamon is rather smug for convincing TK to go along with what he has planned. Not that TK put up much of a fight at when Patamon makes a point concerning an unused item within his storage space. One made by a certain Digidestined when he had been on a power trip, and it wasn't TK who made it, shockingly enough, it had been Mimi who 'created' it, AKA ordered it made(that had been a very strange loop, particularly as they had to escape her lab of all things).

Once at the reactor that connects into a certain depressing place. Patamon becomes Angemon while he summons the device from his Digivice. TK hangs back, letting Angemon work with the device while he does his best to repress that whole Loop. Oh, sure, they didn't have to worry about any Digimon, hell, what Mimi... TK finds a spot to sit cross legged, it seems that he's got to get serious about repressing that Loop if he recalls Apocalymon's time in that particular Loop.

"Ok, I think it's ready to go!" TK opens his eyes and blinks a bit as his gaze refocuses, allowing him to see in the near dark space once more. "Kami help us if this thing reacts like it did when she had it up for that practice run."

"Come on, it could allow us to visit Takato and Guilmon or the other Digital Worlds Connected to a Human World." Angemon points out. "I believe it will work, don't you?"

"Oh, sure, it'll work, the question becomes, if it'll work too well." He murmurs, pushing that 'test' out of his mind. After all, he hadn't enjoyed getting used as a bartering chip as Mimi does her best to create some kind of permenant deal with that planet full of boundiful women, nor did he enjoy the fact that Mimi had figured out how to age him eitehr. _Make my body match my mind, I nearly died damn it!_

He's not even going to entertian the thought that he spent the rest of that Loop in a clone body. Nope, he's not even going to **think** that he died as if he did die in a Loop, it's suppose to restart after all so he clearly didn't die. And Matt allowed him to get tattooed as a joke, that's that. There's no way that Mimi figured out how to keep the Loop from restarting, none at all, that's his story and he's sticking to it.

Then, as the device does what it does, the world shifts as his eyes widen. Within seconds, darkness engulfs him. Upon waking, he finds himself under ground and wills a orb of light to appear over him, giving him a better look at his surroundings.

He glances towards this collapsed being. Getting up, he glances up to find a gate of some sort up at the ceiling, he can see the device from the back, or what they had thought was the back it seems. With a slight shake of his head, he walks over to the being, he holds out his Digivice and light erupts from it, flowing through the air into the being that is his partner, given the fleshiness, TK mentally label his partner by his human name, Shoya, as it's clear that this dimension doesn't allow for Digimon to arrive as is.

Within seconds, the winged being gets to his feet. TK studies Shoya's new appearance. "The four eyes seems to be over kill." He muses and Shoya moves a hand over his face to find that yes, he now possesses four eyes, one set of eyes are where you'd expect them, the second set are up by the temple area, although the head isn't very humanish, more like an ape's really.

"A mirror if you please." Shoya asks and he nods, after all, he, too, wants to check himself out just incase anything about himself is different. With two large mirrors out of his storage space, he notices that he possesses this small horn in the middle of his head just above his eyebrowse while he's got the thin beginnings of antlers near his hair line.

Other then the horn and antlers, he's got some glowing marks under his eyes and at his throat. Raising his shirt, he finds more glowing marks there, which causes him to conclude he's got them all over his body. "Well, only minor changes for me. Big ones for you, Shoya." He says as he stores the mirror back in his storage space.

"I've got a lot of muscle, not sure if I can fly though." Shoya mutters, moving away from his mirror, which means he's done with it. While Shoya looks around, he stores the mirror away and with a parting glance, follows Shoya, leaving a trail of tiny glowing orbs so they can find their way back.

After about an hour of walking around, they decide to head back to the place they woke in. "Think a rope will do it?" Shoya asks.

"It could but the problem will be the translation between the two. It'll likely knock us out. We'd need somebody to haul us up." TK says as he sits down as he summons a portable game system to entertain himself for a bit, after all, he's fairly sure the others will come looking for them.

After four hours, according to the portable game system at least, although distortied but still understandable. TK looks up and waves while Shoya is already up, waving both his arms. Within a few minutes, as they look up, Yolei and Hawkmon are looking 'down' with startled expressions. _"TK, is that you? And is that... Patamon?"_

"Yes! Could you find some rope to lift us back through? There's not much to see down here!" TK shouts with his hands cupped about his mouth, the portable game system having been sent to his storage space with a thought.

_"Right! Hawkmon, stay here while I go and get the others!"_ Yolei tells her partner. He doesn't hear Hawkmon's reply but Yolei does vanish from his sight.

Some minutes later, the others appear along with some rope. Soon enough, two strands of rope are sent through. Glancing towards Shoya, they approach and create a make shift harnass about their bodies. "Are you guys ready?" Shoya shouts.

_"The ropes are secure, you two can climb up!"_ Davis shouts. He sighs but begins to climb up the rope. Sadly, he was proven right about not being able to make it through the portal without fainting as their bodies get translated back into their original forms, causing them to fall back towards the cave floor.

_"TK! Patamon! Are you guys ok?! TK! Patamon!"_ He wakes to both Kari and Gatomon shouting their concerns. _"Let me go! I want to go check on them!"_ Kari says.

_"It's not safe for you to do that, Kari!"_ Yolei says as he checks himself over before looking over to Shoya.

"We're fine but I think you'll have to pull us up! When we tried to go through the portal, it caused us to faint! I think it's due to it trying to restore us to our original looks!" He shouts up.

_"Thank god you two are ok!"_ Kari cries out.

_"Are you sure you can't climb up, TM? Maybe you didn't tried hard enough!"_ Davis calls out before yelping a bit. _"Ouch, that hurt Yolei!"_

_"They already tried that, for all we know, next time they'll cause the rope to snap!"_ Yolei snaps angerily at Davis, it's clear that this whole thing is worrying them. _"Who knew Ken built something like this during his time as the Digimon Emperor?"_

He flushes a bit at that conclusion but doesn't see any reason to correct that assumption. It takes a few minutes before they are ready to pull them out, their partners Armor Digivolved into their respective forms and they pulled Shoya and himself out. He blacks out and wakes to find three of the four about him, staring down with worried looks.

"Is Angemon alright?" He asks as the others sigh in relief. "Well, he's kind of fuzzing..." Is Yolei's reply and he sits up, glancing to where the Digimon are circled around Angemon's phasing body.

With a soft sigh, he pulls out his Digivice and holds it towards Angemon's body. Light shoots out and within seconds, Angemon is once more solid and awake. "Wow, how did you know that would fix him?" Cody asks.

"Well, it worked when we landed in the cave that's on the other side of the portal." He says truthfully as Angemon returns to his rookie form. The others relax and he stands up, he then turns to look into the portal, wondering when he'll have the chance to turn it off and sent the device into the storage space.

"Well, now we have to figure out how to get rid of that portal." Yolei says and he nods in agreement. "I guess Ken wasn't satisfied with conquering if he built a machine to access other dimensions." She adds with a frown and he wanted to wince but doesn't.

"Well, it wasn't a success given to what happened with Patamon." Cody states and the others agree. The others, including the Digimon, debate how to deal with the portal.

As Patamon flies over and lands on his head, he takes some time to figure out how to get pass the portal. The top has a gap that Patamon would fit through without touching the portal. So far, nobody has mentioned having Patamon fly over that gap and decides, after a few minutes of debate turned arguement, to say, "Well, it's not like anyone is fool enough to enter into the ex-Digimon Emperor's base so we can come back later to deal with the portal."

The others agree, if only due to all the excitement of the day. He leads the others out of the base and then through the Digi-Port. He doesn't try to sneak over to use Izzy's computer, he doubts anyone will mess with the base. Once they arrive home though, even before he accesses the gate, he spends a few minutes setting it up so that if anyone is tracking the opening of the Digi-Port they won't track it to his apartment building and they return to the area where the base is.

"Well, we're back." Patamon states in a dead pan way. He chuckles at his partner's tone.

"You just need to fly in that gap between the ceiling and the portal. Turn off the device and I'll then sent it into storage." He explains and within second, Patamon spies the gap and then flies through it.

Within a minute, the portal fades as it closes. Walking up to the device, he touches it before sending it into his storage space. "Well, that's that." He says with a sigh.

"True. I wonder what the others will say when they come and find the portal gone." Patamon states.

"Well, we'll just have to bring the ceiling down, once we disable the core." He says as he walks to where the engine is. Summoning the Crest of Kindness, he places it into the spot and once the core is down, he uses his Digivice to retrieve the Crest back so he can send it into his storage space.

Then, suddenly, he's Folamon and he glances towards Shoya, giving the other a dirty look. "Come on, I've collapsed the ceiling how many times? Besides, it'll give ya more experience in your Champion form." Shoya points out with a grin.

"I have to point out, it was your idea to used that portal device." He points out to Shoya.

"Yea, but you are the one who wanted to keep that portal device." Shoya states with his arms crossed. With a snort, he looks into himself and within seconds, he is Sinyoumon.

As he is about to fire off an Exorism's Roar, he hears a faint, "Hello? Hello!" Sinyoumon glances over to Shoya with a questioning look.

"Hey! We're over here!" His partner calls out and soon enough, they are joined in the chamber by Joe and Gomamon.

"Who's that?" Joe asks with a slight worried expression. Gomamon answers, "That's Sinyoumon, a Champion Digimon and a Vaccine. He's a Holy Beast type."

"And I'm Shoya." His current human partner says as way of greeting. "We found a gate that landed us here."

"Ah, I see, I'm Joe and this is Gomamon." He notices a particular look on Joe's face as the older teen studies Shoya's face.

"You look familiar... You know Matt or TK?" Joe asks and Shoya replies, "A cousin of their's, can't recall how closely related we are though."

"Oh, well, you do bear a striking resemblance to them. You could almost pass as their sibling." Joe says as he finally decides to come flying down to the ground.

"You guys expecting trouble?" Gomamon asks him and he replies gruffly, "Well, it does look like a battle scene around here."

"Yea some friends of ours just took down the sleaze known as the Digimon Emperor." Gomamon says, causing Joe to sigh. "What, I'm just telling them the truth."

"Good to know, those Control Towers were causing property values to drop." He remarks and Gomamon chuckles while the corners of Joe's mouth twitch upwards. "It is nice to meet with you both." He bows his head to the pair.

"You as well." Joe says, returning his bow. "Dido!" Gomamon says with a wide grin.

"Well, it is rather late, perhaps we should leave. It's rather creepy in here." Gomamon says, shivering a bit. "I wouldn't be surprise to find a ghostmon or something in here."

He agrees, after all, this chamber is usually connected with the Dark Ocean. Although the connection is current shut off, he's fairly sure that it can be open again. _Guess we won't be able to destroy the base right now after all..._

"Mind giving us a lift as well?" Gomamon asks as Shoya climbs up onto his back. "I don't see why not." He admits and soon, he's flying out of the base with Joe and Gomamon on his back.

He heads for the gate, once everyone is off his back, he returns to his Rookie form. "Huh, you're a big one aren't ya?" Gomamon remarks to him and he folds his wings onto his back.

"I've known others to be as big as me." Folamon remarks, they say their good-byes. Soon enough, they are in his room. They both glow and he is returned to being human and Shoya into Patamon.

He can only imagine what Joe and Gomamon will report about the whole event. For now, he's hungry and tired. Leaving Patamon in his room, he grabs them a meal and then when they are done, takes the remains back to the kitchen. Once he's done cleaning them, he heads to his room, Patamon is already fast asleep and he soon joins his partner in dream land.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 2c

_I really, really hard Piedmon._ Sinyoumon thinks to himself as he is sent flying as Shoya and Kari are climbing the rope. _Why do we always have to climb that rope in order to defeat him when we are at this point?_ He wonders as he hits the ground, skidding over the surface of the ground.

Shaking his head, he watches the pair. As he gets to his feet, Sinyoumon sways a bit and cries out, "Shoya!" The rope gets cut and as the pair fall, he soon feels energy surging from Shoya to himself.

"Sinyoumon Digivolves to..." He declares and his whole being alters, he assume a more human form. "KishiAngemon!" Four pairs of white feathered wings come from his back while he's chest, arms, and legs are covered in golden armor while about his head is a golden metal band while his blond hair is short and spiked. A broad energy sword is in his right and a upon the shield is the Crest of Hope is in his left.

He easily catches the falling pair. "Well, this is unexpected... An Angel, huh?" He can hear the words 'finally'. "Thanks KishiAngemon!" Kari says and he hums in agreement.

As he puts the pair down, KishiAngemon turns to face the angry Piedmon. "Be careful." Kari says and he says calmly, "Don't worry, I'll get him."

He holds his shield up and aiming it at the very displeased Mega Digimon. He pulls his left arm back, ready to send the shield flying. "Holy Shield!" He cries, throwing the shield at Piedmon, the shield becomes a disc of golden energy, it cracks one of Piedmon's swords as the Clown uses the sword to block the shield.

His sword clashes with the other one as he comes charging in seconds after throwing his shield. As he pulls away from Piedmon, his shield is back upon his left arm and he uses the shield to defend from Piedmon's Thrump Sword. With a push of his left arm, the swords are tossed to the side.

He twirls the energy sword and then charges, crying out, "Holy Cursade!" His energy sword thins and lengths. He slashes at Piedmon, although the Mega tosses the white cloth, his attack destroys it. "That's one trick down." He states and Piedmon gives him an ugly look.

"Well, it's been fun but... Ending Snipe!" He cuts the attack in half with his sword, although he does get some damage from the electricity. He closes in and slices at the Mega, Piedmon tries to punch him but he uses his shield to block and then slam the shield into Piedmon's chest before bringing his sword down, it slices through the cloths of Piedmon's chest but the Clown manages to back up.

On and on they go, each of them using a mixture of special attacks and physical ones. When he manages to steal those in the form of keychains, he pulls back and lets loose his most powerful attack. "Heaven's Shackles!" From his shield, chains with shackles fly out and clamps upon the exhausted Mega's body. The shield moves from his left arm and raises into the air, facing while floating above Piedmon's captive body.

Then, the shield becomes a disc of golden light and quick as a fox, slams down, destroying Piedmon. With the Mega gone, the shield returns to his left arm. He then quickly places the transformed Digimon and Digidestined. Half a minute later, they regain their true forms and seem confused.

He returns to being Folamon and soon, Mimi arrives with reinforcements. He enjoys the break, after all, he knows who they'll face next.

**To Be Continued . . .**


	164. Digimon Loops: TK 5

I don't own Digimon!

**- o 0 o -**

Loop 1

TK types away at his mom's computer, it's rather old but then, he is only six years old, which is two years younger then he's use to being. He goes through the lines of data a third time and finding no error, he presses enter. Slowly the code is transformed into a minor Gate and his Digivice's image forms upon the screen.

Within seconds, it materializes out of the computer viva the screen. He watches as it lands before the keyboard and the computer then shuts down. He carefully gets up on the chair and every so gently grabs the device, he pockets it a minute before his mom comes in and scowls him about 'playing' with her computer.

Getting sent out of the room, his mom boots up the computer while he heads for his room. Once within, TK takes out his Digivice as he sits on his bed. He checks to see if it's functional before looking around. He grabs a few items, things he gathered up before even touching the computer to get his Digivice transferred to him.

With his pack on his back, he heads out of the front door and once his shoes are on, he opens the door once he assumes an older appearance. Check to be sure he has the spare set of keys in his pocket, he walks to the elevator and waits for it to arrive so he can leave the building.

The few looks he gathers as he walks down the street aren't that surprising, TK knows he looks dashing and he chose to appear as such. He finds a lotto place and flirts a bit with the young woman in front of him to pass the time. Soon enough, he walks away with his ticket and in the company of said university student for a quick coffee date as she needs to be back for an afternoon class.

TK pulls out his Digivice and checks the time, he hurries off to school. He's got the prefect excuse, his mom was busy and forgot to send him along or walk him to school. His appearance alters within a block of the school and he smiles, knowing that the lotto ticket will be safe in his storage space. _Tonight is as good a time as any to check and see if time is still lopsided... Hopefully Patamon isn't an Egg or in that lab..._

- - T - -

_Yip, I'm too early, by centuries it seems._ Folamon thinks to himself as he soars over the castle that would one day become Myotismon's castle and way into the Real World. It's a hard concept to wrap his head around but it doesn't stop it from being true.

It takes him some time to find a way into the castle and to find a perfect perch to watch the human like digital beings moving about the lab. He didn't notice any Digi-Eggs or Digivice let alone Tags and Crests. It seems as though they were still in the process of either creating or locating suitable Digimon. _Could be wrong and they're having trouble matching traits to Crests._

Observing the various digital humans move about the lab, typing away at the computers, or just tinkering with the machinery, Folamon turns as leaves. Once more in the air, he wonders what he should do next now that he's confirmed that it'll be some time before he can look forward to having his best friend and fellow anchor, Patamon, around with him.

_Well, whatever I want to do, I have a lot of time to be doing it._ He muses to himself. Although to be fair, he hadn't expected to arrive in his Rookie form when he used his mom's computer to create a Digi-Port but that's what happened. He concluded that the Digital World wasn't ready for human visitation and took advantage of his current form to make good time to arrive at the castle/lab where the others and his own Digimon was created/gathered with their Digivice plus Tags and Crests.

- - T - -

_And I'm no longer alone!_ Folamon thinks as Patamon's Egg hatches. Within seconds, his form alters and he assumes his human form right as the shell breaks apart to reveal the Baby. "You wouldn't believe what I've been up to without you around." He whispers to the young Digimon who seems to be blinking rapidly at him, clearly not believing he's here.

"Huh?" Before Digivolving all the way to Rookie.

"I arrived two years early, I've spend centuries, thousands of years, hanging around the Digital World, sometimes between trips to and from the Real World. It's been crazy but the time shift is getting shorter, which might explain why it was so easy for us to fix it in the first place. To have time between the two Worlds go at the same rate." He tells Patamon. "Did I mention I was Folamon for those years?"

Patamon snorts softly, slowly shaking his head. "Well, it's not like I could be born faster and how often do you think you Waking before your eight will happen?" The orange Rookie remarks.

"Point, but I still would have loved to have you around. You wouldn't believe just who I've befriended just to have some company." TK tells his partner as he looks off at the very familiar mountain. He hears somebody's stomach growling and with a sigh, he grabs the leaf bundle he created over and placing it on his lap as he leans back onto the tree trunk, his shoulders helping to keep him steady while Patamon eats to his heart content of the various food stuffs he had gathered.

With Patamon's first meal out of the way, they sat on the branch, watching the sun climb higher into the air. His body complains about the way he is sitting but given he had been perched up here as Folamon, he's just happy he kept his balance on the branch, it did help that he already had his back facing the trunk.

"So... did ya do anything to the D-Four? Like pranks and such?" Patamon asks him, breaking the comfortable silence between them.

"Of course, although I admit, it was rather difficult figuring out which of the Digimon were going to Digivolve into them but I got them." He assures his partner.

"Videos? Or just pictures?" His partner presses, causing him to chuckle.

"How about having the footage edited and added music to go along with it?" He asks Patamon and from the look on his friend's face, it's clear he wanted to see it NOW!

Within seconds, a tablet appears and once the password is entered, he presses the play button and Patamon's blue eyes are fixated to the screen while the music plays along with the slap stick sounds to help with the prank. It wasn't long before Patamon is laughing so hard he was crying and almost fallen off the branch, quickly using his ears to hover over the branch while still laughing roaringly at the various pranks and the reactions the caused with the victims.

A glance down shows that the other Digimon partners have gathered around, curious as to where the laughter is coming from. He already set up a sight barrier to keep them from recognizing him as a human, to them, he still looks like Folamon.

He just grins, he knew he did a very good job of editing the various footage all together along with sound effects and picked the right set of songs to go along with each of the four.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 2

"Are you sure these will allow us to send Emails and share data, even allow for us to play multiplayer games together? Automatically stores into our storage space?" Zoe asks, a frown upon her face while looking at tiny connective port. "It looks like it's barely a flash drive."

"It works as long as you have your Digivice on you." TK informs the group. He is a bit puzzled about both Thomas and Zoe as they have been disturbingly normal throughout their time in this universe. Although to be fair, he usually does his best to stay out of their way as much as possible so for all he knows, they've been acting like this for the last few times they've met in this universe.

"It works, the previous attempt was a mother board you had to install on a computer or connect it to one." Takato explains and he nods in agreement. "It was a pain to remember to store the computer that had it before the Loop ends."

He had given Takato twenty of them, he's not sure how many Takato had lost to the Loop but he's also fairly certain that Guilmon's partner knew how to create one by now as well. It wouldn't surprise him if at least seven had been dismantled just to be sure on their workings and likely to repair it or recreate it. That version had been a bit glitchy with large time pauses every few hours. The latest one is one they created together, they even figured out how to patch the connection through their Digivice instead of using the Digivice as the key to open such a connection.

The happy part about that is that he didn't have to take each Digivice and install such a connection. There's something universal about Digivices, even if the version looks different or even has functions different from another version. "I don't think I'll ever understand how you can toy around with any Digivices and make sense of its codes." Thomas states with a shake of his head.

He gives Thomas a frowning confusing look until he realizes that Thomas doesn't know about Gennai or even Digi-Gnomes. Then his confusion clears up while Thomas gives him a minor glare. "I don't suppose Takato's shared with you the DVDs of the cartoon series based on my universes adventures?" He asks Thomas and glances over to Zoe, both seem to be looking over at Takato.

"Neither of you asked what that cartoon is based off of when I tried to offer it to you. You were more interested in me then 'some cartoon'." Takato reminds the pair. "You weren't even the least bit interested in the fact that I came from a world where a group of college students claimed to have created Digimon."

The pair look a bit guilty about that, finding out that they missed out on a massive amount of information that could help in their endeavors. Having some mercy on the pair, even if they rarely showed any when they had been pursuing their... previous goals.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 3

_Hikari Yagami?_ TK can't help but think as he walks along next to the girl as they enter the building. She had come to watch her brother, Taichi, participate in this V-Pet tournament. Although he's only been Wake since he woke this morning, he hadn't really thought that he Woke in another world but clearly he had.

He touches the Digivice in his sweater pocket as he gets his first glimpse of Taichi Yagami, who turns to give them a puzzled look before smiling and greeting them. "Hey Hikari, who's your friend?"

"This is TK, we just met outside." Hikari tells her brother, a bit shyly. "TK, this is my brother, Taichi."

"Hello!" He says cheerfully. "Nice to met ya."

Taichi smiles more warmly and replies, "Nice to see you too. So, you came with a parent or sibling?"

"Nope, I was just looking around. We just move here." He explains. "My mom's rather busy with her new job." He adds, which is true as he did take a moment to check through his memories of his time in this universe.

"What does your mom do?" Taichi asks curiously.

"News reporter." He answers, adding, "My dad works for a tv station. I don't see him or Yamato much, though hopefully that will change."

"Your parents' aren't together anymore?" Taichi asks with a hint of sadness. He feels Hikari reaching out with her left to grasp his right, he didn't fight it and they held hands for a few seconds before they let go.

"Yea... but I've gotten use to it." He answers truthfully.

"Ah, well, I better hurry and get registered. See you afterwards, ok?" Taichi says and they nod, murmuring their agreements.

"So... what do you think of my brother?" Hikari asks him as they head to stand in line to get into the stadium.

"He's nice." He says and Hikari nods. "And I think he's lucky to have you as his little sister." That causes her to blush and duck her head, it seems this version of his best friend is rather shy.

A bit after they found some seats, Taichi joins them, Hikari asks why he isn't in the back with the others. To which Taichi says simply, "I don't have the right kind of Digimon to be allowed into the tournament."

"What kind of Digimon do you have?" He asks curiously and Taichi replies, "Zeromaru is a Veedramon."

He frowns as he considers that tid bit of information. "Oh." TK says while Hikari does her best to make her brother feel better about it. _Wonder how different a Veedramon is from an ExVeemon?_

- - T - -

Taichi didn't really know what to make of having his sister here at the stadium, let alone the boy she's befriended. He's been through a lot of Loops and never in his experience has his little sister come to watch him participate in this tournament. He knows she's never befriended someone matching TK's description either. In his experience, a small change means something big has changed which leads him to believe that something, likely involving TK or his little sister is going to happen in the near future.

"I don't suppose you have a V-pet?" He asks the young blond after the first round. TK looks over at him before answering, "I didn't buy one nor did my parents. Yamato didn't see the point in them, but then, he's more into music then into raising a pet."

"You ever wanted one?" He asks and TK's eyes flash in amusement for a second, but he saw it and it only confirmed that TK is involved in the change to the Loop. "I don't think I'd want to own a Digimon."

He takes note that the eight year old didn't really answer the question. "How about you, Hikari? Did ya ever want one of the V-pets?" TK asks his sister, he looks over to Hikari, suddenly wondering what her answer will be.

"Well, I like the idea of having a pet with you all the time but, well, I'd like one that I can cuddle with too." Hikari answers and TK as a soft smile, nodding.

He looks away, he didn't know what he should feel about TK involving his baby sister in their discussion. Soon enough, the pair of them talk about previous pets they had and what kind of pets they'd want in the future. _He better not be planning to use Hikari in his devilish plans._ He thinks to himself.

Soon the tournament is over and as he escorts the pair out of the stadium, his little sister and the likely future foe are talking rather animatedly about the fights. Being rather truthful with himself, he's never seen Hikari so relaxed, so open with anyone who isn't a family member. _Worry about it later, it's not like either of them will be following me into the Digital World._

As they are about to exit out of the building, the typical event happens. It matters not if he's the one to hunt down Neo to demand that challenge, something always happens that causes the two of them to have their match that sends them into the Digital World. Sure enough, a slight cough and he turns to find an adult wanting a word. "Ah, why don't you two head out? This shouldn't take long."

"I want to stay with you, Taichi." Hikari says upon grabbing his sleeve. He looks down, rather startled by that, usually Hikari does as he requests. Looking down, he finds a very determined look upon her face and he gives in.

A quick look over to TK shows that the blond as a sad-like look in his eyes while sporting a smile. He looks back to Hikari, TK pipes in, saying, "I wouldn't mind keeping Hikari company."

Hikari sends TK a smile while blushing slightly. _Oh boy, that's not good._ He thinks as he realizes that his kid sister seems to have a crush on the blond.

"They can come, Neo just wants a quick word with the owner of the glitchy V-pet." The woman says and soon guides them to the back into the stadium. _The typical reason for wanting to met with me._ Taichi thinks to himself.

- - T - -

TK is sure to keep a good grip on Hikari's wrist as they fall through the Gate. It's rather raw, like the one that usually opens when they are at the campsite. _I guess I will get to see a Veedramon._ He thinks to himself as they finally land.

"Are you ok?" He asks Hikari, he had done a maneuver so that he is under her just as the land came into sight. Within seconds of asking that, Hikari gets off and is bowing to him, apologizing for landing on him.

"It's alright, Hikari. I didn't want you to get hurt." He tells Kari's alternate counter part.

"TK!" He hears Patamon cry out and by the time he's standing up, his partner is on his bare head. Hikari seems a bit speechless about what just happened.

"This is Patamon, Patamon, this is Hikari Yagami." He says as way of introduction.

"Nice to met you." Patamon says and Hikari nods, "And you, Patamon."

"I thought you don't own a V-pet?" Hikari asks after a moment.

"Well, I don't own Patamon nor do I have a V-pet. It's kind of difficult to explain our relationship." TK admits to Hikari.

"Hi-chan!" Looking to the side, they find another Rookie, this one Salamon.

"Well, I guess I know what you mean. I don't own one either." Hikari says before calling out, "Hey Sally-chan!"

As the Salamon leaps into Hikari's arms, they hug each other, clearly glad to be with one another. "Sally, this is TK and his friend Patamon."

"Don't you have a name?" Sally asks Patamon.

"Well, I guess Shoya is a name." Patamon admits and he nods in agreement.

"Then why introduce him as Patamon?" Hikari asks and he admits, "Well, the usual times we call him Shoya are when he's not a Rookie."

"You mean you can Digivolve?" Sally asks Shoya, to which Shoya says, "Well, I can become an Angemon but I've got a more interesting Digivolution form call Pegasusmon. You want to see it?"

"Sure!" The pair agree and with that, Shoya flies to a spot.

"Digi-Armor Energize!" He cries, bring out his Digivce, summoning the Digi-Egg of Hope from his storage space.

"Patamon Armor Digivolve to..." Light engulfs Patamon and then, breaks apart to reveal Pegasusmon. "Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!"

"Ohh, awwww." The pair chime in, causing TK to smile. It wasn't long before they move to examine Pegasusmon, his partner clearly enjoys the attention.

Suddenly, some attack lands near, they all turn to find a group of Digimon refilling a cannon. "Climb on! Hurry!" Shoya commands while his partner kneels down to allow them easier access to climb onto his back.

Once they are all on, Shoya flies up and away while a shot from the cannon misses them by a wide mile.

- - T - -

Taichi arrives at the castle of Lord HolyAngemon with both Zeromaru and Gabo, well, after playing a minor joke on Gabo they went straight to the castle. An alarm rings out as they get within sight and as he looks around, he finds Hikari running towards him with a Salamon next to her. "Onii-chan!"

"Hikari?" He stammers out after hugging his little sister. "What... how?"

"Well, TK and I got sucked into this bright light and we found ourselves falling. TK managed to grab a hold of my arm and then, I landed on him. I got to meet his friend Shoya, who's a Patamon and then I introduced Sally to them both." Hikari tells him excitedly. "Shoya Digivolved into Pegasusmon, when we got fired at, we climbed onto his back and flew here, where Sally said it was safe." She is smiling up at him.

Then, noticing Zeromaru, his baby sister greets the blue Champion Digimon. "Hello there, I'm Hikari Yagami and this is my friend Sally." She says to her partner and Gabo.

"I'm Zeromaru, Taichi's partner and this is Gabo, he's our guide." Zero says. Sally smiles as she nods her greeting.

"So... TK's here and he's friends with a Patamon?" He can't help but repeat. Finding it hard to believe.

"Yea, and Shoya is also capable to Digivolving into an Angemon too, at least, that's what TK claims." His shy, often sick sister says with a nod.

"What's a Pegasusmon?" He asks, turning to look at Gabo, expecting the Rookie to know.

"Ah... I know that it involves a special kind of Digi-Egg." Gabo stammers.

"It's an ancient form of Digivolving that requires a Digi-Egg sporting a special symbol called a Crest. A Patamon Digivolves into a Pegasusmon using one sporting the Crest of Hope." Lord HolyAngemon explains, coming up to his right as he had turned to his left. "It is very surprising that young TK and Shoya know of it and found one of these Digi-Eggs."

_Ancient form huh? And just what does a Crest of Hope look like?_ He wonders, sure, this was something new to learn and something to look into later, like another Loop, but for now, he's more concerned about what TK and his friend are up to. "So... what does a Crest for Hope look like?" He asks.

"It's kind of an image of a sun rising over a mountain peek." TK says and he looks to find TK moving from a jog into a fast walk. Spotting a Patamon on the boy's head, he assumes that is Shoya. The blond comes to a stop and turns his gaze to Zeromaru. "So, this is your Digimon, the Veedramon?"

"I prefer Zeromaru." His partner states in a huff and TK nods, the boy's gazes turns to Gabo and he notices the slight widening of the eyes, it's clear that TK recognizes Gabo.

"Hello, I'm TK and this is Shoya." TK says politely to Gabo.

"I'm Gabo, I'm a Gabumon." The Rookie says proudly and TK nods slowly before turning to Lord HolyAngemon.

"It seems that he found us, so your offer for assistance proved unnecessary." TK says, addressing Lord HolyAngemon. "And I believe Taichi and Zeromaru are better suited to the task you need done." The eight year adds.

"I believe you are correct, Takeru, but I hope Hikari, Sally, Shoya, and yourself will continue to enjoy my hospitality." Lord HolyAngemon says with a soft smile.

"I believe we'd be delighted to, sir." TK says and looks over to Hikari, who picks up the hint and agrees with TK.

"We'll see you later, Onii-chan. I want to see more of the castle!" Hikari says and he nods, smiling gently as the two eight year olds and their Digimon friends leave.

"Let us retire to my study, if that is alright with you, Taichi? Zeromaru?" Lord HolyAngemon requests. "We would be delighted to, sir." He says with a glance towards Zero, who shrugs and gives a bit of a nod.

_I believe TK is more familiar with the Digital World then I expect, he'll keep Hi-chan safe for now._ He decides as they fall in step behind the minor parade of guards as Lord HolyAngemon heads into the castle.

- - T - -

"So, how long have you been Looping?" He is startled and glances to his right to find TK standing there, Shoya no where in sight.

"What gives you that idea? Your crazy." Taichi says, nervously chuckling to brush off that statement.

"Well then, I guess proper introductions are needed. Hello, I'm Takeru Takaishi, commonly called TK. I'm the Digidestine of Hope, my partner is Shoya, he's a Patamon. I'm usually a part of a group of seven, later eight, kids send through a Gate into a Digital world where we need to combat Evil Digimon who plot to take over that world and throw the balance of the worlds out of balance." TK says and continues, "Taichi **Kamiya**, your double who prefers Tai, is the Digidestine of Courage and partners with Agumon. My brother Yamato Ishida, commonly known as Matt, is the Digidestine of Friendship and partners with Gabumon."

"Hikari **Kamiya**, commonly known as Kari, is the Digidestine of Light and partners with Gatomon, Salamon's Champion form." TK adds and his eyes widen, his mouth opens a bit. "I'm also a Looper, as in stuck in a Time Loop that resets itself when I'm getting close to being in my late teens and Wake to find myself eight years old again. Once more getting sucked through a Gate to met with my Digimon partner and best friend for life. I've met with three other Loopers who also part of groups who save their Digital World and we tend to met during some crisis that's named after a crystal."

"Your serious aren't you?" He asks and the blond nods. "I've got a double in your world?" Another nod. "Who's got a little sister, who becomes your... girlfriend."

"Well, we've never really dated and not just because of your double. We're best friends as we were the only eight year olds in the group and when we got older, we didn't become anything more, likely due to that friendship. Now? It'll be too weird to date her as I'm thousand of years older then her." TK explains with a sigh, the blond walks over and sits down next to him.

"So... you got a number of interesting stories to tell then?" He asks and TK nods. Then, as TK holds out his hand, a photo appears and he picks it up, studying the group of kids plus Digimon, not just their partners from the looks of it. He stares at the image of his double, Tai, and then at Kari, he notices the whistle about her neck. "Who's the one in pink?"

"That's Mimi, her partner's Palmon. Hmm, well, remind me to ask for your Digivice later, I'll add a storage space to it so you can keep personal effect you don't want to lose when Time resets, might as well give you the Dimensional Connection too, so you can chat with people who are in the same situation." The blond goes on to tell him a bit more about these fellow Loopers, "Takato's partners with Guilmon, they Bio Merge into Gallantmon. Zoe typically becomes the Legendary Warrior of Wind, it's something about collecting a pair of figurines that allow her to do it. Thomas works for some kind of agency and is partners with Gaomon."

"Bio Merge?" He tries to wrap his mind around it. "Well, it allows the partner to fight along with their partner." TK explains with a shrug and he just nods, handing the picture back to TK.

"So, when do you plan to share your story?" He asks and TK replies, "Later, like when we have the time to exchange such epic tales."

"Sounds good." He agrees, he's already looking forward to hearing more about his double and his sister's double.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 4

TK Wakes in the middle of the cave where Kari and himself retrieve their Digi-Eggs of Hope and Light. _Rather close to the beginning of our adventures._ He muses to himself, which gives him plenty of time to do a number of things concerning movies, tv series, and getting a number of manga published to go along with those series. _Wonder if Takato or Thomas have any games they know are hits and willing to send them here?_ He wonders as he acts out the 'scene'.

As he goes for the Digi-Egg of Hope, Kari says, "I guess you're more nervous then I thought if your reaching for the one with the Crest of Hope on it."

He blushes a bit and moves a step to stand before the Digi-Egg of Light. "I guess I am. I mean, I don't want another partner..." He confesses and Kari smiles a bit in understanding.

_Well, this is different. I wonder what kind of Digimon Patamon will become using the Digi-Egg of Light?_ TK wonders as he reaches out and grasps the white Digi-Egg sporting the Crest of Light.

As they hold their 'respective' Digi-Eggs in the air, he does note that green light is coming from the spot where he grabbed the Digi-Egg of Light while pink from the Digi-Egg of Hope. Soon enough they Digi-Armor Energize and Patamon becomes a... land bound fish sporting boxing gloves. "That's... unexpected." _And kind of familiar actually..._ He thinks before turning to look over at what Gatomon became.

Gatomon became a goat like Digimon named Oryxmon. "Well, that's more useful then a fish on land." He admits and the others agree, Patamon returns to being Patamon, he sighs.

"I'm sure we'll be fighting around water... eventually." Kari says to comfort him and he nods. "Yea, I guess so." He says as Patamon comes to rest in his arms.

"Let's go Oryxmon! Coming Cody?" Kari says as she heads out after a minor quake, it means that the others out side could use some help. "You guys go on, I think Patamon and I need some time alone for the moment."

"Right, see you soon TK!" With that, the other three leave.

"That seemed too familiar for my liking, TK." Patamon states and he hums in agreement. "I'm reminded of Joe for some reason... Might have been something from when our earlier Loops that we stop from happening." He muses and his partner nods.

"So... what are we going to do about this? I mean, we can't be productive members of the team if I'm a fish out of water." Patamon comments and he hums as he thinks on this. "Well, there's always that Robin Hood plan... We'd have to do something to your Pegasusmon form to make it... not recognized as Flying Hope. Turn the gold into ivory, alter the basic coat along as with hiding the Crest of Hope..."

Patamon hums and quickly moves to stand a few feet, within seconds, Pegasusmon stands before him. Taking his altered Digivice, he holds it out and after a few attempts at altering, which it resists for about a minute. The coat color goes a ghostly silvery blue, the helmet plus chest piece are very different not only becoming ivory but not as sharp while the Crest on the chest piece is gone, and the armor leggings are much shorter, made out of ivory, and lacking in gems and finally, the belly is a dark grey. "I even feel different. I better not have been transformed into a Virus TK..." He winces a bit.

"Well, it's a disguise and to be fair, I'm not sure if the changes are only in appearance... We'll figure out later how to make the changes only to the appearance, leaving the core Data alone." He assures his partner before assuming an older, darker look that sports a face mask to cover his lower face and a hood to cover his shockingly white hair, his eyes are likely a bright purple as he was going for shocking after all. He climbs on and within seconds, they walk through a dark shadow and appear outside under an overhang.

Within seconds they are flying over the battle, surprisingly enough, it seems Oryxmon is doing rather well, having already shattered a Dark Ring on one of Tyrannomon. They watch the battle as another Dark Ring is destroyed. Then, suddenly, a swarm of Dark Ring appear and once more, the freed Tyrannomon are re-enslaved and the fight continues. Each Dark Ring they destroy, another replaces it and it's taking its toll upon the Tyrannomon. "Guess we best reveal ourselves." He says to his partner and with a snort, his partner does a nose dive.

His best friend roars in a very animistic way and within seconds, they've zipped about the battle field, destroying all visible Dark Rings. They rise into the air quickly and vanish into the shadows, returning to the cave. Within seconds, he comes running out with Patamon.

"Sorry but some stones blocked the entrance. What did we miss?" He asks, he spoke the truth, although he did use his Digivice to clear it.

"Some other guy appeared and destroyed all the Dark Rings is what happened!" Yolei shouts. "They vanishes over there." She gestures towards the spot they had vanished in their disguises.

They spend a good twenty minutes searching for a sign of the odd pair but nothing turns up. In the end, with evening pressing in and they needing to return home, they leave, although not without Davis rubbing it in that his Armor Digivolution not helping them in their fight with the Tyrannomon only to be told that it's not his fault concerning what Patamon Digivolved into. He smiles his thanks to the others for their encouragement.

Upon returning home, he summons out a laptop that wouldn't see the market until a few years. He checks his messages, finding a few of them concerning an upcoming gaming event for all of them, including Taichi. He answers them before checking to see if Takato's online. He leaves the laptop alone as he heads to get something to eat, upon returning, he fines that Takato's on but busy.

He sends him a message asking if he knew of an incident concerning him ever using the Digi-Egg of Light. As he does some other stuff using the computer, he gets a beep and opens the link to video chat with Takato. _"What do you mean? Surely you can remember what happened and how Joe accidently swapped your D-terminals."_ His friend and fellow Anchor says to him.

"Hmm, that does sound familiar but I get the feeling I've been keeping the whole event from happening so we haven't experienced it since our early Loops." He admits to the boy who could pass as a relative of Kari's due to them having the same hazel red eyes. "Reason I'm asking is that I'm currently the Digidestine of Light, Kari and I just picked up our Digi-Eggs."

_"Really? You and Kari switched Crests? I guess this is the first time it's happened huh?"_ Takato asks and he nods. _"So, what have you guys got planned to help in the fights? I mean, there haven't been many water battles which means you don't have much use of having Patamon become Manbomon."_ His friend in another dimension adds.

"Well, I used the one I have in storage to have Patamon become Pegasusmon, then I used my Digivice to alter him... It was rather creepy and Patamon mentioned feeling different." TK tells Takato.

_"Well, I don't think I've ever tried to recolor any of Guilmon's evolutions, well, not using my Digivice any way. It could be that you did alter him, caused him to become another kind of Digimon. Think you can create a picture using your Digivice?"_ Takato asks and he does so, doing his best to recall the details of the ivory armor down to the color of the mane and tail.

As he waits, he checks on his coding and sipping a drink. _"Well, congratulations on either creating a new Digimon or simply managing to alter his coloration. I'm not getting any profile on my Digivice so it might just be some kind of expression of Pegasusmon. Might want to use your computers to scan him in that alternate form just to be sure. Now if you excuse me, I've got put some finishing touches to a prank."_

TK nods and soon enough, Takato logs off from their chat. He puts the finishing touches on his program before sending it out onto the internet. He then closes the blinds and curtains of his windows, checking to be sure his mom is absorbed into whatever she's doing. He even uses his Digivice to engulf the room in a ward. He then begins to sent a lot of the stuff in his room into his storage space before summoning the equipment he needs to run the kind of scans needed to check on that alteration.

Patamon is kind enough to move to the platform and without much fanfare Pegasusmon is standing there. He runs a few scans to be sure nothing is wrong before redoing what he did in the cave. Once his partner is in his recoloring and alternate armor, he begins the scans. Sure enough, there is some glitches and with aid of the equipment, he fixes the data until the only changes are appearance, the attacks just needed to be repaired as the change does seem to not allow for special attacks, although it does seem that it increases the physical capabilities but figures they'd need the special attacks in future fights.

"Well, I don't feel funny any more." T-Pegasusmon, short for Transformed Pegasusmon, states. "I got an idea, why don't you try some other alternate coloring just for practice? It should be safe enough with this equipment out."

"You sure you want to go through with it? We are pretty much done." He tells his partner.

"If you can alter yourself so easily, we might as well get use to doing it to me. I mean, Halloween and pranking." T-Pegasusmon argues and he gives his partner a slight smile.

"Ok, fine, as long as you want to, I guess we can go ahead and do this. How about you picture what colors and armor you want? It might cause less Data glitches and fragmenting." He says and for the next two hours, they not only continue with Pegasusmon alternate coloring, but alternate colors and looks for his partner's Rookie, Champion, and Ultimate forms. It surprised them both that HolyAngemon is a valid alternate form for MagnaAngemon, not that they ever figured out what became of the other wings when MagnaAngemon mode changes into HolyAngemon, could be that they combine to form such large set of wings or even into the robe.

Tired, they spent about twenty minutes putting away the equipment and putting the room back to the way it was. Once done, they head to bed.

**_ o - 0 - o _**

Loop 5

As he blinks, he glances about, sure enough, he's Folamon and in a forest. "Guilmon...?" His head perks up and he flies over to find an eight year old Takato sitting up.

"Nope, no Guilmon around." He tells Takato. "I'm also going out on a limb and say, you're now the Digidestine of Hope or maybe Digidestine of Digital Hazard?"

"Wait, how would you... TK?" Takato's eyes widen while taking him in, clearly stunned at the fact that he's a Digimon.

"Folamon, the flying foal monster. Rookie level vaccine. Attacks are Hyper Senses, Cloud Vapor, and Silver Rain." Folamon states, he knows he resembles Pegasusmon, only younger looking and lacking the armor, plus sporting more blond appearance with the mane being orange. "My Champion form is Sinyoumon, never advanced beyond Champion." He tells Takato who only wordlessly mouths the name Sinyoumon.

"Takato! There you are, ah, I see you have one too." Matt comes charging over with his partner under his arm. "Are you ok? Anything ache?"

Takato's eyes seem to be bug out at how Matt is treating him along with calling him by his name. "I'm fine, Matt." Takato says, finally finding his voice and while Matt finally nods.

Soon enough they run into Tai, Izzy, and their respective In-Training Digimon. "This is going to be one strange Loop..." Takato murmurs and he shrugs, remarking softly for Takato to hear, "Just remember, you don't have modify cards and you've got an older brother."

"I take it Patamon and yourself have swapped places before?" Takato asks as they wait for Mimi to join them, along with a certain Champion Digimon chasing them. He hums in agreement and Takato then asks, "What does he look like when he's human?"

"Well, orange hair sports a clearly a family resemblance with Matt and I." He tells Takato before grabbing the back of Takato's shirt and turning tail seconds before a roar causes the others to see what made that sound. Once at the cliff, he puts Takato down before kneeling, Takato quickly climbs onto his back as he takes to the air, more then ready to help the others in firing off an attack at Kuwagamon when the others Digivolve into Rookies.

Their attacks cause Kuwagamon to fall down, for about a minute. Then Kuwagamon gets up and causes the cliff to fall, not that it bothered Takato or himself as he's already in the air. That doesn't mean he doesn't follow after the others as Gomamon summon those fish to form that raft. "I wonder how Guilmon and Patamon are getting along?" Takato wonders as they follow after the raft and he shrugs as he flies after the rest of the group.

"Well, they've gotten along before without either of us, I don't see how now will be any different." Folamon informs his current partner and fellow Anchor.

- - T - -

"Where's Takatomon?" Guilmon asks the preteen Patamon as they head to the bakery. Shoya's had a rather interesting two days, he pretty much had expected Guilmon to be with him from day one but found out otherwise.

"Well, it could be that he's with TK, I mean, I'm here and he's not." Shoya tells Guilmon, it's not the first time they've been on their own, only difference is that this time, he's human and currently the other Rookie's partner. "Since I have Takato's Digivice, we can contact them tonight and confirm it." He adds and that cheers Guilmon up.

"I wonder if Takatomon really is a Takatomon!" Guilmon chimes and he smiles, shrugging, although out of the two humans, he knows TK is capable of becoming a Digimon so chances are, Folamon is partners with Takato instead of the other way around.

**To Be Continued . . .**


End file.
